Chatbots are conversational interfaces that respond to your questions.

AI agents take action in the real world. You might chat with them through some interface, you may not. AI Agents are much more broad in application, in other words.

A chatbot tells you your account balance when asked. An agent monitors your spending patterns, detects unusual activity, and automatically freezes suspicious transactions. Chatbots are reactive, agents are proactive. Agents observe, decide, and act.

The distinction matters because it changes how you design workflows.