# What Is Agentic AI?

> Agentic AI refers to AI systems that pursue goals autonomously through multi-step reasoning and tool use — the shift from AI that responds to AI that acts.

**Term:** Agentic AI  
**Category:** Fundamentals  
**Also known as:** agentic systems, autonomous AI  
**Updated:** 2026-07-22  
**Canonical:** https://www.frameworkr.com/glossary/agentic-ai

---

**Agentic AI** describes AI systems that pursue goals autonomously — planning, using tools, and adapting across multiple steps — rather than producing a single response to a single prompt.

The term marks a shift in how AI is deployed:

- **Pre-agentic:** AI generates text, images, or code on request. The human orchestrates every step.
- **Agentic:** AI receives a goal, breaks it into steps, selects tools, executes actions, and reports back — with varying degrees of human oversight.

## What makes AI "agentic"

An agentic system typically combines:

- A **reasoning model** (LLM) that can plan and decide
- **Tools** that let it interact with the world (APIs, databases, browsers)
- A **loop** that repeats until the goal is achieved
- **Memory** that persists context across steps

Not every use of an LLM is agentic. A summarization prompt is not agentic. A research assistant that searches the web, reads documents, and writes a report is.

## Agentic AI in business

For operators and founders, agentic AI matters because it changes what can be automated. Tasks that required human judgment at every step — triage, investigation, multi-system coordination — can now be handled by agents with appropriate architecture and guardrails.

## Related reading

Start with [What Is an AI Agent?](/blog/what-is-an-ai-agent) for a concrete walkthrough of agentic behavior in a real workflow.

## Related terms

- [ai agent](https://www.frameworkr.com/glossary/ai-agent.md)
- [agent loop](https://www.frameworkr.com/glossary/agent-loop.md)
- [tool use](https://www.frameworkr.com/glossary/tool-use.md)
- [multi agent system](https://www.frameworkr.com/glossary/multi-agent-system.md)


---

_Published by Frameworkr — https://www.frameworkr.com_