AI Agents Explained: Hype, Reality, and Real Use Cases
July 17, 2026 · 8 min read
An agent plans, uses tools, observes results, and retries. Most "agents" in marketing copy do none of that.
The loop
Plan, act, observe, correct. Without the observe-and-correct step, you have a workflow, not an agent.
Where agents work
Bounded, verifiable tasks: data enrichment, scraping, triage, and repetitive research.
Where they fail
Open-ended goals with no clear success signal. Errors compound quietly across steps.
Cost control
Set step limits and budgets. An unattended loop can burn real money fast.