What is an AI agent, and where do SMEs use them most?

An AI agent is software that goes beyond answering a single question — it plans a sequence of steps, calls tools or systems, and carries a task through to completion with minimal human input at each stage. Unlike a chatbot, it acts, not just responds.

For small and mid-sized businesses, adoption tends to cluster around a few high-volume, repetitive areas: customer support (triaging and answering common questions), sales follow-up (qualifying leads and scheduling calls), and back-office admin (data entry, invoice processing, scheduling). These are workflows with clear rules and high repetition, which is exactly where agents deliver value fastest, with a person still reviewing the output before anything reaches a customer.