AI Agents vs. Chatbots: What's the Difference?

People keep asking me if Siri is an AI agent. The short answer is no, not really. A chatbot is reactive. You ask a question, it gives an answer. It’s like a vending machine. An AI agent is proactive. It has a goal. You tell an AI agent 'I need to increase my sales,' and it will go off, draft emails, schedule follow-ups, analyze customer data, and optimize a campaign without you holding its hand. It’s less about the conversation and more about the execution. Once I understood that distinction, it changed how I thought about using these tools for my business.