AI is the broad field of creating computer systems that can perform tasks associated with human intelligence. GPT is one specific type of AI model designed to understand and generate language and other content. Put simply, GPT is AI, but AI is much bigger than GPT.
AI, or artificial intelligence, covers a huge range of technologies. AI can be used to recognize images, detect fraud, recommend products, analyze data, control robots, predict outcomes, understand speech, generate content, and perform many other tasks.
GPT stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer. GPT models are a family of large language models built using the transformer architecture and trained on large amounts of data so they can recognize patterns in language and generate responses to prompts.
The easiest way to understand the relationship is by looking at the categories:
Artificial intelligence is the broad field.
Generative AI is a part of AI focused on creating new content.
Large language models are a type of generative AI designed primarily to work with language.
GPT is a particular family and architecture of large language models.
This distinction also explains why the terms AI, GPT, and ChatGPT should not be used interchangeably. ChatGPT is an AI product that can use GPT models, while GPT refers to the underlying model family. AI describes the much larger field that includes GPT as well as many technologies that have nothing to do with GPT.
So when someone says they are using AI, they could be talking about hundreds of different technologies. When they say they are using GPT, they are referring much more specifically to a particular type of generative AI model.