AI Agents

AI agents are AI systems that can plan and carry out multi-step tasks for you, not just answer a question. They browse websites, fill in forms, watch prices and hand back results while you get on with your day.

Anthropic draws a useful line here. In its engineering guide Building Effective Agents, it separates fixed workflows, where code decides each step, from true agents, where the model decides what to do next. That difference matters, because it changes how much you can trust the output.

What you will find in our AI agents coverage

This topic collects everything we publish on how agents work and where they are heading. For example, our explainer on how self-improving AI works breaks down the feedback loops in plain English. Meanwhile, 8 real examples of AI improving AI shows where this is already happening. If you want the downside, read what happens if recursive self-improvement goes wrong.

We also track consumer tools. Our guide to Google information agents shows how AI Mode keeps watch on topics for you.

How to judge AI agents before you rely on them

First, check what the agent can access. Second, see whether it asks before it pays, books or sends anything. Third, look for a clear log of what it did. Google Cloud lists autonomy, reasoning and memory as core traits in its overview of what AI agents are.

Every article here is written for everyday readers, with sources linked so you can verify the claims yourself.