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An agent is more than a chatbot. It's a loop: think, act, observe, repeat. This course shows you what agents are, how they work, and how to build your first one. From mental model to working Python code in 10 steps.

1. 01

   Start here: what this course is about

   Welcome to AI Agents 101

   Read first. ~3 minutes.

2. 02

   Start here: what is an AI agent?

   What Are AI Agents? - IBM↗

   IBM's clear definition. If you have used ChatGPT but do not know what an "agent" is, read this first.

3. 03

   The formal definition

   What are AI Agents? - AWS↗

   AWS overview: software that perceives, decides, and acts to achieve goals.

4. 04

   Agent vs chatbot vs LLM

   What are AI agents? Definition, examples, and types - Google Cloud↗

   Google Cloud explains the distinction. Chatbots respond. Agents act. The key conceptual leap.

5. 05

   Agentic AI: the academic view

   Agentic AI, explained - MIT Sloan↗

   MIT Sloan on what agentic AI actually means. The strategic significance, not just the tech definition.

6. 06

   How agents work (with examples)

   What are AI agents? How they work and how to use them - Zapier↗

   Zapier's practical walkthrough. The Perceive-Plan-Act loop. Real workflows that use agents.

7. 07

   How agents think: the ReAct pattern

   ReAct Prompting - Prompt Engineering Guide↗

   Reasoning + Acting. The loop that makes agents work: Thought, Action, Observation, repeat.

8. 08

   ReAct in depth (with examples)

   What is a ReAct Agent? - IBM↗

   IBM walks through ReAct with concrete examples. See the thought process step-by-step.

9. 09

   Hands-on: build your first agent

   A Super Simple ReAct Agent from Scratch↗

   Code-along tutorial. Build a minimal agent in Python. 50 lines of code.

10. 10

    Build an agent with tool use

    Building Your First AI Agent from Scratch: A Practical Guide to ReAct↗

    Add tools (web search, calculator, API calls) to your agent. The pattern that powers production agents.

11. 11

    Using a framework: LangGraph

    ReAct agent from scratch with Gemini and LangGraph↗

    Google's official tutorial. Build the same agent but with LangGraph (faster, production-ready).

12. 12

    State of the art: agents in business 2026

    AI Agents: What They Are and Their Business Impact - BCG↗

    BCG on where AI agents are in 2026, what works in production, where the value actually is. No vendor marketing.

13. 13

    Closing: what to take with you

    Closing: From Prompts to Loops

    Wrap-up. ~3 minutes.

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