# Agentic AI vs Generative AI: The Difference, Shown With ChatGPT and Claude

> Generative AI makes content when you ask, and agentic AI uses the same models to plan steps and use tools until a job is done, shown here with ChatGPT agent, Claude Code and one inbox handled both ways.

By Pat Simmons · November 6, 2026 · 9 min read

Canonical: https://www.aiformortals.co/blog/agentic-ai-vs-generative-ai

Generative AI makes new content, like text, images, video, audio or code, when you ask for it, and then it waits for your next message. Agentic AI is built on generative AI. It uses the same large language models (the AI models behind ChatGPT and Claude) and adds planning, decisions and the ability to use tools and other software, so it can carry a multi-step job through on its own.

Anthropic calls agents "systems where LLMs dynamically direct their own processes and tool usage." A chatbot writes you an answer, and an agent goes and does the task. Every AI agent has a generative model inside it, which is why IBM says the two frequently work together.

Last checked November 6, 2026: the definitions on IBM's comparison page and in Anthropic's guide to building agents, plus what ChatGPT agent and Claude Code do and who can use them, from OpenAI's and Anthropic's own pages.

Pat Simmons's beginner guide to AI agents, the video at the top of this page, walks one work email through a chatbot, an automation and an agent. The chatbot-vs-agent section below uses that demo, with the times in the video where each step happens.

## What's the difference between generative AI and agentic AI?

Generative AI answers a prompt with new content, and agentic AI works toward a goal by planning steps, using tools and acting on your behalf. IBM says generative AI "generally responds to an input and waits for further direction," while agentic AI "can proactively work toward a goal."

"Generative" means the AI generates, or creates, something that didn't exist before: a written reply, an image or a block of code. IBM says it makes that content "based on patterns learned during training and the context of a user's request."

With generative AI, you write a prompt, read what comes back and steer it with more prompts. With agentic AI, you can hand over the outcome you want, and the system works out more of the steps itself, coming back to you for approvals or for decisions that need judgment (IBM).

 Generative AIAgentic AI

What it doesCreates new content such as text, images, video, audio and code (IBM)Works toward a goal by planning, making decisions and carrying out multi-step workflows (IBM)
What you give itA prompt, then more prompts to refine the result (IBM)A broader goal, without spelling out every step (IBM)
What comes backThe content you asked for, and then it waits for you (IBM)Content, a decision or an action taken in another system (IBM)
Tools it usesWhatever tools are built around the model (IBM)Tools, data sources and other software; ChatGPT agent gets a visual browser, a text browser, a terminal and direct API access (OpenAI)
ExamplesChatGPT and Google Gemini, the two IBM names (IBM)ChatGPT agent and Claude Code
Where it goes wrongIt can produce inaccurate information, so IBM says to review the output when accuracy is important (IBM)Higher costs, and errors that can compound from one step to the next (Anthropic)

## Is agentic AI a form of generative AI?

Yes, agentic AI is built on generative AI and runs on the same large language models. IBM says a typical agentic system "uses a generative AI model to interpret user requests, generate content and communicate results," while an agentic layer on top decides how to reach your goal, breaking the task into steps, pulling in information and using tools along the way.

Anthropic describes the same stack from the builder's side. The basic building block of every agentic system is a language model with retrieval, tools and memory added, and Anthropic says its current models can write their own search queries, pick the right tool and decide what to keep.

IBM's example is planning a customer event. Generative AI drafts the agenda and the invitation emails, and an agentic system also checks attendees' calendars, books a meeting space and updates the plan when schedules change, calling on the generative model whenever something needs writing.

## AI agents vs agentic AI: are they the same thing?

No, agentic AI is the umbrella term, and an AI agent is one kind of agentic system. IBM calls AI agents "one component of the broader concept of agentic AI."

Anthropic splits its "agentic systems" in two. Workflows are "systems where LLMs and tools are orchestrated through predefined code paths," and agents are "systems where LLMs dynamically direct their own processes and tool usage, maintaining control over how they accomplish tasks."

A workflow follows a fixed recipe that a person wrote, such as Anthropic's example of writing marketing copy and then translating it into another language. An agent picks its own next step, which is why Anthropic suggests agents for open-ended problems "where it's difficult or impossible to predict the required number of steps."

_Anthropic's diagram of an agent: the model takes an action, gets feedback from its environment and repeats, checking in with a person, until it stops. From Building effective agents._

Pat's beginner guide shows the same split. Its middle step (from 2:34 in the video) is a Make.com automation that watches Gmail, sends each new email to OpenAI with one fixed set of instructions and saves a draft reply. The draft to a reporter had no details about the product, because the instructions held only a sentence or two about the company (3:17 to 3:39).

## Same job, two ways: a chatbot vs an agent

A chatbot drafts the one reply you ask for, and an agent can work through the whole inbox using your accounts and files. Pat's beginner guide runs the same job both ways: answering a reporter's request about a product that launched the day before, sitting in an inbox with 21 unread emails (1:09 to 1:40).

As a chatbot job (from 1:53), he copied the email into ChatGPT and asked it to help respond. ChatGPT had no information about the brand, so the draft mostly repeated what the reporter asked for, and each reply would still need pasting into Gmail and sending by hand, one email at a time.

