Generative AI is basically tech that can create stuff like text, images, music, or even videos. Instead of just giving back stored info, it actually generates new content based on what it learned from a huge amount of data.
Think of it like this — you feed it tons of examples, and over time, it learns patterns. Then when you give it a prompt (like asking it to write a poem or draw a cat), it uses what it learned to make something brand new. Tools like ChatGPT or DALL·E are popular examples.