This document provides an overview of expert systems, including their components and characteristics. It introduces the presenters and states that the topic is the components of expert systems. It then defines an expert system, lists some key characteristics, and describes two common inference strategies: backward chaining and forward chaining. The main body explains each of the core components of an expert system: the knowledge base, inference engine, explanation facility, knowledge acquisition facility, and user interface. It concludes by discussing advantages and limitations of expert systems.