"What \"AI agent\" actually means — and what it doesn't"
"AI agent" is the most stretched phrase in software right now. The plain definition is a model in a loop with tools — not a digital employee. Here is what today's agents genuinely can do, what they can't, and the questions that expose a vague pitch.
"AI agent" might be the most stretched phrase in software right now. I have seen it used for a chatbot, a scheduled script, a spreadsheet macro, and genuinely autonomous systems — sometimes all on the same conference stage. Since founders are being sold "agents" daily, it is worth pinning down what the word actually means, and what it does not.
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The gap — reliability, evals, cost control, the plumbing that keeps it running unattended — is exactly the work I do. If that sounds familiar, a short conversation is usually enough to point you the right way.
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