ACE-AG-12BeginnerTier 1 · Core
AI Agents vs Chatbots: Understanding the Difference
Understand the practical difference between AI agents and chatbots, including what each is designed to do.
What you’ll explore
- Explain the difference between a chatbot and an AI agent in plain language, grounded in tools they already use
- Identify the use cases where chatbots are sufficient versus where agents genuinely add value
- Design an appropriate human checkpoint for an agent task, matched to its real stakes
- Apply a simple three-question decision framework to choose the right tool for a given need
- Articulate a clear, written technology choice for their most immediate use case, with a defensible rationale
Course outline
01Chatbots You Know: What They Do and Don't Do60 min
02AI Agents: What Changes When AI Can Act60 min
03Agents in Action: Autonomy, Oversight and What Can Go Wrong60 min
04Choosing the Right Tool for Your Need60 min
05Your Decision and Next Steps60 min
Who it’s for
Non-technical business professionals comparing AI options for their organisation Anyone who has heard the term "AI agent" a lot recently and wants a precise, honest answer to what it actually means Team leads and small-business owners weighing up a real chatbot-or-agent decision right now