A chat can show the parcel status or investigate a missing delivery
“My parcel hasn’t arrived. Can you check?” Imagine a customer typing this into a retailer’s chat. In one setup, the system retrieves the tracking status. In another, it investigates the missing delivery and prepares a carrier enquiry. Both have a chat window. This is our illustrative example, not a client case.[S4]
A chatbot can be the interface to an assistant or an agent
The chat window tells us how the customer talks to the system, but not who does the work behind it. An assistant might help a service employee answer the parcel question. An agent could choose which delivery record to inspect next, use a permitted tool and check what it found. Those steps can depend on the results. A fixed workflow can also call tools; tool access alone does not make it an agent.[S2][S4]
These descriptions overlap. SAP shows an assistant coordinating specialised agents. Microsoft describes Copilot Studio agents as AI-powered assistants and offers different ways of building them. The product name does not settle what a particular configuration can do.[S1][S3]
Our comparison of agentic and generative AI uses a delivery query to show which work each setup can take on.
Ask the supplier to handle the same missing parcel
In our example, the investigation system checks the order, then chooses which permitted delivery information to inspect. It might find a tracking gap or conflicting records. It prepares an enquiry only when the evidence supports one. A service employee must approve it before the system opens a carrier case. Missing or contradictory information goes back to that employee.[S4]
For a useful demo, ask the supplier to show which records the system checked, which finding led to the next action, what it changed and who approved it. Repeat the task with a wrong order number and missing tracking data. A fluent reply alone does not show that the underlying task was completed.[S4]
Bring the same parcel question to your next supplier demo
Before the demo, write down what your team needs from this parcel question: a current status, or an investigation ready for approval. Give suppliers the same task and compare what their systems actually do. The narrower setup may be enough if customers only need the status. If exceptions need investigation, our guide to choosing between an agent and a fixed workflow helps you examine those decisions. When an agent joins the team, the role-introduction guide helps you name its owner and limits. These are proposed checks, not measured savings or proof of superior performance.[S4]
