What’s the Difference Between AI, AGI, and Agentic AI?

If you've been online lately, you've probably seen the words AI, AGI, AI Agents, or even Agentic AI being thrown around. Maybe someone mentioned ChatGPT. Maybe you saw a new app promising to “think for you.” And maybe you thought, “Okay… but what does any of this really mean?”

You're not alone. A lot of people are curious about artificial intelligence, but the tech world isn’t always great at explaining things in plain language. And that’s where this blog post comes in.

We’re going to walk through some of the most common AI terms you’re likely to hear - like AI, AI agents, Agentic AI, and AGI - and break them down in a way that makes sense, even if you don’t have a background in tech. No buzzwords. No confusing stuff. Just real talk about what these things are, how they’re different, and why they matter.

By the end of this post, you’ll feel more confident when you hear someone talk about AGI or AI agents - and you might even know a bit more than them 😉

Ready? Let’s start with the basics: What is AI?

What Is AI (Artificial Intelligence)?

Let’s start simple.

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. That just means machines or computer programs that can do tasks that usually need human thinking. Things like answering questions, writing emails, recognizing faces in photos, or even driving a car.

You’ve probably already used AI without even thinking about it. When you talk to voice assistants like Siri or Alexa, that’s AI. When Netflix recommends a movie or Spotify picks songs you might like, that’s also AI. It's not magic - it's just software trained to make smart guesses based on data.

So Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About AI?

AI has been around for a while - but it wasn’t part of everyday life for most people until very recently. That changed in a big way when tools like ChatGPT came out. Suddenly, you could type a question or a full sentence into a chat box… and get a useful, natural-sounding answer in seconds.

People were amazed. Not because it was perfect (it’s not), but because it felt like something out of the future. You didn’t need to know code. You didn’t need special tools. You could just talk to it.

Behind the scenes, tools like ChatGPT are powered by something called an LLM — a large language model. These models are trained on tons of text and learn to predict what words should come next. That’s how they can write, chat, answer questions, and more.

What Is an LLM (Large Language Model)?

A large language model (LLM) is a type of AI that learns from huge amounts of text - books, websites, articles, conversations, and more. It doesn’t understand language the way humans do, but it gets very good at guessing what words make sense next.

For example, if you type: "Tell me a funny story about a dog,"
an LLM like ChatGPT will give you a story that sounds right because it has seen millions of similar stories during training.

It doesn’t “think.” It doesn’t “know” facts the way people do. But it can still be really useful, especially for writing, researching, or just answering quick questions.

Some of the most well-known LLMs today include ChatGPT (by OpenAI), Claude (by Anthropic), Gemini (by Google), and LLaMA (by Meta) - and more are coming out all the time.

What Are AI Agents?

Okay, so we talked about regular AI tools - like chatbots, voice assistants, and apps that give you answers or help you write.

But lately, you might have heard a new term: AI Agents.

These are a bit different. Instead of just giving you one answer and stopping there, an AI agent can take action, make decisions, and even handle multiple steps to complete a task.

Think of it like this:
Normal AI is like asking a friend one question and getting one answer.
An AI agent is like giving a friend a to-do list - and they actually go and do the whole thing for you.

Let’s say you want to plan a trip. A regular AI might give you a list of top places to visit. An AI Agent, on the other hand, could search for flights, check hotel reviews, build an itinerary, and even send you an email with everything organized.

That’s a big deal - because now we’re not just talking about tools that help you think. We’re talking about tools that can act.

These agents often use LLMs (like ChatGPT) to understand your instructions, but they also connect with other tools and apps to get things done. They might write files, browse the internet, schedule meetings, or even run bits of code - all by themselves.

They’re not perfect. Sometimes they mess up or get stuck. But they show where things are going: from asking AI for help to letting AI do the work.

Next, let’s take that idea even further and look at something called Agentic AI - which sounds fancy, but don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple.

What Is Agentic AI?

So, now you know what an AI agent is - a tool that doesn’t just answer, but actually does stuff for you.

