--- title: "AI agent, assistant or chatbot: what is the difference? — MING Labs" description: "A chatbot enables a conversation. An assistant supports a task. An AI agent can choose next steps and carry them out using permitted tools. The labels overlap" canonical: https://www.minglabs.com/insights/concepts/ai-agent-vs-assistant-vs-chatbot lang: en last-updated: 2026-10-16 --- # AI agent, assistant or chatbot: what is the difference? [Home](/) [Insights](/insights) [Concepts](/insights/concepts) AI agent, assistant or chatbot: what is the difference? [English](/insights/concepts/ai-agent-vs-assistant-vs-chatbot)[Deutsch](/de/insights/concepts/ki-agent-assistent-chatbot-unterschied) Concept A chatbot enables a conversation. An assistant supports a task. An AI agent can choose next steps and carry them out using permitted tools. The labels overlap: a chatbot may front an assistant that coordinates several agents. To choose a system, inspect the work it actually takes on, what it may change and when a person intervenes. \[S1\]\[S2\]\[S4\] Last updated: 16 October 2026 | Next review: November 2026 Sources and illustrative MING method [Machine-readable record ](/insights/concepts/ai-agent-vs-assistant-vs-chatbot.json) Marc Seefelder · Founding Partner, MING Labs An illustrative example The same chat can show a status or prepare an investigation. “My parcel hasn’t arrived. Can you check?” Show the tracking status 1. Read the tracking record 2. Show the latest status in chat 3. A person takes over any further steps. Investigate the missing delivery 1. Check the order and choose what to inspect next 2. Prepare an enquiry to the carrier 3. Service team approves 4. Open the case and show its reference. Missing or conflicting information goes back to the service team. Two chosen configurations, not a ranking of chatbot, assistant and agent. Opening an investigation needs human approval in this example. Proposed by MING Labs \[S4\]. ## 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.[\[S4\]](#source-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.[\[S2\]](#source-s2)[\[S4\]](#source-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.[\[S1\]](#source-s1)[\[S3\]](#source-s3) Our [comparison of agentic and generative AI](/insights/concepts/agentic-ai-vs-generative-ai) uses a delivery query to show which work each setup can take on. ## What task should your suppliers demonstrate? Discuss a task from your team with MING and the result you want to use to compare the offers. [Discuss my AI task](/contact?type=project&topic=agent-supplier-demo) Tell us what you have in mind. We will respond personally. ## 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.[\[S4\]](#source-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.[\[S4\]](#source-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](/insights/answers/when-should-you-use-an-ai-agent-instead-of-workflow-automation) helps you examine those decisions. When an agent joins the team, the [role-introduction guide](/insights/answers/how-do-you-introduce-ai-agents-into-your-company) helps you name its owner and limits. These are proposed checks, not measured savings or proof of superior performance.[\[S4\]](#source-s4) ## Compare AI offers using a task from your own team Bring one task and the offers you are considering. We can discuss the result the system should deliver, what it may change and how your colleagues will check the work. [Discuss my AI task](/contact?type=project&topic=agent-supplier-demo) Tell us what you have in mind. We will respond personally. [Compare agents and fixed workflows first ](/insights/answers/when-should-you-use-an-ai-agent-instead-of-workflow-automation) ## Sources \[S1\] [KI-Agenten vs. KI-Assistenten](https://www.sap.com/germany/resources/ai-agents-vs-ai-assistants) SAP · 2026-07-24 Supports: An assistant can coordinate specialised agents \[S2\] [Building effective agents](https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/building-effective-agents) Anthropic · 2024-12-19 Supports: Predefined workflows, dynamically chosen steps and human checkpoints \[S3\] [Agents overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/agents-overview) Microsoft Learn · 2026-10-01 Supports: Different operating approaches under overlapping product labels \[S4\] Illustrative parcel example and proposed demo checks MING Labs · 2026-10-14 Supports: Example, permissions and handovers; no measured client outcomes ## Frequently asked questions Is a Copilot automatically an AI agent? The name is not enough. Inspect the particular product and configuration: does it choose next steps, follow fixed paths or only answer questions? Microsoft documents different approaches within Copilot Studio. \[S3\] Can people use an AI agent through a chatbot? Yes. The chat window is the interface; the system behind it can use tools and agents. The conversational format alone reveals neither its permissions nor its freedom to choose actions. \[S1\]\[S2\] Can an agent still require human approval? Yes. Human checkpoints are compatible with agentic systems. In our example, the system chooses its investigation steps but needs approval before opening a carrier case. \[S2\]\[S4\] ## Available actions - **Copy content for my AI**: copies the [AI briefing](https://www.minglabs.com/insights/concepts/ai-agent-vs-assistant-vs-chatbot.md) to the clipboard in the browser. --- Canonical: https://www.minglabs.com/insights/concepts/ai-agent-vs-assistant-vs-chatbot Machine-readable index: https://www.minglabs.com/llms.txt