AI Agents: what they are and how to use them in business

Definition

An AI Agent is an intelligent system that can perform complex tasks autonomously. Unlike a simple chatbot that responds to predefined questions, an AI agent can:

• Access private and updated knowledge bases
• Integrate existing systems (CRM, email, database)
• Perform concrete actions (create tickets, send emails, update records)
• Make decisions based on rules and context
• Make intelligent handoff to human operators when necessary

Difference between chatbot and AI agents

Human handoff

Handoff to human operator happens automatically when:

• The confidence level of the response is low
• The request is too complex for the agent
• The customer explicitly asks to speak with a person
• Predetermined thresholds are reached (e.g., high order value)

The agent transfers the complete context to the operator: conversation, collected data, identified intents. The operator can continue without losing information.

Tone control

Tone control allows you to configure the style and tone of communication of the AI agent. You can define:

• Formality: formal, informal, professional
• Personality: friendly, technical, empathetic
• Brand-specific terminology
• Guidelines on how to respond to certain situations
• Examples of correct and incorrect responses

The agent maintains consistency with the brand in every interaction, even when managing hundreds of simultaneous conversations.

Privacy + private knowledge

Private knowledge is a customized knowledge base with company-specific information:

• Product and service documentation
• Internal FAQs and business processes
• Policies and guidelines
• Historical data and previous cases

The AI agent accesses only this information, ensuring privacy and accuracy. Data remains the property of the client, is processed according to GDPR, and is not shared or used for training generic models.

Examples AgenVIO