https://guides.derekleeds.cloud/tags/agents/Recent content in Agents on Derek's GuidesHugoenSat, 13 Jun 2026 13:00:53 -0500https://guides.derekleeds.cloud/docs/ai/ai-llms-agents-primer/Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://guides.derekleeds.cloud/docs/ai/ai-llms-agents-primer/<p>If you have heard people talk about <strong>AI</strong>, <strong>LLMs</strong>, <strong>ChatGPT</strong>, <strong>Claude</strong>, or <strong>agents</strong>, it can feel like everyone is using the same words to mean different things.</p> <p>That is because they often are.</p> <p>This guide is a practical, non-hype primer. It is written for someone who wants to understand what these tools are, how they differ, when they are useful, and when to be careful.</p> <h2 id="the-short-version">The short version</h2> <ul> <li><strong>AI</strong> is the broad category: software that performs tasks we associate with intelligence.</li> <li><strong>Machine learning</strong> is one way to build AI: systems learn patterns from data instead of being hand-coded for every rule.</li> <li><strong>Large language models</strong>, or <strong>LLMs</strong>, are machine learning models trained to work with language.</li> <li><strong>ChatGPT</strong>, <strong>Claude</strong>, <strong>Gemini</strong>, and similar products are applications built around LLMs.</li> <li><strong>Agents</strong> are LLM-based systems that can use tools, follow goals, and sometimes take actions on your behalf.</li> </ul> <p>A normal chatbot answers.</p>https://guides.derekleeds.cloud/docs/ai/what-ai-agents-actually-are/Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://guides.derekleeds.cloud/docs/ai/what-ai-agents-actually-are/<p>An AI chatbot answers questions.</p> <p>An AI agent can do things.</p> <p>That is the simplest difference.</p> <p>A chatbot might help you write an email. An agent might draft the email, find the recipient, attach the file, and ask whether it should send it.</p> <p>That extra ability is powerful. It is also where the safety conversation gets real.</p> <h2 id="the-short-version">The short version</h2> <p>An <strong>AI agent</strong> is an AI system that can:</p> <ol> <li>understand a goal,</li> <li>decide what steps might help,</li> <li>use tools,</li> <li>inspect the results,</li> <li>adjust its plan,</li> <li>and sometimes take action.</li> </ol> <p>A normal chatbot mostly talks.</p>