In the world of AI, there are different kinds of AI. You've probably used ChatGPT or Gemini, they are in group of Generative AI's. It means that they generate a content, wether a simple answer of making a photo or gives you a website codes. But there's a new type of AI that's much more interesting in my opinion. It's called "Agentic AI," and it can actually do things for you, not just chat with you. It's an Agent ;)
In this guide, you'll learn what Agentic AI is and how to build your own simple AI agent, even if you've never written code before.
What is Agentic AI?
Think about the difference between asking a friend for advice versus hiring someone to do a job for you.
Regular AI: The Friend Who Gives Advice
When you use ChatGPT or a regular chatbot, it's like talking to a knowledgeable friend who reads many many books and can answer any questions that you may have. You ask questions, and it gives you answers. But that's where it stops. If you want to book a flight, it can tell you how to do it, but you still have to open the airline website and do all the clicking yourself.
Agentic AI: The Person Who Gets Things Done
Agentic AI is different. It's like hiring someone to actually do the work. You can say "Book me a flight to Tehran next week," and it will:
- Figure out what information it needs
- Ask you the right questions
- Search for flights
- Actually make the booking
- Confirm everything with you
The key difference? Regular AI talks about doing things. Agentic AI actually does them.
What Makes Agentic AI Special?
Agentic AI has three superpowers that regular AI doesn't have:
1. It Can Think in Steps
Imagine you ask it to "plan a birthday party." A regular AI would just give you suggestions. But an Agentic AI breaks it down into steps:
- First, I need to know the date and budget
- Then I'll search for venues
- Next, I'll look for caterers
- Finally, I'll send out invitations
It creates a plan and follows it, just like a real person would.
2. It Can Use Tools
This is the game-changer. Agentic AI can connect to other software and websites to actually do things. How Agentic AI connects to other sites or tools? OfCourse, API. Agentic AI can:
- Send emails through Gmail
- Search the internet
- Update spreadsheets
- Book appointments
- Make purchases
- And much more
Without tools, AI is trapped inside a chat box like Generative AI's.
3. It Can Learn from Mistakes
When an Agentic AI tries something and it doesn't work, it notices. It thinks: "That didn't work. What went wrong? How can I do better next time?" Then it tries a different approach.
This is like when you learn to cook. The first time you burn the toast, you remember to watch it more carefully next time.
How to Build Your Own Simple AI Agent
Now for the exciting part of this blog post, I'll show you exactly how to create a simple AI agent that can actually do something useful. We'll build a Weather Assistant that not only tells you the weather but can also send you a text message if it's going to rain.
What You'll Need
- A computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux)
- Claude or ChatGPT account (the free version works)
- About 30 minutes of your time
Don't worry, It's not complicated at all, as i said, only 30 minutes it takes.
Step 1: Choose What Your AI Agent Will Do
First, decide on a simple task. For this guide, i'll create an AI agent that:
- Checks the weather for your city
- Tells you if you need an umbrella
- Can send you a reminder if rain is coming
This is simple but useful, and you'll understand all the concepts.
Step 2: Set Up Your AI Agent (Using Claude)
Open Claude (at claude.ai) and give it these instructions. Copy and paste this:
You are a Weather Assistant AI agent. Your job is to help people prepare for the weather.
You have access to these tools:
1. check_weather(city) - Gets current weather for a city
2. send_reminder(message) - Sends a text reminder to the user
When someone asks about the weather:
- Use check_weather to get current conditions
- Tell them the temperature and conditions
- If it's going to rain, ask if they want a reminder
- If they say yes, use send_reminder to send them a message
Always be helpful and proactive. If you see rain in the forecast, suggest they bring an umbrella.
This is called a "system prompt." It tells the AI what its job is and what tools it can use.
Step 3: Create the Tools (The Easy Way)
Now we need to connect real tools to your AI. Here's the beginner-friendly way:
For the Weather Tool:
- Go to weatherapi.com and sign up for a free account
- You'll get an "API key" (it's like a password that lets your AI get weather data)
- Use a service like Make.com or Zapier (both have free plans) to connect the weather API
For the Reminder Tool:
- Use a service like Twilio (free tier available) or IFTTT
- Set it up to send you a text message when triggered
If this sounds complicated, don't worry! There's an even easier way which i used a lot:
Use Claude with the Anthropic API (it has built-in tool calling)
Here's a complete example you can copy:
I want you to act as my weather agent.
When I ask about weather, follow these steps:
1. Ask me which city I want to check
2. Pretend to check the weather (in a real setup, you'd use weatherapi.com)
3. Tell me the conditions
4. If it might rain, offer to remind me
Let's start with a simulated version. I'll tell you to "check weather for London" and you'll simulate the process.
