Are AI Agents the same as bots?

[sean-roberts]

To be clear, we're referring to agents. Not the systems that crawl the web to aggregate data or generate data for the purpose of training LLMs. We're talking about the agents that are delegated to do an action on behalf of end users.

[sean-roberts]

I do believe that treating agents like traditional bots of old misses an important aspect. Traditional bots are doing something with the intent to serve some external entities gain (scraping content, attacks, etc.). Agents, while leveraging similar systems, are serving a site's end consumer. When I use an agent to shop, I'm still the customer of the shop. As the shop owner, I want to give the best experience therefore it's in my best interest to provide an AX that supports them providing a good experience to the end user. Because my target customer is now using an agent to help make a purchase, if I shut my door to their delegated system, I'm telling them to shop somewhere else that does support this.

[ndaeila]

I think your differentiation here hits it on the nail - though the data collected by Web Scrapers used to train LLMs (and the ways in which the LLM prioritizes this source data) is its own interesting vertical...

To add to what you mentioned, future AI agents will still need multiple ways to interact with systems beyond just APIs. Since many websites haven’t yet standardized their infrastructure for AI compatibility, modern AI agents will have to retrofit their systems to work with the systems meant for human interaction.

Essentially, agents will require some form of scraper-like technology or automation tools that bridge the gap between incompatible websites primarily prioritizing ole' user experience—at least until the day all sites evolve to support direct AI Agent interaction.

[sean-roberts]

Totally. This is where I'd like to see the industry lean more into the ideas of content negotiation and such. Requesting the optimal formats but allowing fallback to less optimized ones.

[quarterback]

This is a solid distinction, and I think framing agents as fundamentally user-serving systems is key here. Traditional bots—scrapers, crawlers, even malicious actors—are typically operating in an adversarial relationship with the systems they interact with. Agents, on the other hand, are extensions of user intent, which shifts the dynamic entirely.

[sean-roberts]

Yea I agree!