Tried Artificial Intelligence tools that online “gurus” swear by—only to feel underwhelmed? You’re not alone.
That’s because not all AI technology works the same way. Descriptive AI and Generative AI serve different purposes—and the key to getting the most out of them is knowing exactly what they can (and can’t) do for you.
What Is Descriptive AI?
Descriptive AI takes complex existing data (like customer behavior), finds a pattern, and turns this data into clear yet comprehensive information.
For instance, ever wondered how marketers know which platforms work best or what deals to push?
For starters, they are not involved in some black wizardry. They know what works thanks to months (and even years) of historical data and Descriptive AI to analyze these data and provide trends.
Examples of Descriptive AI Tools
- Tableau
- Power BI
- Google Analytics
- SAS Visual Analytics
- IBM Congos Analytics
Side note: Some of these tools also include predictive features (or predictive analytics) —which means they don’t just analyze the past but can also make forecasts.
What Is Generative AI
Generative AI creates something new based on two things:
- Your prompt (what you ask it to do)
- The data it was trained on
All of those weird AI videos you see on social media? That’s generative AI.
Asking ChatGPT to simplify a sentence? That’s generative AI.
So, how does it decide what it’s going to create? Just like descriptive AI, there is a huge amount of data analysis behind generative AI.
Examples of Generative AI Tools
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- DALL-E
- Midjourney
- Stable Diffusion
What Makes Descriptive AI Different From Generative AI?
Descriptive AI analyzes old data and looks for patterns, while Generative AI creates something for you, which will be based on your prompt and what it knows.
| Descriptive AI | Generative AI | |
| Primary Purpose | Analyze and summarize data | Create new, original content |
| Data Usage | Interprets existing data | Learned patterns |
| Output | Insights and visualizations | Text, images, code, videos, etc. |
| Key Strength | Understanding past data | Creating new content |
Purpose/Objective/Focus
Descriptive AI wants to know “what happened” and analyzes data to answer this. Generative AI, on the other hand, gives you something new based on its learned patterns and, of course, what you asked it to do.
Development and Training
The type of data these two types are trained on comes down to two words: structured and unstructured.
Descriptive AI has more rigid datasets, so it can quickly identify patterns. In contrast, Generative AI is often unstructured and diverse data, making connections like you and I would when asked a question.
Techniques
For Descriptive AI to recognize patterns from large historical data, it will tap into three things:
- Statistical analysis
- Data mining
- Visualization techniques
In contrast, Generate AI utilizes advanced machine learning approaches like neural networks and transformers.
Application
Because of how different they are, it is no surprise they have wildly different uses, although both are helpful for business.
Descriptive AI can be used in financial reporting or performance analysis, while generative AI is utilized in content creation and innovative problem-solving.
Output
Descriptive AI can provide interpretations of data in the form of reports, statistical summaries, and even visualizations like graphs. Generative AI’s output capabilities are more complex, ranging from videos, text, and code to images.
How About Predictive AI?
If you’ve ever received eerily accurate product recommendations from a store you shop at—congratulations, you’ve encountered Predictive AI.
It works like Descriptive AI but takes it a step further, using past data to forecast what might happen next. That’s why online retailers know what you’re likely to buy before you do.
Make the Right AI Choice
Now that you know the differences picking the right AI tool should be much easier.
- Need to analyze past data? Go with Descriptive AI.
- Want AI to create something new (like marketing strategies)? Generative AI is your best bet.
- Looking to predict future trends? Predictive AI is the answer.