Agentic AI takes that idea and pushes it even further.

Instead of waiting for you to tell it what to do every step of the way, Agentic AI can figure out parts of the job on its own. It can plan, decide, and even change its approach if something isn’t working.

In simple terms:
If a basic AI is like a calculator…
And an AI agent is like a helpful assistant…
Then Agentic AI is like an assistant that thinks for itself, makes a plan, and works toward a goal - without needing you to guide it all the time.

Let’s say you tell it:
"Help me launch an online store."

An Agentic AI could:

• Search for platforms (like Shopify or Gumroad)

• Choose the best one for your needs

• Set up a basic design

• Write product descriptions

• Even run some test ads - all on its own

It doesn’t just follow instructions. It sets steps, follows through, adjusts, and learns from what happens next. That’s a big jump.

Of course, it's not as smart as a person. It still needs limits and guidance. But it's a lot more active and flexible than older AI tools.

We’re still early in this space, but it's moving fast. And people are excited - because these tools might soon handle entire tasks without constant human help.

Next up: there’s one more big term you might have heard - AGI. Let’s see how it fits into all this.

What Is AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)?

This is the big one - the term that gets people excited and a little nervous.

AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence. It’s not just another AI tool. It’s the idea of building an AI that can think, learn, and solve problems like a human - across many different topics, not just one task.

Right now, most of the AI we use is narrow. It can write, answer questions, or help with photos - but it can’t switch between different types of thinking the way humans can. AGI would change that.

Here’s a simple example:

You can ask a human to write an essay, solve a math problem, give life advice, and plan a birthday party — all in the same conversation. AGI would be an AI that could do that too, without needing special training for each task.

In other words:

• Today’s AI is like a tool.

• AGI would be more like a mind - something that can understand the world, make its own decisions, and keep learning in different areas.

We don’t have real AGI yet. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - these are powerful, but they’re still narrow. They don’t truly “understand” things, and they don’t have goals or emotions.

But researchers and big companies are working on it. Some people believe AGI could arrive in the next few years. Others think it will take decades - or may never happen at all.

There’s a lot of debate about what AGI would mean for society. Some see huge benefits: smarter healthcare, education, science. Others worry about risks: job loss, control, or AI systems that are too independent.

For now, AGI is still just an idea. But it helps to understand where this whole field might be heading.

Next, let’s compare everything we’ve talked about so far - AI, AI Agents, Agentic AI, and AGI - and break down how they’re actually different.

How Are These AI Terms Different?

Now that we’ve covered the basics of AI, AI Agents, Agentic AI, and AGI, let’s take a moment to break down how each of these terms is different. They all sound pretty similar, but they actually represent distinct levels of intelligence and capabilities.

Here’s a quick rundown:

• AI (Artificial Intelligence): Think of this as the foundation. AI refers to machines that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, like recognizing patterns, answering questions, or making predictions. It's the basic, everyday AI we interact with, like Siri, Google, or those Netflix recommendations.

• AI Agents: These are a step up. While regular AI just gives you answers, AI Agents can take actions, make decisions, and handle more complex tasks. They can manage multi-step processes like booking flights or planning a trip for you, without you having to do every step.

• Agentic AI: This takes AI Agents even further. Agentic AI doesn’t just follow your instructions step by step. It can plan, make decisions on its own, and adjust its actions based on what's happening. It's more independent and capable of learning and adapting as it goes. Imagine an assistant that works on its own initiative to complete a project, not just responding to your requests.

• AGI (Artificial General Intelligence): The big one. AGI would be an AI that can think and learn across a wide range of topics, just like humans can. It would be able to handle anything from solving math problems to writing essays to planning parties. We’re not there yet, but it’s the dream of many researchers: a machine that thinks like a person.

Each term represents a different level of sophistication, from basic tools to potentially world-changing technology. So when someone mentions AI, AI Agents, Agentic AI, or AGI, you’ll now know exactly what they mean and where it fits in the grand scheme of things.