What is an AI agent

0:00 I'll show you how to set it up for free in just a minute, but first, let's get on the same page about what an AI agent actually is. So AI agent can mean different things depending on who you're talking to. So for this video, I really mean a digital process that starts to feel like a real teammate doing work for us. That boils down to about three characteristics. First is they have reasoning skills. Unlike an AI chatbot, which you would detail explicit steps to, agents can take in a goal and figure out the best way to achieve that goal.

0:29 In this example, the agent could first make sure that the article is relevant, the tone and format works for LinkedIn, it checks its work, et cetera. It figures out what you meant versus just doing what you said. The second is they have tool access. Unlike chatbots, they can actually do things like move money around, email someone, order something for you, or make a post on social media. Third is they have memory. They maintain context throughout a task and even multiple tasks.

1:01 So they learn from past mistakes just like we do. Now if that starts to feel like these agents will replace you, I honestly can't say whether they will or won't. But the more you know about them, the more they can enhance and support you. Now we're going to build an AI agent in N8N. N8N is a workflow automation tool like Zapier or make.com. After you sign up, you get a 14 day free trial and up to a thousand workflow executions for free.

1:34 But if you're willing to do just a little more work, I'll show you how to run it for free. First, go to