  These lectures take a look at how observations with adaptive optics (AO) are
beginning to influence our understanding of active galactic nuclei (AGN). By
focussing on a few specific topics, the aim is to highlight the different ways
in which enhanced spatial resolution from AO can aid the scientific analysis of
AGN data. After presenting some background about how AO works, I will describe
a few recent observations made with AO of QSO host galaxies, the Galactic
Center, and nearby AGN, and show how they have contributed to our knowledge of
these enigmatic objects.
