DeepSeek is a Chinese AI model, open and far cheaper than many competitors, with its own chat app and API. A model is the brain. An agent is the brain plus the hands: connected to your systems, with rules, approvals and someone looking after it.
Side by side
| Criteria | DeepSeek | Agent in your operations |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A family of open-weight AI models (MIT license). Version V4 came out in April 2026. | An agent that runs an entire routine, using the best model for each task. |
| Who does the work | In the chat, a person asks and copies. Through the API, someone has to code the rest. | The agent handles it end to end. Your team only steps in where people are needed. |
| Your systems | None out of the box. Connecting it to your systems is the developer’s job. | Connected to your ERP, CRM, WhatsApp, email and spreadsheets. |
| Control | In the app and official API, data goes to servers in China. Several governments have restricted its use. Self-hosting requires infrastructure. | You choose where the data lives. Human approval where it matters and a log of everything. |
| Who builds and maintains it | Whoever builds on top of it. | We build, monitor and fine-tune it every month. |
| Results | Low cost per use. Results depend on what gets built around it. | Hours given back and money saved, measured every month. |
Based on public information about each tool, checked in October 2026 · names and trademarks belong to their owners
When DeepSeek is enough
When an agent makes more sense
You can use both: when it makes sense and the data allows, the agent can run an open model like DeepSeek under the hood.
FAQ
We choose the model based on the process and the data involved. Open models like DeepSeek come in when cost matters and the data can stay on a controlled server.
Through the app or official API, data goes to servers in China. For customer data, we prefer providers and servers with clear data protection guarantees.
No. The agent is built to switch models without redoing the process.
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