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Gen AI vs Agentic AI: What’s the Difference?

09 February 2026

Understand the fundamental differences between Generative AI and Agentic AI. From functionality to automation, determine which technology is the best fit for your business.

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Gen AI vs Agentic AI: What’s the Difference?

The presence of Agentic AI marks a new chapter after the era of Generative AI or conventional AI. Although both are designed to simplify work, the functions they offer have fundamental differences. Let’s take a look at the differences below.

What Are the Key Differences Between Gen AI and Agentic AI? 

Here are some key differences between Generative AI (Gen AI) and Agentic AI to note:

1. Primary function 

The primary function of Gen AI is to generate new content by identifying patterns from its training data, such as text or visuals. In the context of customer experience, this AI is highly effective for completing one-step tasks where users provide specific input to get instant results. 

Examples include creating personalized customer message reply drafts, summarizing the core of complaints from long conversation transcripts, or drafting help articles (knowledge base) to help customers answer their own questions.

The primary function of Agentic AI is to manage and complete complex workflows consisting of various stages independently. This AI has the ability to analyze customer constraints, formulate action plans, and execute actions at every step to achieve a final solution. 

For example, in handling product return complaints, Agentic AI can verify order status in the system, validate return policies, process refund tickets to the finance department, and even send new shipping labels to customers without the need for manual intervention in every process.

2. Decision making 

Gen AI makes decisions at a basic level. For example, Gen AI chooses words or image components based on statistical probabilities obtained from pre-existing data. Gen AI cannot evaluate alternatives or consider consequences; its choices are driven by pattern recognition, not goal alignment or strategic thinking.

Agentic AI has the ability to make difficult decisions independently. This technology is able to weigh various options, predict the outcomes that will be obtained, and then choose the best step according to the goals to be achieved. Even better, Agentic AI can connect directly with various company systems and continue to improve its capabilities by learning from previous experiences or work results.

3. Workflow automation 

Gen AI acts as a supporter in workflow automation. This AI helps with several jobs such as writing, improving, or translating, but it cannot manage the entire process from start to finish. However, this process must be guided by humans at every stage, which limits its ability to run full workflows without human supervision.

Agentic AI enables full workflow automation. This AI is designed to run a series of actions that require coordination, decision-making, and adjustment. For example, in project planning, Agentic AI can manage scheduling, send communications, update schedules, and handle unexpected changes.

This makes it useful for industries such as compliance, research, and software development, where tasks span many systems and steps.

The fundamental difference between the two lies in the level of automation; Gen AI requires human direction to produce content quickly, while Agentic AI is able to execute tasks automatically from start to finish without manual intervention. 

Although different, both remain useful according to business needs, Gen AI is very appropriate for accelerating content creation, while Agentic AI is the ideal solution for increasing operational efficiency with minimal manual coordination.

Optimize your business potential with leading artificial intelligence solutions designed for future efficiency. Consult your digital transformation needs with PT VADS Indonesia and experience the ease of managing business operations with reliable Agentic AI technology.

 



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