Chat versus agents
Chat versus agent: what changes
A chatbot answers. An agent can take steps for you, such as searching, opening files or filling forms. That is more useful and more risky.
Answering versus doing
In a chat, you ask and it replies, and you decide what to do with the reply. An agent is given a goal and can take several steps itself, using tools such as web search, files, a browser or other apps.
The line is not sharp, because many chatbots now include some of these tools. Ask one question to tell them apart: can it change something outside the chat without you clicking each step?
Why the risk goes up
A wrong chat answer costs you a few minutes if you catch it. A wrong action, such as an email sent, a file deleted or a form submitted, can be hard to undo.
Agents can also be fooled by text on a web page or in a document that tells them to do something else. Treat anything an agent reads from outside as untrusted.
Try it
Classify a task
For each task below, decide: chat is enough, or you would need an agent?
- Draft a reply to a supplier.
- Check three supplier websites and build a price table.
- Send the reply and update a spreadsheet.
What to look for: The first is chat. The second needs a tool that browses. The third acts for you, so you should review before it runs.
Check yourself
What is the main extra risk of an agent compared with a chatbot?
Show the answer
It can take actions that are hard to undo, and it can be misled by content it reads along the way.
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