Blog · October 31, 2026

AI Agents Explained: Types, Examples and How to Stay in Charge

AI agents are software that use an AI model to carry out tasks for you, not just answer questions. You give an agent a goal, and it works out the steps, uses tools such as a browser, files, apps or connected accounts, checks what happened and keeps going. IBM defines an AI agent as "a system that autonomously performs tasks by designing workflows with available tools." Google Cloud’s version: "software systems that use AI to pursue goals and complete tasks on behalf of users."

This guide is the broad tour. It covers the main types of AI agents, how they work step by step, how an AI agent differs from a chatbot, the places you are likely to meet agents, the real risks, and simple habits that keep you in charge.

Two companion guides go deeper on specific angles:

For the big-picture concept and why everyone is suddenly talking about it, read What Is Agentic AI?
For the agents that run on your own Windows PC and what they can reach there, read What Is an AI Agent on My Computer?

What are AI agents, in one minute?

Every AI agent has the same basic parts:

A model that understands your request and decides what to do. IBM notes that "at the core of AI agents are large language models (LLMs)."
Tools it is allowed to use: a web browser, a file system, a terminal, an app’s interface, or connections to email, calendars and other services.
Permissions that set what those tools can reach.
A loop of plan, act, check and repeat, until the task is done or the agent needs you.

Take away the tools and you have a chatbot. Add tools and permission to use them, and you have an agent.

AI chatbot vs AI agent: what’s the difference?

This is the most common question about AI agents, so here is the straight answer. A chatbot talks. An agent acts.

	AI chatbot	AI agent
You give it	A question or prompt	A goal or task
What it returns	An answer, draft or image	A finished task, plus what it did
Takes actions	No, you do the follow-up	Yes, through its tools
Steps	Usually one reply per prompt	Many steps, chosen as it goes
Needs access to	Usually just what you type	Your browser, files, apps or accounts, depending on the task
Main thing to check	Is the answer right?	Is the answer right, and did it do the right things?

Google Cloud makes a similar distinction between agents and simpler assistants and bots: "AI agents are designed to handle complex tasks and workflows, while AI assistants and bots are better suited for simpler tasks and interactions."

In practice, the line is blurry because one product can be both. A chat assistant is a chatbot when it answers you, and an agent when you switch on a mode that lets it browse, click, run code or use connected apps. The question to ask is simple: is it only writing, or is it doing?

Types of AI agents

There is no single official list of AI agent types. Textbooks group them by how they reason. For everyday purposes, one useful way to group them, and the one we use here, is by two things: how much they decide on their own, and where they do their work.

By how much they decide on their own

Scripted workflows. The steps are fixed in advance, and the AI fills in parts, such as summarizing an email before filing it. Anthropic describes workflows as "systems where LLMs and tools are orchestrated through predefined code paths."
Assistants that ask first. The agent proposes each action and waits for your OK before it acts.
Autonomous agents. The agent chooses its own steps. In Anthropic’s words, agents are "systems where LLMs dynamically direct their own processes and tool usage, maintaining control over how they accomplish tasks."
Multi-agent systems. Several agents split up a job, with one coordinating the others. These are mostly found in business software today.

By where they work

Browser agents read and act on web pages, often as extensions or built into the browser.
Desktop agents run as apps on your computer and can open programs, work with files or see the screen.
Cloud agents run on the vendor’s own systems, often on a virtual computer, and act on your behalf through websites and connected accounts.
Coding agents work inside a project folder, editing files and running commands.
Business app agents live inside software you already use, such as help desk, CRM or office suites, and handle multi-step work there.
Operating system agents are built into the OS itself. Windows 11’s experimental agentic features are the main example on PCs.

How AI agents work, step by step

Here is what happens when you hand an agent a task like "find three suppliers for printer paper under our usual price and put them in a spreadsheet":

It reads the goal and any rules you gave it.
It plans, for example: search suppliers, open each site, note prices, create the spreadsheet.
It acts with its tools: opens the browser, types a search, clicks results.
It observes each result, such as a product page, a price or an error.
It adjusts. If a site needs a login or a price is missing, it tries another route or asks you.
It finishes and reports, ideally with a summary of what it did and where it saved the result.

The quality of an agent comes down to how well it plans, how good its tools are, and how sensible its limits are.

Where you meet AI agents

You may already be using agents without calling them that.

In your browser

Browser extensions and AI browser features can summarize pages, fill in forms and click through sites for you. Because they work inside your browser, they can often act on sites where you are already signed in.

