Digital Transformation Consultant Explains Chatbots and AI Agents

Digital transformation consultant Mohamed El-Harthy has highlighted a fundamental distinction between conventional chatbots and intelligent agents, referring to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude as examples of conversational AI tools.

The distinction concerns how AI is used: a chatbot typically responds to a user’s questions or instructions, while an intelligent agent is designed to work towards a goal through a sequence of actions.

In general, an agent can use connected tools to carry out tasks rather than simply describe how to complete them. Its ability to act depends on the access, permissions and capabilities built into the system.

The boundary is not absolute, however. Conversational AI products can also include agent-like functions, so a chat interface alone does not determine whether a system only provides answers or can take action on a user’s behalf.