A chatbot answers questions from a script or a knowledge base. An AI agent can also take actions in your systems, such as booking an appointment, updating a CRM record or opening a support ticket, following rules you set.
Chatbot
A chatbot is best for repeated questions with known answers.
- Answers from a fixed script or a set of documents
- Works well for opening hours, prices, shipping or policy questions
- Hands over to a person when it cannot help
AI agent
An agent is best when the answer is an action.
- Understands a request in natural language
- Looks up and updates data in your tools (calendar, CRM, shop, help desk)
- Follows rules for what it may do alone and what needs approval
- Hands over with full context when a person should decide
Which one do you need?
If customers mostly ask the same ten questions, start with a chatbot. If they ask to book, change, cancel or check something in your systems, you need an agent. Many businesses start with a chatbot and add actions once it proves itself.
What to decide before building
Write down which actions the agent may take, which data it may see, and when it must pass the conversation to a person. Those three rules matter more than the model behind it.
Questions we hear a lot
Can an AI agent make mistakes?
Yes. That is why we limit what it can do on its own, show sources where it answers from documents, and add a clear hand-off to your team.
How long does it take to build one?
A focused first version, one use case on your own data, usually takes a few weeks.