# What is an AI agent? — QANATONE > An AI agent is an AI system that plans its own steps, uses tools and changes course based on results in order to reach a goal. Kaynak: https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/ai-agent-nedir/ --- [Explainers](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/) # What is an AI agent? 15 Sep 2026 2 min read Applications · AI Agent An AI agent is an AI system that plans its own steps, uses tools and changes course based on results in order to reach a goal. ## What is an AI agent? A chat assistant answers your question. An agent does a job for you. Say "collect last month's invoices and draft reminder emails for the unpaid ones", and an agent connects to the accounting system, pulls the invoices, separates the unpaid ones, writes the emails and presents them for your approval. If a step fails, it tries another way. ## How does it work? At the center of an agent sit a [language model](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/buyuk-dil-modelleri-nedir/) and a loop: - Plan: the model breaks the goal into steps. - Act: it calls a tool, such as an API, a database, a web browser or an email system, using [function calling](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/function-calling-nedir/). - Observe: it reads what the tool returned. - Decide: it checks whether the goal is reached and picks the next step. The loop runs until the job is done or the agent needs human approval, and the agent keeps track of what it has done in its [memory](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/ai-memory-nedir/). ## Where are agents used? Common examples today are assistants that handle customer requests and book appointments or route them to the right team, systems that classify incoming email and open CRM records, coding agents that write code and run tests, and research agents that search the web and prepare reports. Coordinating several agents that work together is called [orchestration](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/orkestrasyon-nedir/). The [AI agents](https://www.qanatone.com/en/hizmetler/ai-ajan/) QANATONE builds are of this kind: they answer incoming demand around the clock, qualify it and route it to the right person. ## Risks and limits Because an agent acts in real systems, its mistakes have real consequences, such as an email sent to the wrong person or an invoice issued for the wrong amount. Agents therefore get only the permissions they need, critical steps like payments and customer messages require human approval, and every action is logged. All of this is part of the [guardrail](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/guardrail-nedir/) layer. Agents can also still lose their way on long, open ended tasks. ## More articles [Web · Cookies ### What is a cookie on a website? 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/cerez-nedir/)[Core Concept · Context Window ### What is a context window in AI? 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/context-window-nedir/)[Business · Digitalization ### What is digitalization? How it differs from transformation 15 Sep 2026 · 1 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/dijitallesme-ne-demek/)[Architecture · Embedding ### What is an embedding? Turning meaning into numbers 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/embedding-nedir/)[Guide · AI Tools ### Which is the best AI? A guide to choosing the right tool 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/en-iyi-yapay-zeka/)[Prompting · Few-shot ### What is few-shot prompting? 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/few-shot-nedir/)[Model Training · Fine-tuning ### What is fine-tuning and when do you need it? 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/fine-tuning-nedir/)[Architecture · Memory ### What is memory in AI assistants and agents? 15 Sep 2026 · 2 min](https://www.qanatone.com/en/nedir/ai-memory-nedir/)