Autonomous Agent

An AI agent that completes multi-step tasks from start to finish without requiring human intervention at each step. Autonomous agents plan their approach, execute using tools and APIs, handle errors, and deliver results independently. The degree of autonomy exists on a spectrum—see Levels of Autonomy (AI Agents)—from copilots (suggest, human executes) to semi-autonomous (execute routine steps, ask for approval on high-stakes ones) to fully autonomous (end-to-end without human input). Most production agents operate in the semi-autonomous (L2–L3) range. Note the distinction from Agent Washing: a product only counts as autonomous if it plans its own steps at runtime, not if a designer scripted the path in advance.