Ep. 52: AI Agents Explained (For Non-Coders)

Prompting Curiosity

Ep. 52: AI Agents Explained (For Non-Coders)

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In this episode I break down what AI agents actually are and how they differ from regular chat tools. Before diving in, I run through the recent flood of new model releases from Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI, including the full story on the Fable 5 suspension and reinstatement. The episode ends with a practical mini cheatsheet on when an agent is actually the right tool for your workflow.

Main Topics Covered

• The eleventy billion releases: Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI
• Fable 5: the jailbreak, the suspension, and the fix
• GPT-5.6, Grok 4.5, and what this means for everyday users
• So WTF is an agent?
• "Building an agent" and "spinning up agents" explained
• Is regular Claude an agent?
• Human-in-the-loop
• You're probably already using one
• Do you need an agent? (mini cheatsheet)
• How I used AI this week: Tom's Switzerland itinerary

Links & Resources for This Episode

• Listen to Ep. 11: WTF is a Custom GPT?
• Listen to Ep. 48: When the Most Powerful Model Comes With a Bouncer
• Read this episode's Curious Companion
• Subscribe to the Prompting Curiosity newsletter
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.