Introduction to Agents

Welcome to this first unit, where you’ll build a solid foundation in the fundamentals of AI Agents including:

• Understanding Agents

  • What is an Agent, and how does it work?
  • How do Agents make decisions using reasoning and planning?

• The Role of LLMs (Large Language Models) in Agents

  • How LLMs serve as the “brain” behind an Agent.
  • How LLMs structure conversations via the Messages system.

• Tools and Actions

  • How Agents use external tools to interact with the environment.
  • How to build and integrate tools for your Agent.

• The Agent Workflow:

  • Think → Act → Observe.

After exploring these topics, you’ll build your first Agent using smolagents!

Your Agent, named Alfred, will handle a simple task and demonstrate how to apply these concepts in practice.

You’ll even learn how to publish your Agent on Hugging Face Spaces, so you can share it with friends and colleagues.

Finally, at the end of this Unit, you’ll take a quiz. Pass it, and you’ll earn your first course certification: the 🎓 Certificate of Fundamentals of Agents.

This Unit is your essential starting point, laying the groundwork for understanding Agents before you move on to more advanced topics.

It’s a big Unit, so do take your time and don’t hesitate to come back to these sections from time to time.

---

We’ll have a live Q&A this Wednesday, February 12th at 5PM CET, where we will explain how the course works (scope, units, challenges and more), and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

👉 https://www.youtube.com/live/PopqUt3MGyQ?feature=shared

👉 Don’t forget to click “Notify me” so you don’t miss it!

Ready? Let’s dive in! 🚀

< > Update on GitHub