In a new paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers at Princeton say that AI agents tend to have three different characteristics. AI systems are considered “agentic” if they can pursue difficult goals without being instructed in complex environments. They also qualify if they can be instructed in natural language and act autonomously without supervision. And finally, the term “agent” can also apply to systems that are able to use tools, such as web search or programming, or are capable of planning.

Heikkilä, M. (2024, July 5). What are AI agents? MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/07/05/1094711/what-are-ai-agents/