Generator vs. explorer is a useful distinction, but it's incomplete. Agents without a recognition loop are just generators with extra steps.

What makes exploration valuable is the cycle: act, observe, recognize whether you're closer to what you wanted, then refine. Without that recognition ("closer" or "drifting"), you're exploring blind.

Context is what lets the loop close. You need enough of it to judge the outcome. I think that real shift isn't generators → agents. It's one-shot output → iterative refinement with judgment in the loop.