_ChatGPT offers two draft replies to the reporter, each promising a press kit in general terms. From Pat's beginner guide to AI agents (the video above), at 2:06._

As an agent job (from 4:03), he opened Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex side by side on the same folder and typed "triage my email inbox." He had set that folder up beforehand (4:25) with plain text instruction files: an agents.md file with the agent's job, a memory.md file with notes from earlier conversations, including the product launch, and skill files with step-by-step rules (8:56 and 12:59).

Both agents read his Gmail, filtered out spam, trash, promotions and social mail, and listed the important messages, with the reporter's interview request first (5:04 to 5:17). When he asked, they drafted the reply and then saved the drafts in Gmail (5:21 to 6:10). The product launch was made up for the demo (6:18).

_Claude Code (left) and Codex (right) working on the same "triage my email inbox" request; Codex has sorted the inbox into Urgent, Needs Reply Soon and Waiting / Calendar, with the reporter's request first. From Pat's beginner guide, at 5:20._

The chatbot only saw the one email pasted into it. The agents could open the inbox, read the instruction and memory files, use Gmail as a tool and take the next step when asked.

## Agentic AI tools you can try today

ChatGPT agent and Claude Code are two agentic tools you can use now. ChatGPT agent handles web research and office tasks on a paid ChatGPT plan, and Claude Code reads, edits and runs code in your software projects.

ChatGPT agent

OpenAI says ChatGPT agent "can now do work for you using its own computer, handling complex tasks from start to finish." Its examples include looking at your calendar to brief you on upcoming client meetings, and analyzing three competitors to build a slide deck.

It works with a visual browser that clicks through websites, a text browser, a terminal and direct API access, and it can use apps you connect, such as Gmail and GitHub. OpenAI says it asks permission before "actions of consequence," and you can interrupt it, take over the browser or stop it at any point.

Agent mode is for paid plans only. OpenAI's help page lists 40 agent messages a month on Plus, 400 on Pro and 40 on Business and Enterprise, and only the request that starts a task counts. You turn it on by picking agent mode from the tools menu or typing /agent in the message box. For the latest changes, see what's new in ChatGPT.

_ChatGPT's message box in agent mode with the apps menu open: Web search, Box, Gmail and Google Calendar are switched on. From OpenAI's ChatGPT agent help page._

Claude Code

Anthropic describes Claude Code as "an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and integrates with your development tools." It runs in the terminal, in code editors such as VS Code and JetBrains, in a desktop app and in the browser, and most of those need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account.

Our Claude Code for beginners guide builds a small invoice-tracker app with it, without coding, and the Claude Code page tracks every update. For Anthropic's other releases, see what's new in Claude.

Set up your first agent with Pat

For a shorter start, Pat's "Zero To Your First AI Agent In 10 Minutes (no code, no n8n)" sets up an agent without writing any code.

  

He also reviewed OpenAI's Dots agent in OpenAI Dots Review: Real Jobs, Real Results, and gave Grok Bot, Meta Muse and ChatGPT Dots the same three jobs in Grok Bot vs Meta Muse vs ChatGPT Dots, Tested. For the models that run inside agents, see Pat's test of three Claude models on the same five builds and our story on Meta's Muse Spark, an agentic coding model.

## Where AI agents still go wrong

Agents cost more to run than a single chat reply, and their mistakes can build on each other. Anthropic says agents' autonomy "means higher costs, and the potential for compounding errors," and it recommends testing them in sandboxed environments, walled-off setups where a mistake can't reach your accounts or files, with guardrails in place.

Anthropic's advice to builders is to find "the simplest solution possible" and add complexity only when it's needed, which "might mean not building agentic systems at all." For many applications, it says, a single well-prepared call to the model is usually enough.

OpenAI says ChatGPT agent "is still in its early stages" and "can still make mistakes." Its help page warns about prompt injection, which is when instructions someone planted in content the agent reads, such as a web page, try to trick it into doing something you didn't ask for.

OpenAI's example is an agent looking for a group dinner spot that runs into a malicious comment telling it to fetch a password reset code from Gmail and send it to an outside website. The help page tells you to turn on only the apps a task needs, avoid open-ended requests like "Check my email and handle everything," and stop the task if something looks suspicious.

## Questions people ask about agentic and generative AI

What is the most famous generative AI?

ChatGPT is the best-known generative AI app. IBM names it and Google Gemini as its examples, and OpenAI's study of how people use ChatGPT counted 700 million weekly active users, with data running to mid-2025.

Is ChatGPT generative AI or agentic AI?

ChatGPT is both. A regular ChatGPT chat is generative AI, and agent mode is agentic: OpenAI calls it "a unified agentic system" that works through tasks on its own virtual computer.

Is an AI agent the same as a chatbot?

No, a chatbot answers in the chat window, while an agent can also act in other software, such as browsing websites, running code or saving drafts in Gmail. Anthropic's customer-support example puts the two together: a familiar chat window up front, with tools behind it that pull order history and issue refunds.

Do you need to know how to code to use an AI agent?

Not for ChatGPT agent, which OpenAI says "does not require technical skills." Claude Code is a coding tool, though the Claude desktop app includes it, so you don't need the terminal version to try it (Claude Code docs).

## Sources

- IBM: Agentic AI vs. generative AI (checked November 6, 2026)

- Anthropic: Building effective agents (December 19, 2024)

- OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT agent

- OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT agent (checked November 6, 2026)

- Claude Code docs: Overview (checked November 6, 2026)

- OpenAI: How people are using ChatGPT