---
title: "AI agent: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?"
description: "AI agent: Software that carries out a task on the web for one person, right now: it reads pages, fills forms, compares options and sometimes pays."
canonical: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/ai-agent
site: "Am I Ready for Agents?"
last_updated: 2026-11-04
section: "Glossary"
---

# AI agent: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?

> AI agent: Software that carries out a task on the web for one person, right now: it reads pages, fills forms, compares options and sometimes pays.

Source: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/ai-agent
Site: Am I Ready for Agents?
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04

# AI agent

## In short

An AI agent is the visitor every decision on this site is about: software acting for one person, right now. Read on in What agents do today. Compare it with AI crawler and Agent journey and Connector. Meta's Muse runs on its own virtual machine with a browser and returns for approval before a purchase (8 Sep 2026).

## Definition

Software that carries out a task on the web for one person, right now: it reads pages, fills forms, compares options and sometimes pays. Different from a crawler, which collects pages in bulk.

## A dated example

-   Read 4 Nov 2026
    
    Meta's Muse runs on its own virtual machine with a browser and returns for approval before a purchase (8 Sep 2026).
    
    [Meta: Introducing Muse (8 Sep 2026)](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/), read 4 Nov 2026
    

## Where it matters

It is the visitor every decision on this site is about: software acting for one person, right now.

-   [What agents do today](https://amireadyforagents.com/what-agents-do)
-   [The self-check](https://amireadyforagents.com/self-check)

## Related terms

-   [AI crawler](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/ai-crawler)A bot that collects pages in bulk on its own schedule, to train a model or build an AI search index.
-   [Agent journey](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/agent-journey)A recorded run in which an agent is given a real task on a site, with every step, stall and outcome logged.
-   [Connector](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/connector)A link between a personal agent and a service, so the agent can use that service directly with the user's permission.

## Sources

1.  [Meta: Introducing Muse (8 Sep 2026)](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/) (about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent), read 4 Nov 2026.

Last reviewed 4 November 2026

Reviewed 4 November 2026. [1 source](#sources), each with the day it was read.