AI Automations vs. AI Agents

AI Automations and AI Agents are not the same.

There are 3 different types of systems:

1. Traditional Automation: Conventional procedures that take specific actions but without using AI. These have been around for years. These automations are highly reliable and doesn’t need to make complex decisions in terms of what it should do.

2. AI Automation: Same as above but with some of the steps in the automation using AI. The AI can be used to personalize, filter based on context you provide, etc. AI Automations may be more or less dynamic where AI logic determines the routing/path of the workflow. It can only progress through a sequence you’ve defined and lacks the freedom to define new paths on its own.

3. AI Agents: An AI Agent is a system that use an LLM to make it own choices about what actions to take in what order. The AI gets access to various tools which it uses to complete your request in the simplest way.

Many people think the dynamic aspects of AI automation are AI Agents - this is WRONG! In a nutshell, what makes AI Agents different is that they have their own autonomous decision making capability.