# Building Your First AI Agent with Python: A Beginner's Guide

> Source: <https://dev.to/oviawe_nosa_78bf57cb51e41/building-your-first-ai-agent-with-python-a-beginners-guide-fe9>
> Published: 2026-07-19 01:16:52+00:00

AI agents are programs that can perceive information, decide what to do, and take actions toward a goal. Unlike a simple chatbot that only responds to prompts, an agent can use tools, follow steps, and adapt its behavior based on context. In this tutorial, you’ll build a small weather assistant agent in Python that can answer questions like “What’s the weather in Paris?” by calling a weather API.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

Install the libraries:

A simple agent usually follows this pattern:

Use the result to generate a final response

Set up your project

Create a file named agent.py and load your environment variables:

This function calls OpenWeatherMap and returns a simplified result.

We’ll use OpenAI’s API with function calling so the model can request the weather tool.

Conclusion

You just built your first AI agent. Starting with a weather assistant is a great way to learn the workflow without getting overwhelmed. From here, you can expand into more advanced agents with memory and multiple tools.