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AI assistant
An AI assistant is a conversational system that can use tools, such as searching the web or checking a calendar, in addition to replying in natural language.
Prerequisite: Chatbot
What matters
Tool use is what lets an assistant go beyond generating text to actually retrieving current information or performing a bounded action on the user's behalf.
Example
An assistant that checks your actual calendar before answering 'Am I free Thursday?' is using a tool, not just guessing from conversation context.
Common misconception
An AI assistant is not the same as a fully autonomous agent; it typically acts only in direct response to a specific user request, one step at a time.
Recall question
What does tool use let an AI assistant do that a plain chatbot cannot?
Keywords and related concepts
AI assistanttool useconversational AIchatbot