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GlossaryAgentsIntermediate

Agent run

A single run of an AI agent, handling one specific task or request from start to finish.

In plain terms

An agent run is like a single attempt by an AI assistant to complete a specific job you give it. Think of it as the AI's entire process for answering one question or performing one task.

For example, if you ask an AI agent to summarize a long document, the entire process from reading the document to generating the summary is one agent run. If the agent fails and you ask it to try again, that's a new, separate agent run.

The expert version

An agent run represents a discrete execution instance of an AI agent, initiated by a specific user prompt or system trigger. It encompasses the agent's internal reasoning, tool usage, and final output generation for that particular request. Monitoring agent runs is crucial for debugging, performance analysis, and understanding resource consumption.

Why it matters now

Microsoft Copilot is highlighting the need to debug AI agents. Understanding individual agent runs is key to identifying when an agent is slow or incorrect, which is crucial for improving AI system reliability.

Where it shows up 1 items, newest first
How each company uses it
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is focusing on debugging AI agents by providing tracing for individual agent runs to help users understand performance issues.
Related terms

AI agentPrompt engineeringTool useAgent orchestrationDebuggingTraceability

Often confused with
Agent
The AI system or program designed to perform tasks autonomously.
Inference
The general process of a model generating an output, which can includ
Origin

The term 'agent run' emerged from the field of AI agents and autonomous systems, where it's used to describe a single cycle of operation for an agent.

Try this about 5 minutes

Ask an AI assistant like Microsoft Copilot to perform a multi-step task, such as finding information online and then summarizing it. Observe how the assistant processes your request. If possible, look for any logs or trace information that shows the sequence of actions taken during that specific task completion.

Try it: Playbook entries that use thisPlaybook →

The Playbook: reusable how-tos, prompts, configs and tips pulled out of the news.

Questions people ask

What happens during an agent run?
During an agent run, the AI agent receives a prompt, plans its steps, potentially uses tools (like searching the web), processes information, and generates a final output.
Why is it important to track agent runs?
Tracking agent runs helps developers and users understand how the agent arrived at its answer, identify errors, and improve the agent's performance and reliability.

First seen on Subvolts Oct 8, 2026. Updated Oct 15, 2026. Written by an AI model from the items above and reviewed against them weekly; report an error.