AI Systems, Harnesses & Agents

The software around the model: chat interfaces, tool use, retrieval, harnesses and agents that turn a model into a working AI system.

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AI Systems, Harnesses & Agents

ComparisonAI Model vs. Chatbot vs. Harness vs. AgentAn AI model is the component that produces outputs; a chatbot is a conversational application; a harness is the software around a model that manages context and execution; and an agent is a goal-directed system that uses those pieces to choose and carry out steps. They are overlapping layers, not four competing kinds of AI.
ConceptWhat Is Tool Use in LLMs?Tool use in LLMs is a mechanism that lets a language model request an external operation—such as searching a database, running a calculation, or sending a message—and use the returned result in its response. The model usually chooses the tool and supplies proposed inputs; software around the model decides whether to execute the call.
ConceptWhat Is an AI Agent?An AI agent is a software system that pursues a goal by using an AI model to choose its next actions, observe the results, and continue until it finishes, needs help, or reaches a limit. Unlike a model that only produces an answer, an agent can control a multi-step process and act through tools within set permissions.
ConceptWhat Is an AI Chatbot?An AI chatbot is a software application that uses artificial intelligence to hold a conversation with a person through text or voice. It receives messages, uses an AI model to interpret or answer them, and manages the context, rules, data, and actions needed to continue the exchange.
ConceptWhat Is an AI Harness?An AI harness is the software around an AI model that controls what the model receives, what happens to its output, and how the model connects to the rest of an application. It can be as small as code that manages a chat history or as large as a runtime that manages tools, memory, permissions, retries, and long-running work.