20 Agentic AI Terms Every Developer Should Know (Explained Simply)
Do you ever feel like the AI world has moved forward a little too quickly? You hear about self-healing systems and autonomous agents and start wondering whether we've already built Skynet or everyone around you is just messing with you. When someone mentions HITL or MCP, you no longer know whether it's some secret code used by an AI cult or maybe the stage names of famous DJs. You're not alone!…
1. AI Agent
An AI system that can receive a goal and determine how to achieve it. This differs from basic chatbots which only generate one response. For example, Elon Mózg, our billionaire protagonist, could ask his AI agent to "Build a base on Mars." While a chatbot might give an unrealistic response, the AI agent would research available rocket launch slots, assess the technical condition of rockets, recruit engineers, and order necessary equipment.
2. Agentic Workflow
An agentic workflow is a multi-step process where AI performs parts of the work. The steps can be largely predefined by a developer. Instead of the simple "user → prompt → LLM → response" sequence, an agentic workflow could be: "trigger → get data → LLM analyzes data → make a decision → call a tool → LLM generates summary → send result."
For Elon Mózg, who runs several companies, an example of an agentic workflow would be generating a morning briefing. The workflow involves gathering data from various sources (car sales, rocket launch status, AI company updates), analyzing the information, selecting the most important updates, summarizing them, and sending the report to Elon.
3. Agent Loop
An agent loop is a mechanism that allows an AI agent to perform an action, observe the result, and decide the next step based on what occurred. In simplified form: "decide → act → observe → decide → act → observe → ...". This loop continues until the agent achieves its goal or is instructed to stop. Elon Mózg frequently asks his agent to find him a free evening.
Initially, the agent couldn't find an available evening, but after checking the calendar, meeting conflicts, and other events, the agent concluded that Saturday evening is free. Elon then instructs the agent to schedule a meeting for that evening, initiating another agent loop.
4. Tool Calling
Tool calling is a feature that allows LLMs to search the internet, access external tools, and retrieve information. While LLMs are sophisticated, they're not omnipotent. Elon Mózg's AI agent might need to call tools to gather data from the internet, search databases, analyze information, or perform other tasks beyond generating text.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