On your desktop

Desktop assistants can open apps, manage files or see your screen. Developers can build this ability into their own products: Anthropic’s computer use tool, for example, gives Claude "screenshot, mouse, and keyboard control of a desktop environment." Our guide to what an AI agent on your computer is covers these in detail.

In the cloud

Some assistants offer an agent mode that does its work on the vendor’s own virtual computer, then uses websites and connected accounts on your behalf. Nothing new runs on your PC, but the agent can still act on your data through what you connect.

In coding tools

Coding agents can read a codebase, edit files, run tests and execute commands in a terminal. They are some of the most capable agents in everyday use, and they usually run with the developer’s own permissions.

In business apps

Help desk, sales and office software increasingly include agents that draft replies, update records or route tickets. In a small business, these can appear when a vendor turns on a new feature.

In Windows itself

Microsoft is adding agent support to Windows 11. According to Microsoft, the Experimental agentic features setting enables an agent workspace, "a separate, contained space in Windows where you can grant agents access to your apps and files so they can complete tasks for you in the background while you continue to use your device." Microsoft says the setting is off by default and only an administrative user of the device can turn it on. Our guide to Windows 11 agentic AI and how to turn it off shows where it is.

The risks of AI agents, in plain terms

AI agents are useful, and the groups that study them are open about the risks. The OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications is a good plain reference.

Too much access. OWASP lists Excessive Agency, which it describes as "the vulnerability that enables damaging actions to be performed in response to unexpected, ambiguous or manipulated outputs from an LLM." An agent with broad permissions can do more harm when something goes wrong.
Manipulated instructions. OWASP’s Prompt Injection entry says the problem "occurs when user prompts alter the LLM’s behavior or output in unintended ways." For agents, that can include instructions hidden in a web page or document the agent reads.
Confident mistakes. Agents can misread a page or pick the wrong option, then keep going. Many small errors can add up quickly.
Agents you didn’t set up. A helper bundled with another app, a browser extension someone else installed, or a feature a vendor switched on can all act without you having chosen them.
Work that keeps running. Some agents keep working in the background or repeat on a schedule after you close the window.

How to stay in charge of AI agents

A few habits cover most of the risk:

Give the least access that works. Connect only the accounts and folders a task needs, and remove connections you no longer use.
Prefer "ask first" for anything important. Purchases, sending messages, deleting files and changing account settings deserve a human OK.
Watch the first runs. Before you trust an agent with a repeating task, watch what it does a few times.
Check what’s running. Our guide on how to tell if an AI agent is running on your Windows PC walks through Task Manager, startup apps, extensions and settings.
Know how to stop one. Our guide on how to stop an AI agent on Windows 11 covers stopping a task, ending a process and disconnecting accounts.
Write it down for your team. Small offices can start with our AI acceptable use policy template and add agent rules from our AI agent policy for small business guide.

How PERCARIS helps

Knowing which agents are active is the first step to staying in charge. PERCARIS surfaces recognized AI-agent activity on your Windows computer and gives you a Stop control for agents you did not authorize. PERCARIS recognizes known AI tools. It won’t flag every AI agent.

You decide whether to press Stop. PERCARIS works alongside your existing security tools, and each Windows PC is managed on its own. You can read more on how it works.

Plans cover a single PC, a few PCs or a small business. For 26 or more PCs, contact support@percaris.com. See plans.

FAQ

What are AI agents?

AI agents are software that use an AI model to carry out tasks for you. They plan steps, use tools like browsers, files and apps, check results and keep going until the task is done or they need you.

What is the difference between an AI chatbot and an AI agent?

A chatbot answers in text and leaves the work to you. An AI agent takes actions with tools to finish a task. Some products can work as either, depending on the mode you choose.

What are the main types of AI agents?

There is no single standard list. One useful way to group them is by how much they decide on their own (scripted workflows, ask-first assistants, autonomous agents, multi-agent systems) and by where they work (browser, desktop, cloud, coding, business apps and the operating system).

Are AI agents safe?

They can be used safely with care. Give agents only the access they need, keep a human OK for important actions, and know which agents are active on your devices.

Is agentic AI the same as AI agents?

They overlap. AI agents are individual programs that act toward a goal; agentic AI is the broader approach built around them. Our guide What Is Agentic AI? explains the difference.

Sources

Checked against each source on October 31, 2026. Definitions and product features change often.

— The PERCARIS Team