The distinction between AI agents and agentic AI has become critical for developers building containerized applications and microservices. While these terms sound similar and often get confused in technical discussions, they represent fundamentally different architectural patterns that directly impact how you design and deploy AI systems in Kubernetes environments.Microservices architecture and agentic AI may seem comparable at first glance. Both approaches tackle complexity by breaking big problems into smaller components that run on a distributed cloud infrastructure. For additional background, read my article that introduces the concept of AI agents and agentic workflows to microservice developers.Today’s article compares AI agents and agentic AI systems using analogies familiar to Kubernetes and container developers — think of pods, services, sidecars, service meshes, and observability. We will keep definitions simple, avoiding heavy jargon that may confuse DevOps engineers. By the end, you’ll understand how a single AI agent compares to a system of agents, and where planners, tools, memory and external systems come into play.What is an AI Agent?AI Agents are individual autonomous software entities that execute specific tasks through tool integration and prompt engineering. Think of them as single-purpose microservices with AI capabilities. Each agent handles one well-defined responsibility, such as processing customer queries, resetting passwords, or analyzing logs. They operate using a request-response pattern and typically maintain minimal state between interactions.Architecture of a Single AI AgentA simple AI agent typically includes an AI model and some runtime logic. It may also integrate with a memory store or tools to extend its capabilities. For example, the agent may need to remember the context between requests or retrieve information to complete its task. An AI agent setup could look like the illustration below.AI agent conceptual diagramIn this diagram, the agent (running in a pod) connects to a vector database (which acts as its memory) and calls an external tool service via API when needed. The vector DB (memory) is akin to a sidecar database, allowing the agent to store or retrieve context, much like a microservice might utilize a cache or database.The external tool service is analogous to another microservice that our agent pod depends on for specific functions (e.g., a calculation service). The AI agent autonomously decides when to use these resources. It’s as if the agent pod has a sidecar for memory and knows how to call other services in the cluster. The agent remains focused on its specific task and utilizes tools or data sources as helpers, rather than attempting to do everything itself.What Is Agentic AI?Agentic AI represents something more complex. These are systems featuring multiple AI agents working together through orchestration, persistent memory, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. If AI Agents are microservices, then Agentic AI encompasses your entire deployment, including a service mesh and an event-driven architecture. The system can decompose complex problems into subtasks, coordinate between specialized agents, and adapt its strategy based on experience.If AI Agents are microservices, then Agentic AI encompasses your entire deployment.For example, consider an e-commerce scenario. You might have a pricing agent, an inventory agent, and a customer service agent all interacting with each other. Each agent can operate independently in its specialty, yet they collaborate like microservices toward a common application goal. The pricing agent could autonomously adjust prices based on market data, the inventory agent could reorder stock based on predicted demand, and the support agent could handle customer inquiries. They share information and coordinate actions through messages or shared memory, much as microservices emit events or call each other’s APIs.Architecture of an Agentic AIEssentially, agentic AI systems introduce a notion of planning and adaptation in which agents can form plans, negotiate responsibilities, or loop back if a problem isn’t solved on the first try. In other words, the system exhibits a form of orchestration with intelligence that is similar to an orchestra of microservices with a conductor, rather than a single scripted workflow.Agents can self-correct and refine their approach over multiple steps. This is why agentic AI is often described as autonomous agents orchestrated together to handle interdependent tasks that would be too complex for a single agent. It’s conceptually similar to running a distributed workflow on Kubernetes, where a different service handles each step. However, in this scenario, each step/agent has autonomy in how it achieves its part.To visualize this, here’s a simple sequence in an agentic system where one agent acts as a planner and others are workers for subtasks:In this flow, a Planner Agent takes an incoming request and breaks it into parts. It delegates Task A to a specialized Worker Agent A, which might call an external Tool Service X (perhaps a microservice API or function) and then store some intermediate result in a shared memory store. Then, Task B is handled by Worker Agent B, which reads what Agent A stored and may call Tool Service Y. The planner collects the outcomes and produces a final result to return.An agentic AI system is conceptually a network of AI-driven pods (agents) with an intelligent orchestration overlay.This resembles a dynamic workflow where the planner serves as an orchestrator service or Kubernetes controller, ensuring that each step (agent) performs its job. Notice how the agents communicate: Not directly via function calls as in a single program, but through shared resources (memory) or messaging. This is comparable to services using a database or an event bus to sync state. The memory store in this example acts like a cluster-wide shared state (similar to a config map or database that multiple services use), enabling agents to pass information reliably.Overall, an agentic AI system is conceptually a network of AI-driven pods (agents) with an intelligent orchestration overlay, rather than a set of isolated smart services.What’s Next?For container developers, the message is clear. AI Agents are the natural evolution of microservices, bringing intelligence to individual components. Agentic AI represents the next generation of distributed systems, where autonomous agents collaborate to solve complex problems.Understanding these patterns and their implementation in Kubernetes environments has become essential for building modern cloud native applications. The tools and frameworks available today enable the deployment of sophisticated AI systems using familiar container orchestration patterns, bringing AI capabilities within reach of every development team.In upcoming articles, I will demonstrate how to run AI agents and agentic systems in a cloud native environment. Stay tuned.The post AI Agents vs. Agentic AI: A Kubernetes Developer’s Guide appeared first on The New Stack.