What Makes an "Agent" Different?

​The jump from a standard AI to an AI Agent involves four key pillars that allow it to function semi-autonomously:

​Perception: It understands its environment by "reading" data, whether that's a text prompt, a file you uploaded, or live data from the web.

​Reasoning & Planning: Instead of just predicting the next word, it breaks a complex goal (e.g., "Research this company and write a summary") into smaller, logical steps.

​Tool Use: This is the game-changer. Agents can use "tools" like web browsers, calculators, code executors, or API connections to external software (like Slack or Jira).

​Memory: They can remember previous steps in a multi-stage process to ensure the final output aligns with the original goal.