Investors have poured money into startups developing AI agents that can complete tasks rather than answer questions like chatbots, after the success of ChatGPT. Companies like Klarna, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI are working on AI assistants that can handle more complex multi-step tasks rather than single responses. Experts define AI agents as tools that can make decisions and complete work without constant human oversight, going beyond chatbots. Some argue the concept of a general-purpose AI assistant is overhyped, and widespread adoption of AI agents will take time as developers aim to improve the tools and build user trust significantly.