A CPU (central processing unit) is the computer’s general-purpose “brain”: it has fewer, more powerful cores and is optimized for sequential work, complex decisions, and running the operating system and everyday applications. A GPU (graphics processing unit) has many smaller, specialized cores that divide work across cores at once, so it excels at highly parallel tasks such as rendering graphics, processing video, and accelerating many AI workloads.
Both are silicon microprocessors that handle data, but they are built for different strengths. Modern systems typically use both—the CPU for broad control and low-latency tasks, and the GPU when large batches of similar calculations can run in parallel.