What Can an Agent Do?
An AI agent is a doer — but what exactly can it do? The honest answer is: a lot! Different agents are built for different kinds of jobs, and those jobs require different kinds of actions. Some agents move things from place to place. Some agents search for information and bring it to you. Some agents send messages, set reminders, sort piles of stuff, or even build things. In this lesson we are going to explore the main categories of actions that AI agents take. Once you know these categories, you will be able to describe what almost any agent does — and maybe even design new ones!
Six Types of Actions Agents Take
Move: Some agents move themselves or move things from one place to another. A delivery robot moves packages down a hallway. A drone moves through the air to take a photo. A self-driving car moves passengers from home to school. Search: Some agents search through enormous amounts of information to find what you need. A web search agent looks through billions of web pages in less than a second to find the best answer. A shopping agent scans thousands of prices to find the cheapest deal. Send: Some agents send messages, emails, or alerts on your behalf. A reminder agent sends a pop-up when it is time for soccer practice. An email agent drafts and sends a reply while you are busy. Remind: Some agents keep track of time and important events so you do not have to. A homework helper app reminds you every night at 7:00 PM. A medicine reminder alerts a grandparent to take their pills. Sort: Some agents organize messy collections into neat groups. A photo app that groups pictures by the person in them is sorting. A spam filter that pushes junk email into a separate folder is sorting. Build: Some agents create new things — like writing a sentence, drawing a picture, or making a piece of music. An AI that writes a first draft of a story is a building agent.
Agents take many kinds of actions: move, search, send, remind, sort, and build. Most agents specialize in one or two of these — but knowing all six helps you understand what any agent can do!
Match each agent to the type of action it mainly takes.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
Here is a fun thing: many agents do more than one type of action at the same time. A smart shopping agent might search for prices, sort them from cheapest to most expensive, and then send you a message about the best deal — all at once! A delivery robot might move through a building, search for the right room, and then send a notification to the recipient when it arrives. When you understand the six action types, you can break down any complex agent into its parts and understand what it is really doing.
Complete each sentence with the correct action type.
When you hear about a new AI agent, try asking: which of the six actions does it take? Move, search, send, remind, sort, or build? The answer tells you a lot about how the agent works and what it can and cannot do.
A reminder app notices it is 6:30 PM on a Tuesday and sends a pop-up: "Basketball practice in 30 minutes!" What type of action is the app taking?
A photo app looks at 500 pictures and puts them into groups: birthday photos, beach photos, and pet photos. What type of action is this?
Action Type Inventor
- You are going to invent six mini AI agents — one for each action type.
- For each action type (move, search, send, remind, sort, build), invent a simple agent that does that action at home or school.
- For example: Move — an agent that puts your backpack by the door every morning.
- Write or draw all six agents.
- Pick your favorite and explain: what is its goal? What does it sense? What action does it take?
- Bonus: can you design one agent that does two action types at once?