SI vs AGI vs ASI: what's the difference? (2026)

Clerion Research Team5 October 202611 min read

SI vs AGI vs ASI: SI is the US government's new name for today's AI under a September 29, 2026 executive order, legally the same as "artificial intelligence." AGI means human-level ability across most work and ASI means far beyond it. As of October 2026, only SI exists.

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SI vs AGI vs ASI comes down to what actually exists. SI is the US government's new name for today's AI, set by an executive order on September 29, 2026, and it legally covers the same systems as "artificial intelligence." AGI is a hypothetical system that matches people at most work. ASI is a hypothetical system far beyond people. As of October 2026, only SI exists.

That's the whole answer in one breath. The trouble is that "super intelligence" sounds like the third thing and legally means the first, and a lot of the pages explaining it pick one meaning and ignore the other. If you build AI products, you'll be asked about this by customers, investors and your own landing page copy. So here's each term, where it comes from, and what changes for you.

What does SI mean in 2026?

SI stands for super intelligence, and in the US it's now the federal government's official word for AI. Executive Order 14434, "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence," was signed on September 29, 2026. It tells federal agencies to say "Super Intelligence" and "SI" instead of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI."

The part most explainers skip is the definition. The order doesn't invent a new one. It says SI means "the technologies and systems encompassed by the term 'artificial intelligence'" as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 9401(3). That statute describes AI as "a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments."

Read that again with your own product in mind. A support chatbot qualifies. So does a recommendation widget. Under the order, every one of them is now SI in federal paperwork. Nothing about the software got smarter on September 29. The label changed.

We covered the signing day itself, and the accord six AI companies signed alongside it, in our guide What is SI (super intelligence)?. This post is about how SI sits next to the two older terms people keep confusing it with.

What is AGI (artificial general intelligence)?

AGI is a system that can do most cognitive work about as well as a person, across many fields rather than one. There's no single agreed definition and no agreed test. OpenAI's charter describes it as "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work." As of October 2026, no lab has shown a system that meets that bar.

The lack of one definition is the real story with AGI. Different labs draw the line in different places, which is why claims that AGI is "a year away" or "already here" tend to talk past each other.

The most useful attempt to fix this is the "Levels of AGI" paper, led by Meredith Ringel Morris and published at ICML 2024. It grades systems on two axes, how well they perform and how broadly, across five levels: Emerging, Competent, Expert, Exceptional (formerly called Virtuoso) and Superhuman. The point is that "general" is a scale, not a switch. A chatbot can be broad but only Emerging in skill. A chess engine can be Superhuman in skill but narrow.

What is ASI (artificial superintelligence)?

ASI is a system that greatly exceeds human ability in nearly every field, not just matches it. The classic definition comes from philosopher Nick Bostrom's 2014 book Superintelligence: "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest," as quoted on Wikipedia's superintelligence page. ASI doesn't exist today.

This is the meaning researchers had in mind for decades when they wrote "superintelligence" as one word. It's also why some company names now read strangely next to the executive order. Safe Superintelligence Inc., an AI lab, says it has "one goal and one product: a safe superintelligence." It means ASI. It doesn't mean the thing your support widget now counts as under federal terminology.

So the two-word "super intelligence" in the order and the one-word "superintelligence" in research sound alike and point at very different things. One is a label for what already ships. The other is a goal nobody has reached.

SI vs AGI vs ASI: how do they compare side by side?

SI describes today's systems under a new US government name. AGI and ASI describe future capability levels that haven't been reached. The table below lines them up on the questions people ask most: what each term means, who uses it, whether it exists, and whether it has a legal definition.

SI (super intelligence) AGI ASI
What it means US federal name for AI Human-level ability across most work Far beyond human ability in nearly every field
Exists today? Yes, it's current AI No No
Legal definition Yes, borrows 15 U.S.C. § 9401(3) No No
Where the term comes from Executive Order 14434, Sept 29, 2026 AI research, lab charters Bostrom, 2014, and earlier research
Who uses it US federal agencies AI labs, researchers, investors Researchers, safety labs such as SSI
Example ChatGPT, a support chatbot, a recommender None agreed None

The cleanest way to hold it in your head: SI is a word for the present, AGI and ASI are words for possible futures. If a sentence uses "SI" to describe a system that beats every human at everything, it's using the wrong word, or using the right word in the wrong way.

Is SI the same as superintelligence?

No. Under the executive order, SI has exactly the same meaning as "artificial intelligence" in federal law, so it covers today's chatbots and models. Superintelligence, or ASI, means systems far smarter than humans in nearly every field, which don't exist. The names overlap; the meanings don't.

