AI Agents Are Here: What Are They and How Do They Work?

AI agents are systems that take sequences of actions to accomplish goals — not just single responses.

How they work:

- Perception: Reads its environment (browser, terminal, email inbox).

- Planning: Breaks the goal into sub-tasks using chain-of-thought reasoning.

- Action: Executes steps — clicking, typing, calling APIs, writing files.

- Reflection: Reviews results and adjusts the plan if something goes wrong.

Examples:

- Devin (Cognition): AI software engineer that writes, debugs, deploys code.

- OpenAI Operator: Books restaurants, fills forms, shops online autonomously.

- Claude Computer Use: Controls a computer visually like a human.

- AutoGPT: Open-source agent chaining GPT-4 calls to complete long tasks.