What Are Ambient Agents?

Unlike traditional chatbots that respond to direct messages, ambient agents are triggered by background events. They can handle multiple such events simultaneously without the immediate response pressure typical of chatbots. This makes them more flexible and context-aware.

How they look like with example

Example: An email agent that autonomously manages your inbox by drafting response messages or giving rescheduling request etc

2 Key Characteristics

• Event-Driven: Ambient agents listen to streams of events-such as emails, calendar updates, document changes, or workflow activities-and take action when relevant triggers are detected, rather than waiting for a user to initiate a conversation or request

• Proactive Assistance: ambient agents identify opportunities to help, such as surfacing relevant information, automating repetitive tasks, or alerting users to important developments

The Human Element

Despite their autonomy, ambient agents still benefit from human oversight:

Managing Ambient Agents

Langchain has developed a prototype called the Agent Inbox, an interface that lets you monitor and manage your agents' actions. This tool makes it easier to interact with agents, enhancing both efficiency and trust.

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Extra material

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Real world example of how it could look from Google Cloud Keynote April 2025

Ambient Agents and the New Agent Inbox ft. Harrison Chase