AI for EverybodyLearn the intelligence era with better judgment.

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Glossary My Map Account

Glossary My Map AccountQuick answers Choose my route History of AI Sources About this platform

You are here

Current learning moveOrient

Follow a question, situation, concept, person, or historical thread.

Do nowRead, decide, then check

Your guide

Conversation alone does not make an agent

Your learning move

OrientEnter through a question or situation.

Why this page exists

Explore is the connected atlas. It shows several ways to approach the same subject without pretending that every learner needs the same sequence.

What you will leave with

A chatbot may answer one turn without pursuing a goal or acting. An agent-like system continues across steps, maintains state, and may choose tools or actions.

Before you begin

No prerequisite is required for topic and Quick Answer entrances.

Do this now

Choose the entrance that matches what you already have: a question, little time, a situation, or a term.

Do now on this pageRead, decide, then checkThe plan states the outcome, time, prerequisite, immediate action, and prepared continuation.Another valid routeGet a Quick AnswerUse a short orientation before deciding whether to go deeper.

Account

Quick answer · 3 min

Conversation alone does not make an agent

Is every chatbot an agent?

Plan for this page

Get a clear answer, then check that you can use it.

You will leave with: Ask what continues, remembers, accesses, and acts—not whether it chats.
Time: 3 min
Before you begin: No prerequisite. Start with your question.
Do this now: Read the direct answer before the example and active check.

Prepared next stepClassify systems

A chatbot may answer one turn without pursuing a goal or acting. An agent-like system continues across steps, maintains state, and may choose tools or actions.

Products overlap, so inspect behavior rather than labels.

Example

Two travel tools

One answers a question; another searches, tracks options, and requests approval before booking.

Important limit

Categories are not universal

A fixed workflow, assistant, chatbot, and agent can share components.

Interactive model

Separate before deciding

Selected layerChatbot

Conversational interface.

Read the complete text alternative

ChatbotConversational interface.
AgentGoal-directed continuation and bounded action.

Useful distinctions

Separate the questions before judging

Chatbot

Conversational interface.

Agent

Goal-directed continuation and bounded action.

Active check

What proves agency best?

Classify systems

Sources and scope

What supports this object

Emerging

AI RMFNIST

Control framework; agent terminology remains unsettled.

Open source

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