Computer use agent (browser agent)
An AI agent that operates a browser or desktop by looking at screenshots and clicking and typing like a person.
It reaches systems that have no API: old portals, supplier websites, internal admin panels. It is also slow, costly per task and brittle when layouts change, and every page it reads is untrusted content that can carry injected instructions. Where an API or an export exists, a direct integration is faster and more reliable.
Related terms
- AI agent: A model that decides its next step itself, calls tools and repeats until the task is done.
- Agent sandbox: An isolated environment where an AI agent runs code and commands without access to your network, secrets or real files.
- MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open protocol for plugging tools and data into AI apps: write a server once, use it from any client.
