How AI Agents Actually Work

AI agents are already part of everyday software — answering questions, sending emails, and automating workflows. This article explains how they work through the perceive–reason–act loop, showing how OpenAI’s API can power agents that make decisions and take action without human input. From perception to reasoning to execution, it breaks down each step, demonstrates a working pseudocode example, and explores how such systems learn, improve, and shape the future of autonomous digital workers.