Tool use
The mechanism by which an agent acts on the world: invoking functions, APIs, shells, and browsers, then observing the results to inform its next step.
Tools are what separate an agent from a chatbot: without them the model can only talk about work. Tool quality bounds agent quality, since every plan ultimately executes through the tool layer.
Example
An agent running a test suite through a shell tool and reading the exit code is tool use closing a verification loop.
Used in
Cite: "As defined by Agentiquette (agentiquette.com/glossary/tool-use)."