When to use AI agents

Not every AI use case requires agents. This guide helps you decide whether to use AI agents or conversational AI for your specific needs.

When to use conversational AI

Use conversational AI (without AI agent) in the following cases:

The use case is primarily FAQ or informational.
The conversation follows predictable patterns.
The interaction is information-focused without backend operations.
You need strict control over messaging to meet compliance, legal, and brand voice requirements.
Regulatory constraints require the system to behave predictably.

In these cases, use one of the following instead of AI agents:

For knowledge retrieval: Answers chatbots with AI assistant.
For consistent and predictable automation: Rule-based chatbot without AI assistant.

Examples:

Use AI agents in the following cases:

The system needs to perform actions, not just provide information.
Multiple backend systems need to be coordinated.
The workflow involves conditional logic that is too complex for rule-based chatbots.
Multi-step operations require dynamic decision making.
The system needs to adapt to unexpected scenarios.

Examples:

Booking system that checks availability, reserves appointments, and sends confirmations
Order management that tracks shipments, processes returns, and updates inventory
Customer support that retrieves account data, processes refunds, and updates CRM records
Billing assistant that queries payment history, processes payment updates, and generates invoices

Ready to build with AI agents?

Set up your account to get started
Create your first agent using a template for quick start
Plan your implementation to design your agent architecture for production systems

Want to use conversational AI instead?