Step 4: Test Your Agent
Now talk to your AI agent like it's a real assistant:
You: "What's the weather like in London today?"
AI Agent: "Let me check that for you. [Uses weather tool] It's currently 15°C and cloudy in London. There's a 70% chance of rain this afternoon. Would you like me to send you a reminder to bring an umbrella?"
You: "Yes please"
AI Agent: "Done! I've set up a reminder that will text you at noon to bring your umbrella."
Step 5: Make It Real (Next Level)
Once you understand how it works, you can make it actually functional:
- Sign up for API access to Claude or GPT-4 (costs a few dollars)
-
Use a no-code tool like Zapier or Make.com to connect:
- Weather API for real weather data
- SMS service for real text messages
- Set up the workflow so when you message the AI, it triggers the actual tools
Many no-code platforms now have AI agent templates you can copy and customize.
Real Example Tools You Can Connect
Here are services that work with AI agents (most have free tiers):
- Weather: OpenWeatherMap, WeatherAPI
- Email: Gmail API, SendGrid
- Calendar: Google Calendar, Outlook
- Messages: Twilio, Telegram Bot API
- Reminders: Todoist, IFTTT
- Smart Home: Philips Hue, IFTTT
What Else Can You Build?
Once you understand the basics, you can create agents for almost anything:
Personal Assistant Agent
- Checks your calendar
- Reads your emails
- Schedules meetings
- Sets reminders
Shopping Agent
- Monitors prices on websites
- Notifies you of deals
- Can add items to your cart
- Tracks deliveries
Home Automation Agent
- Controls smart lights
- Adjusts thermostat
- Locks doors
- Monitors security cameras
Research Agent
- Searches multiple websites
- Summarizes articles
- Saves interesting content
- Creates reports
Alternate Solution
Ai world is growing so fast, each day i check news and i saw new tools in every sections. Recently i work with new tool, n8n (short for “node-to-node”) which is an open-source workflow automation tool that lets you connect apps, APIs, and services together without heavy coding—similar to Zapier or Make, but self-hosted and more flexible. In other word :
“When this happens → do that → then this other thing”
In previous example that i told you, you may have pay a little but for your personal use, n8n wont charge you anything. Here is a sample of n8n workflow:
Common Questions
Q: Do I need to know programming?
A: Not necessarily! Many no-code tools now let you build AI agents by connecting blocks together, like Lego. However, knowing basic programming helps you build more powerful agents.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: You can start completely free using Claude or ChatGPT directly. Building more advanced agents with APIs costs a few dollars per month. n8n is also open-source.
Q: Is it safe?
A: Start with simple, harmless tasks. Don't give your AI agent access to sensitive accounts (like your bank) until you really understand how it works. I am still using it under testing condition because i think we have to check it completely, maybe there were any security issues, but as i follow that, there is not any major problems till now.
Q: How long does it take to build one?
A: A simple agent like the weather assistant? About 30 minutes. A more complex personal assistant? Maybe a few hours to a day.
Your Next Steps
Ready to build your first AI agent? Here's what to do:
- Start simple - Try the weather assistant example above
- Experiment - Ask the AI to do different things and see how it responds
- Add one tool - Connect a real API (weather is the easiest)
- Share your results - Show friends and family what you built
- Level up - Once comfortable, try connecting two or three tools together
Wrapping Up
Agentic AI is transforming how we interact with technology. Instead of being tools we use, AI agents are becoming digital helpers that work for us.
The best part? The technology is here now, and it's getting easier to use every day. You don't need a computer science degree to build useful AI agents. You just need curiosity to experiment.
Start small, learn by doing, and soon you'll have your own AI agent handling tasks for you while you focus on what matters most.
There is always a concern when people see these kind of improvements and technologies. Maybe you think Agentic Ai's are starting of replacing humans with computers and robots but i am not agree with this at all. In these kind of situations, i always think about Internet Taxi Systems like Uber. Years ago there is not any things like them and people raise their hands for Taxi drivers and they saw them and pick them up and takes them to their destinations. does that kind of Taxi cars and drivers are now jobless? Of course not, they improved themselves and now using Uber or other stuffs like that. What if a taxi driver stand in front of these change for example because they cant work with smartphones to install required apps? yes, they became jobless. So i think AI and it's relevant technologies like Agentic AI's will not make us jobless, we have to use that to make our life more easier.
So Your first agent is just one conversation away. What Agent you want to make for yourself?
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