---
title: What an AI agent is—and is not
seo_title: What an AI agent is—and is not — video
description: 'The difference between a chatbot, workflow, copilot, and agent. An agent is not just an LLM with tools: it is a system that decides actions within explicit boundaries.'
keywords: what is an AI agent, agentic AI, chatbot vs agent, workflow, tool calling, ReAct
date: '2026-07-14T00:00:00+00:00'
robots: index,follow,max-snippet:-1,max-image-preview:large,max-video-preview:-1
hide:
- toc
- navigation
video_watch_page: true
---


<div class="s5-video-watch" data-s5-video-watch data-video-id="videos-series-agentes-ia-01-que-es-un-agente-md">
  <header class="s5-video-watch__header">
    <div class="s5-video-watch__crumbs"><a href="https://5sigmas.com/en/videos/">All videos</a><span>AI agents</span><span>0:32</span></div>
    <h1>What an AI agent is—and is not</h1><p>The difference between a chatbot, workflow, copilot, and agent. An agent is not just an LLM with tools: it is a system that decides actions within explicit boundaries.</p>
  </header>
  <div class="s5-video-watch__player">
    <video controls crossorigin="anonymous" preload="metadata" poster="/en/series/agentes-ia/01-que-es-un-agente.jpg" playsinline data-s5-watch-player><source src="/en/series/agentes-ia/01-que-es-un-agente.mp4" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support the video element.</video>
    <p>Links containing <code>?t=</code> open the video at a specific second.</p>
  </div>
  <section class="s5-video-watch__summary" aria-labelledby="video-summary-title">
    <div class="s5-video-watch__section-head"><span class="s5-eyebrow">Video summary</span><h2 id="video-summary-title">The ideas to retain</h2></div>
    <div class="s5-video-watch__snippet-grid"><article><span>01</span><h2>A scale of autonomy</h2></article>
<article><span>02</span><h2>1. Direct response</h2><p>The user asks a question and the model generates an output. The system may retrieve information first, but the work sequence is fixed outside the model. A ticket classifier or a function…</p></article>
<article><span>03</span><h2>2. Deterministic workflow</h2><p>The system chains known steps: retrieve documents, call a model, validate JSON, and store the result. It can be complex and valuable without being an agent. Its advantage is that the path…</p></article></div>
  </section>
  
  
  <aside class="s5-video-watch__source"><div><span class="s5-eyebrow">Context and evidence</span><h2>Continue with the full article</h2><p>The chapter develops the mechanism, primary sources, limitations and connections to the rest of the series.</p></div><a class="s5-video-watch__source-link" href="https://5sigmas.com/en/series/agentes-ia/01-que-es-un-agente/">Read the article →</a></aside>
  <section class="s5-video-watch__related" aria-labelledby="related-videos-title"><div class="s5-video-watch__section-head"><span class="s5-eyebrow">Next step</span><h2 id="related-videos-title">Related videos</h2></div><div class="s5-video-watch__related-grid"><article><a href="https://5sigmas.com/en/videos/series/agentes-ia/05-de-la-demo-a-produccion/"><img src="https://5sigmas.com/en/series/agentes-ia/05-de-la-demo-a-produccion.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" width="1280" height="720"><span>AI agents · 0:32</span><strong>From demo to production</strong></a></article>
<article><a href="https://5sigmas.com/en/videos/series/agentes-ia/04-seguridad-agentes/"><img src="https://5sigmas.com/en/series/agentes-ia/04-seguridad-agentes.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" width="1280" height="720"><span>AI agents · 0:32</span><strong>Agent security</strong></a></article>
<article><a href="https://5sigmas.com/en/videos/series/agentes-ia/03-como-evaluar-un-agente/"><img src="https://5sigmas.com/en/series/agentes-ia/03-como-evaluar-un-agente.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" width="1280" height="720"><span>AI agents · 0:32</span><strong>How to evaluate an AI agent</strong></a></article></div></section>
</div>