What is an AI agent? How it works – explained without jargon
An AI agent is an AI program that can carry out tasks in your systems – not just answer questions. See how it works, what it can be used for, and where to be careful.
Short answer
An AI agent is an AI program that doesn’t just answer questions but can also carry out a task on its own: read an email, look things up in your systems, prepare a proposal and pass it on. A chatbot gives you an answer. An AI agent gives you a finished piece of work – which a person then approves.
The difference between a chatbot and an AI agent
Think of the difference between calling a colleague to ask a question, and asking that colleague to sort it out.
- Chatbot (e.g. ChatGPT): You ask, it answers. You still have to copy the answer into your systems and finish the job yourself.
- AI agent: It gets a task and works through the steps itself. For example, it can read a customer email, find the customer in your CRM, check prices and stock in your ERP system and prepare a quote that’s ready to send.
So what’s new isn’t that the AI is smarter. What’s new is that it’s allowed to do something – within the limits you set.
How an AI agent works – in four steps
- It spots a task. For example, a new email with an enquiry has arrived.
- It gathers what it needs. It looks things up in the systems it’s allowed to see: customer data, prices, previous orders.
- It prepares a proposal. A draft quote, order or reply.
- A person approves. An employee checks the proposal, adjusts it and presses send.
That last step matters. A good AI agent recommends – people decide.
What can a business use an AI agent for?
The best tasks are the ones that come up again and again, follow a pattern and today require someone to copy information from one place to another:
- Quotes and orders from email. Free-text enquiries are turned into a ready-made quote or order.
- Customer service. Answers to common questions are prepared so the employee only checks and sends.
- Reports. Figures are pulled from several systems into one overview.
- Documents. Invoices, delivery notes or contracts are read, and key information goes to the right place.
What’s the difference between Microsoft Copilot and an AI agent?
Microsoft Copilot is an assistant inside Outlook, Word and Teams. It’s good at writing, summarising and finding things – for the individual employee.
A custom AI agent is built for one specific workflow in your business and connects directly to your own systems, such as ERP and CRM. Copilot helps the person. An AI agent takes over the groundwork in a process. Many businesses need both.
Where should you be careful?
- Decide what it can see and do. For each system: no access, read-only, or read and write.
- Let people approve. Especially when something goes to customers or changes data.
- Log everything. So you can always see what the agent did, and why.
- Start small. One workflow, one inbox, a few employees. Expand when it works.
- Think about data and rules. Personal data and GDPR must be in order before the agent gets access.
How to get started
- Find one task that takes a lot of time and looks the same every time.
- Work out which systems and data the task needs.
- Build a small version and test it with the people who do the task today.
- Measure whether it saves time, then decide whether to expand.
How BCT helps
We build AI agents that fit into the systems you already use. Relay is our AI agent that turns customer emails into ready-made quotes and orders – in Outlook and with your ERP – always with human approval. Not sure where to start? We find the right tasks together with you on a Shadow Walk at your premises.
See Relay → · Read about the Shadow Walk →
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI agent the same as a chatbot?
No. A chatbot answers questions. An AI agent can also carry out a task in your systems, such as preparing a quote from an email.
Can an AI agent work completely on its own?
Technically it can do a lot by itself, but we recommend that a person approves anything that goes to customers or changes important data.
Does an AI agent work with our ERP system?
Yes, an AI agent can be connected to most ERP and CRM systems. Relay works with all ERP systems.
Is it safe to give an AI agent access to our data?
It can be, once the guardrails are in place: limited access, human approval and a log of everything the agent does.
How much does an AI agent cost?
It depends on the task and how many systems the agent needs to connect to. Start with one well-defined workflow – then price and benefit can be assessed concretely.
Want to see what it could look like for you?
We are happy to have a no-obligation talk about your day-to-day work and where AI and software can make a difference.
