What is an AI agent?
An AI agent is a computer program that takes a task from start to finish. You say what needs to happen, and it works out the steps, carries them out and tells you what came of it — without you sitting next to it for every step. That's the difference with a chatbot. A chatbot answers a question. An agent uses that answer to do something: in your inbox, your calendar, your files.
So what does an AI agent actually do?
An example. An email comes in from a customer asking whether something is still in stock. The agent reads the email, checks your stock list, writes a reply and leaves it waiting in your drafts.
That's four little steps. The interesting part isn't any one of them, it's that they're tied together. The agent works out which step comes next.
For that it needs two things: a goal you give it, and access to your own stuff — your mail, your calendar, your lists. Without that access it's just talk.
How is it different from a chatbot?
A chatbot answers. An agent acts.
Ask a chatbot how to put together a quote and you get a tidy explanation back. Then you sit down at the computer yourself. Ask an agent, and the quote is in your folder, with the right prices and the customer's name in it.
So it isn't about smarter or dumber. It's about where the work ends up: with the computer, or with you.
Where does it go wrong?
An agent does what you ask, including when you ask for the wrong thing. It has no gut feeling. If your admin is a mess, it will neatly carry that mess forward.
It can also simply get things wrong. The wrong date, two customers mixed up, a tone that isn't yours. That's why I set an agent to prepare things first for anything that goes out the door, and you press send.
And it isn't a one-off job. Your business changes, so the agent has to move with it. Forget that and after a while you're left with something that no longer fits.
When is it worth it for your business?
Look at the work that comes back every week and gives you no joy. Sorting mail, confirming appointments, filing invoices, giving the same answer to the same question. That's what an agent is good at.
The work customers actually call you for — the conversation, the craft, the judgement call — you keep. You wouldn't want to hand that over anyway.
Start small. One task, watch it for a while, and only add the next one once you notice you've stopped thinking about it.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI agent the same as ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT talks with you, an agent carries out tasks in your own mail, calendar and files. There is often a similar language model underneath.
Do I need to understand the technology?
No. You tell me what needs to happen and where it goes wrong. Connecting and setting it up is my job.
Does an AI agent make decisions without me?
Only if you switch that on. By default it prepares something and you approve it before it goes out.
Tell me which job comes back every week at your place — mail info@mia-automation.com and I'll take a look with you.
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