Glossary
Agent
A system that can select steps and use tools toward a goal.
Reviewed as part of AI Agent Safety Terms in Market Tools, using the primary references listed below. Updated 2026-07-19.
Plain-English meaning
Agent is used here to describe a system that can select steps and use tools toward a goal. In the daily board, the word is grouped by the role it performs rather than by spelling or market popularity.
You may encounter it in a product interface, technical document, risk report, policy paper, or market dashboard. The term is included for recognition and comparison, not as a product recommendation.
Important boundary
An agent is more than a text model because it can interact with external systems.
When this word appears in a report, identify the mechanism being described before treating the label as a conclusion. Similar terms can point to different causes, controls, or outcomes.
Why it belongs with Agentic Workflows
These words describe how an assistant decomposes tasks, uses tools, and maintains context.
When solving the puzzle, compare the job this term performs with nearby cards. A correct group usually shares a function, risk type, workflow, or market structure rather than simply sharing similar wording.
Where you might see it
You might encounter this term while reading educational explainers, product documentation, risk disclosures, market dashboards, or beginner guides. Always separate vocabulary learning from financial decision-making.
Reading cue
Designing an agent that can research but cannot silently trade
Use the full guide's applied scenario to ask where Agent enters the process, what evidence supports it, and which nearby concept it could be confused with.
Read the complete applied scenarioNearby concepts
Compare before you memorize
Human in the loop
A required human review or approval at a defined control point.
A person merely watching a dashboard is not the same as enforced approval.Permission scope
The exact resources and actions available to a tool or identity.
Prompt instructions are guidance; permissions are an enforceable boundary.Audit trail
A record of inputs, decisions, tool calls, approvals, and results.
Logging explains what happened but does not prevent an unsafe action by itself.Knowledge check
Check the distinction
Where should a transaction-size limit be enforced?
In deterministic application or account controls outside the model, not only in a prompt.
Source trail
References behind this explanation
These references support the surrounding guide and concept boundaries. Open the full source when you need the original technical or policy context.