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AI agent
What this means: An AI system that can use tools and take actions in addition to answering, such as searching for information, filling out forms, or sending messages, often in several steps. Its permissions determine what it can change.
System typeEvolving informationNext review March 10, 2027
Sources and review
Reviewed September 10, 2026
Also known as
AI agent, agent
Explained in guides
- When AI uses another program: reading or making changes?Learn how AI retrieves information or suggests actions in other services, and why limited permissions and human approval matter.
- What is an AI agent? An assistant with permission to actLearn what an AI agent can suggest, what it may do only with permission, and when a person should approve an action.
- AI security: an advanced guideUnderstand prompt injection, data poisoning and overreliance through practical examples, without having to build an AI system.
Foundations for skills
- Handle untrusted content read by AII can limit what AI can do when it reads webpages, emails, or documents written by others, and check for instructions, requests, and links that came from that material.
- Separate read and change actionsI can distinguish whether a tool used by AI reads information or changes something, and require human approval for changes.