This gap is where most confusion comes from. A customer reads "SI-powered" on your homepage and may picture something far beyond what you built. A journalist reads "superintelligence lab" and may assume it's about the new federal term. The IAPP's analysis of the order puts the practical problem plainly: organizations now have to manage two vocabularies that may refer to the same systems in some settings but not in every legal or operational one.

The order itself may narrow or widen this later. It gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days to propose legislative language for a federal SI definition. Freshfields puts that deadline at November 28, 2026. Until Congress acts, SI equals AI.

Does the SI rename apply to private companies?

No. The order applies to federal executive departments and agencies, covering their communications, websites and documents. It doesn't require businesses to change anything, and it says nothing in it requires altering previously issued regulations, contracts, grants or historical documents. Private use of "SI" is a choice, not a rule, as of October 2026.

That said, the label is already moving markets in small ways. The clearest sign is Slovenia's .si country domain. TechCrunch reported nearly 13,000 new .si domains registered in 24 hours on October 1, and a 2,199% rise in .si purchases in September, citing registry data. A spokesperson for the registry was "cautious about linking the boost only to President Trump," but the timing speaks for itself.

If you're tempted to grab one, read our breakdown of what to know before you buy a .si domain first. Google treats .si as a Slovenian country domain, which matters if you plan to host your main site on it.

Should you call your product SI or AI?

Keep "AI" as your main word for now, and add "SI" where it helps people find you. Your buyers, investors and the AI assistants recommending you still mostly say AI. Switching your whole site to SI trades a word everyone searches for a word that, outside government, is a few weeks old and easy to misread as ASI.

Here's the reasoning in more detail. Say you run an AI note-taking tool (a made-up example). If your homepage now says "SI-powered notes," three groups read it differently. A federal buyer reads it as "AI," exactly as intended. A technical founder reads it as either a joke or a claim of superintelligence. And an AI assistant answering "best AI note-taking tool" has to work out that your page is relevant, from a word most of the web doesn't use that way yet.

The practical middle ground:

  1. Keep "AI" in your title tags, H1 and product description.
  2. Add one line that names both, such as "AI (also called SI, super intelligence)," so people and models searching either term land on you.
  3. If you sell to US federal agencies, mirror their language in proposals and procurement documents, since that's where the order applies.
  4. Revisit after November 28, 2026, when the proposed legislative definition is due.

The one thing not to do is describe today's product as superintelligent. Under Bostrom's meaning, that's a claim nobody can back up yet.

How will the SI rename affect your website traffic?

Watch two things: which words bring people to your site, and which AI assistants send visitors. If "SI" or "super intelligence" starts showing up in searches that land on your pages, that's your signal to use the term more. If it doesn't, the rename hasn't reached your audience yet, and you don't need to chase it.

There's an easy way to see this without guessing. Check the pages that receive visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini, and the search terms that land on your site. Those two lists tell you which vocabulary your actual audience uses, which beats any prediction about whether the name sticks. The Super Intelligence Force announced on October 4 adds another wrinkle for regulated products, which we covered in What is the Super Intelligence Force?

Do this tonight

  1. Open your homepage and search it for "superintelligence" or "superintelligent." If either describes your current product, rewrite the line.
  2. Add one sentence that names both terms, for example "AI (also called SI, super intelligence)," to your main product page.
  3. Ask ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity "what is SI in AI?" and "best SI tool for [your category]." Note whether you appear and how they describe you.
  4. If you work with US federal agencies, update your proposal templates to say "Super Intelligence (SI)."
  5. Put November 28, 2026 in your calendar. That's when the proposed federal definition is due.

If you want to see which AI assistants already send you visitors, and which pages they land on, Clerion reports ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot as their own channel from one script tag, with no cookies.

Frequently asked questions

What does SI stand for in AI?

SI stands for super intelligence. Since Executive Order 14434 was signed on September 29, 2026, US federal agencies use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "artificial intelligence" and "AI." It covers the same technology as AI.

Is SI the same as ASI?

No. SI is the US government's new name for today's AI and legally means the same as "artificial intelligence" in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). ASI, artificial superintelligence, means a system far beyond human ability in nearly every field, which does not exist.

Has anyone built AGI yet?

No. As of October 2026 no lab has shown a system that meets common definitions of AGI, such as OpenAI's "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work." There is also no single agreed test.

Do private companies have to use the term SI?

No. The executive order applies only to federal executive departments and agencies. Businesses can keep saying AI. The order also does not require changes to existing regulations, contracts, grants or historical documents.

When will SI get its own legal definition?

The order gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days, until about November 28, 2026, to propose legislative language for a federal SI definition. Until Congress acts, SI means the same as AI under existing law.

Should my startup call its product SI-powered?

Keep AI as your main term and add SI alongside it, for example "AI (also called SI, super intelligence)." Most buyers and AI assistants still search for AI, and SI alone can be misread as a claim of superintelligence.

Sources

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