A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Agentic AI

Agentic AI: My Journey Through the New World of Self-Driving Software

I've been messing around with these new AI tools lately—the ones that can actually do stuff on their own—and honestly, it's blowing my mind. They're calling it "agentic AI" which sounds fancy, but it's basically just AI that doesn't sit around waiting for you to tell it exactly what to do next.

So like... imagine having an assistant who not only understands what you want but figures out how to get it done without you micromanaging every step? That’s what we’re talking about here.

I thought I'd share some Python frameworks I've been playing with (they're not perfect, but they're pretty darn cool). My tech lead at work keeps saying these will change everything, and for once she might not be exaggerating!

1. AutoGPT: The Independent Worker Bee

This one's my favorite for when I need something done but don't wanna babysit the process. You basically give it a goal and it figures out the rest.

from autogpt import GPTAgent

my_agent = GPTAgent(name="NewsBot")
my_agent.set_goal("Find me the weirdest tech news from last week")
stuff_it_found = my_agent.run()
print(stuff_it_found)

I tried this for research on a client project and it went down some rabbit holes I wouldn't have thought of. Kind of like having an eager intern who occasionally gets distracted but ultimately delivers.

2. LangChain: The Swiss Army Knife

Ever wish your AI could just Google something when it doesn't know the answer? LangChain lets your AI use tools like search engines, calculators, or whatever else you plug in. My buddy from the NYU AI lab swears by this one.

from langchain.agents import initialize_agent
from langchain.llms import OpenAI

llm = OpenAI(temperature=0.7)
agent = initialize_agent(llm, tools=[], agent_type="chat-zero-shot")
response = agent.run("Why do cats purr?")
print(response)

I've used this to build a chatbot for my mom's small business—it can check inventory, process returns, and even look up shipping rates without me having to code each of those functions separately.

3. AutoGen: The Team Player

This is weird but cool—AutoGen lets you create a whole team of AIs that talk to each other. Kinda like that scene in Her where the AIs start hanging out without humans? Except less creepy (I think).

from autogen import AssistantAgent

assistant = AssistantAgent("CodeHelper")
user_proxy = UserProxyAgent("Me")
user_proxy.initiate_chat(assistant, message="How would I optimize this database query?")

Not gonna lie, watching two AI agents debate the best way to solve a problem while I grab coffee is both unsettling and awesome.

4. SuperAGI: The Enterprise Solution

If your boss is breathing down your neck about "AI transformation" or whatever buzzword is making the rounds, SuperAGI might save your bacon. It's got a dashboard and everything, which makes the higher-ups happy.

from superagi import Agent

agent = Agent(name="CustomerHelper")
agent.train(data="customer_history.csv")
agent.run(task="Find upsell opportunities")

My friend at Microsoft says they're using something similar for internal knowledge management, but who knows if that's true or just corporate flex.

5. BabyAGI: For Weekend Projects

When I'm just messing around on a Sunday and want to try something without a million dependencies, BabyAGI is my go-to. It's super simple but still lets you get a feel for what these agentic systems can do.

from babyagi import BabyAGI

task = "Plan my vacation to Thailand"
agent = BabyAGI(task)
agent.execute()

I built a little meal planner with this in about an hour! It wasn't perfect—kept suggesting I eat salmon for breakfast lol—but for a quick prototype it was impressive.

So Which One Should You Try First?

• AutoGPT if you want an AI that works independently
• LangChain if you need to connect to external tools
• AutoGen if you're curious about multi-agent setups
• SuperAGI if you need something presentable to management
• BabyAGI if you just wanna dip your toes in

I'm still learning all this stuff myself, and these frameworks change like every week (ugh). But even with their quirks, they're already useful for real work. Yesterday I had an AutoGPT agent summarize 50 research papers while I binged Succession, and the summaries were actually good!

Would love to hear if anyone else is experimenting with these. Are there other frameworks I should check out? Has anyone tried using these for creative projects rather than just business stuff? Drop me a comment!