Agents act. Chatbots answer.
An AI agent can qualify, route, draft, update or trigger work. That power is useful only when the business has clear rules for what the agent may do and when it must stop.
Audit data access first
Most agent projects stall because knowledge lives across inboxes, docs, spreadsheets and heads. Clean sources, permissions and logging matter more than a clever prompt.
Design escalation as a feature
The safest agent is honest about uncertainty. Confidence thresholds, human handoff and visible history protect the customer and the business.