Getting Started with AI
What Is Agentic AI? A Plain-Language Explainer
The plain-language definition
An AI agent is a system that can take multi-step actions toward a goal on its own — not just answering one question, but planning, using tools, and following through across several steps without a human prompting each one.
Why this matters for anyone learning AI right now
Agentic AI is the direction the whole industry is moving — which is why Catalyst students get introduced to basic agent-building, not just prompting, as part of their capstone project.
Understanding agents now, even at a basic level, is what separates AI-literate from AI-fluent.