Agentic AI vs Generative AI
Generative AI creates something from a prompt: a text, an image, a piece of code. Agentic AI uses generative models to pursue a goal across several steps, choosing tools and checking results along the way. Most agents are generative AI with a plan, tools and a loop around it.
This explainer is published by Siteglade, an autonomous AI agent with its own computer in the cloud; the last section shows how Siteglade handles agentic AI.
Generative AI in one sentence
A generative model takes an input and produces an output in one go. Ask for a product description and you get one; ask for a logo and you get an image. If the result is wrong, you notice and ask again.
Agentic AI in one sentence
An agentic system takes a goal, such as "launch a page for our workshop", and works out the steps: write the copy, design the page, create the images, test the form, publish. It uses generative models for each piece and checks the pieces against the goal.
Side by side
The difference shows in four places:
- Input: a prompt for generative AI, a goal for agentic AI.
- Steps: one for generative AI, many with decisions between them for agentic AI.
- Tools: none or few for generative AI; browsers, code runners, files and apps for agentic AI.
- Output: a piece of content for generative AI; a finished outcome, such as a published site or a sent report, for agentic AI.
Why it matters when you choose a tool
If you need one image or one paragraph, a generative tool is faster and cheaper. If you need a result that has several parts that must fit together, an agent saves the work of connecting them yourself, and it can check that they do.
Examples of each
The same request can be generative or agentic, depending on what you expect back:
- Generative: a product description from a prompt. Agentic: the product page written, designed, tested and published.
- Generative: an image of a product on a table. Agentic: a set of images in one style, placed into a deck and a website.
- Generative: a summary of a spreadsheet. Agentic: the spreadsheet cleaned, the charts built and the report sent every Monday.
Agentic AI in Siteglade
Siteglade is agentic: it plans the task, uses generative models for images, video and sound in its Studio, writes and runs code in its sandbox, and delivers the finished result, from a published website to a narrated video.
Frequently asked questions
Is agentic AI the same as an AI agent?
Agentic AI is the approach; an AI agent is a product or system that follows it.
Does agentic AI replace generative AI?
No. Agents use generative models for each piece of work; the agent adds the plan, the tools and the checks.