Editor's Synopsis
Turing Post outlines the two primary ways AI agents interact with external tools and apps: UI-based interactions and API-based interactions. In the UI-based approach, an agent operates software by simulating human behavior — clicking buttons, typing into forms, and reading on-screen content, effectively mimicking how a person would use an application.
The post appears to be part of a broader educational thread explaining the mechanics of AI agent tool use, which is a foundational concept in the growing field of agentic AI. Understanding these two interaction paradigms is important as AI agents become more capable of autonomously completing complex tasks across multiple applications.