AI agents get a lot of hype. Videos show them booking flights, writing emails, or ordering pizza. That’s fun, but the real value shows up when agents touch core business systems: support, finance, operations, logistics, compliance, and more. This guide explains how modern agentic systems actually work in production, using plain language and practical structures you can reuse. No personal stories. No buzzwords. Just the building blocks, the wiring, and the guardrails. What is