Air-entraining agents is a type of admixture.
Air entrainment is the intentional creation of tiny air bubbles in concrete. The bubbles are introduced into the concrete by the addition to the mix of an air entraining agent, a surfactant (surface-active substance, a type of chemical that includes detergents). The air bubbles are created during mixing of the plastic (flowable, not hardened) concrete, and most of them survive to be part of the hardened concrete. The primary purpose of air entrainment is to increase the durability of the hardened concrete, especially in climates subject to freeze-thaw; the secondary purpose is to increase workability of the concrete while in a plastic state.