Learn · updated Nov 2026

The new words, in plain English.

New AI names show up every month. Here’s what the ones you keep hearing actually are, and what a business manager would do with them. I won’t tell you which one to pick. I’ll tell you what each one is, what it asks of you, and what to check before you try it.

ExplainerWhat is an AI agent?A chatbot connected to your data and tools, so it can look things up, draft work and, with your okay, act. ExplainerWhat is OpenClaw?A free, open-source assistant you run yourself. It links AI models to your files, browser and chat apps. ExplainerWhat is Hermes Agent?A free, open-source agent from Nous Research that you run yourself. It remembers past conversations.

Next month the names will change. The questions won’t: where does your data live, and what are you letting it do?