LESSON 02
Agent vs Chatbot
Two tools. Here's when each one is right.
| Chatbot / Chat interface | Agent (set up right) | |
|---|---|---|
| Knows your context | You paste it in each time | Already loaded: calendar, CRM, notes |
| Multi-step jobs | You manage the steps | Runs the full job start to finish |
| Recurring tasks | You redo it every time | Same result, consistently, on demand |
| Output format | Generic unless you specify | Tailored to how you actually use it |
| Setup required | None: open and type | Needs instructions and memory upfront |
| Best for | One-off questions, drafts, exploration | Recurring work, structured jobs, briefings |
When a chatbot is the right call
Use it when you need a quick answer, want to explore an idea, or need a first draft of something unfamiliar — anything where you just want to type and get something back without any setup. ChatGPT and Claude's chat interface are good at this.
When an agent is worth it
The clearest sign is repetition: the same prep every week, the same follow-up emails, the same summaries. Every time you do it manually, you're spending time the AI could spend instead.
Or the job is complex enough that managing the steps yourself defeats the purpose. If you're pasting in context, prompting it to do the next part, copying the output, and pasting it somewhere else, you're doing the work, not the agent.
Why most people stick with the chatbot
Most people know AI can help, but they never get around to setting up an agent. Tigertiger builds the workflow instructions and structure for you so that the work can run without you managing every step.