What is an AI Teammate? How It Differs From Chatbots and Agents

A chatbot answers when asked, inside one window, and usually forgets the conversation afterwards. An AI Teammate holds a standing role, works in your existing channels, remembers across runs, and acts on schedules and events without a prompt. It can also carry out multi-step work across business systems, within the permissions it has been given.

An AI agent is the broader idea: software that reasons and takes actions toward a goal, often for one task at a time. An AI Teammate is a persistent colleague built on that idea. It adds a role, an identity people can address, memory across runs, and permissions that resemble those of a member of staff.

They can be, if access is designed carefully. Grant only the systems the role needs, require approval for anything consequential, keep credentials out of the model's reach, and record every action. Start with the Teammate asking first for most actions, then widen what it may do alone as you review how it performs.

Recurring responsibilities that cross several systems and need judgment are the best fit: following up, keeping records current, answering status questions, and preparing reports. Work that is fixed and high-volume may suit a designed workflow better. Decisions that need human accountability should stay with people, with the Teammate preparing the groundwork for them.