Data as of Aug 25, 2026 · Based on 279 AI responses from ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode · See how Parse measures this
Use Snowflake Cortex AI when you want serverless, in-database generative AI—
Snowflake runs LLMs and vector search inside the
Snowflake Data Cloud so you can build AI apps without moving data. Other vendors (, BigQuery, Redshift, Oracle) provide integrations or lakehouse/ML options but are not presented as the same native, serverless in-warehouse Cortex suite.
Brands AI recommends here
Best when you need serverless, in-database generative AI—Snowflake Cortex AI runs LLMs and vector search inside the Snowflake Data Cloud so you don't move data; caveat: other vendors may offer integrations rather than native in-warehouse execution.
If your cloud data warehouse is Snowflake, the answer is Snowflake itself: Snowflake offers Snowflake Cortex AI.
There's also a particularly notable 2026 partnership between Snowflake and OpenAI: OpenAI models are being brought directly into Snowflake Cortex, allowing customers to call OpenAI models from SQL against their enterprise data.
If you tell me which warehouse you use (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.), I can compare the equivalent "AI directly on the data" offerings and tell you which is strongest.
The exact naming convention—Cortex —belongs specifically to Snowflake , which offers Snowflake Cortex AI . It allows you to run large language models (LLMs) and build generative AI apps directly within your data warehouse using standard SQL or Python, all kept securely inside Snowflake's perimeter.
If you are using a different cloud data warehouse, other major platforms offer equivalent native in-database or serverless AI capabilities under different names:
If you're open to sharing which cloud data warehouse you are currently using, I can give you the exact SQL syntax or feature name to start running models on your data.
The specific terminology you are using—Cortex —refers directly to Snowflake Cortex AI , which is Snowflake's intelligent, fully managed service designed to run machine learning and large language models (LLMs) directly within the data security perimeter.
With Snowflake Cortex AI , you don't need to move your data out of the data warehouse or set up complex external inference pipelines. Instead, you can interact with foundational models (from providers like Meta, Anthropic, Mistral, and others) using standard SQL queries or Python/REST APIs right where your data lives.
Key Capabilities of Snowflake Cortex AI
COMPLETE ) directly inside your queries.(Note: While other cloud data platforms like Google Cloud BigQuery [via BigQuery ML / Vertex AI integration] and Databricks [via MosaicML / Unity Catalog] offer in-platform machine learning and generative AI execution, Cortex is the distinct branding and proprietary feature set owned by Snowflake.)
If you're looking to implement this, let me know:
If you mean “which cloud data-warehouse vendors let you run generative-AI/LLM inference close to or directly against the data, without moving the data to a separate AI platform?”, the major options are:
| Vendor | Offering | Runs AI against warehouse data? | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake | Snowflake Cortex AI | Yes | LLM functions run inside Snowflake; models are hosted within Snowflake's service perimeter. docs.snowflake.comwww.snowflake.com |
| Google Cloud | BigQuery AI / BigQuery ML | Yes | Gemini and partner/open models can be invoked directly from BigQuery SQL; Google now supports managed SQL-native inference for open models as well. docs.snowflake.comcloud.google.comwww.snowflake.com |
| Databricks | Mosaic AI / AI Functions | Yes | ai_query and other AI Functions apply LLMs to data stored in Databricks, directly from SQL/notebooks/workflows. docs.databricks.com |
| Microsoft | Fabric / Azure AI integration | Yes, but architecture differs | Fabric integrates AI capabilities with OneLake/Fabric data, although it's less directly analogous to Snowflake Cortex's SQL-native model execution. |
Snowflake Cortex is probably the product you're thinking of. Snowflake explicitly positions Cortex as AI “next to your data”, with LLMs accessible directly in SQL or through APIs, inside Snowflake's security perimeter.
For example, you can use an LLM as part of a SQL transformation—classifying, extracting information from, summarizing, or enriching records—without first exporting the underlying data to an external AI service. Snowflake currently provides models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral and DeepSeek.
BigQuery is the other particularly strong equivalent. Google now supports AI.GENERATE, embeddings, similarity functions, Gemini, Anthropic, Mistral, Llama and other models directly through BigQuery workflows.
So if you're evaluating vendors for “GenAI directly on our warehouse data,” I'd shortlist Snowflake Cortex, BigQuery AI/ML, and Databricks Mosaic AI.
If you tell me which warehouse you're currently using (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, Azure/Fabric, etc.), I can compare the native GenAI options, model choices, data-movement requirements, security, and pricing for that specific platform.
The specific feature set you are referring to—branded explicitly with the name Cortex —is offered by Snowflake.
Other Cloud Data Warehouses with Similar Native AI Capabilities
If you aren't strictly locked to the "Cortex" branding, other major cloud data warehouses offer very similar in-database/native generative AI integration:
Are you currently evaluating Snowflake Cortex AI , or are you looking to compare its SQL-based AI functions against BigQuery/Redshift equivalents for a specific use case?
If by “cloud data warehouse” you mean Snowflake, the answer is Snowflake itself: Snowflake Cortex AI is specifically designed to run generative AI/LLM capabilities alongside the data already in Snowflake, without moving the data to a separate AI platform.
Snowflake Cortex AI offers:
So the architecture is roughly:
Your Snowflake data → Cortex AI/LLM → answer or generated insight
rather than:
Snowflake → export data → external AI platform → send results back
If you tell me which cloud data warehouse you're using (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, etc.), I can identify the closest equivalent and compare the top 3–5 vendors, including whether the models actually execute next to the data or merely query it.
The specific term "Cortex" is branded and offered by Snowflake , but other major cloud data platforms provide the exact same capability—running generative AI models and large language models (LLMs) directly on data inside the warehouse using standard SQL or notebooks.
The primary providers offering native in-warehouse generative AI execution include:
ai_query, ai_gen , and task-specific enrichment functions) that invoke state-of-the-art LLMs directly on data stored in Delta tables. Execution is governed entirely through the Unity Catalog.AI.GENERATE ). This allows you to process structured and unstructured data—including PDFs, images, and text—directly within BigQuery SQL queries without exporting data to an external AI service.If you'd like, let me know:
I can share how to write your first native SQL AI query for that platform.
If you mean a cloud data warehouse vendor that provides a “Cortex”-style generative AI layer where models run against data without moving it out of the warehouse, the main example is:
Snowflake Cortex AI is built into the Snowflake data platform. It lets users call generative AI capabilities directly from Snowflake using SQL functions, APIs, and AI services, keeping data inside Snowflake’s governed environment. It supports LLM-powered tasks such as summarization, classification, extraction, RAG-style applications, and agents.
Examples:
AI_COMPLETE to send data to an LLM from within Snowflake. Other major cloud warehouse ecosystems have similar concepts:
| Platform | Generative AI capability |
|---|---|
| Google Cloud BigQuery | Gemini-powered AI features and integrations that bring generative AI capabilities to data stored in BigQuery. docs.cloud.google.com |
| Microsoft Azure Synapse / Fabric | Azure OpenAI and Microsoft Fabric AI capabilities integrate models with analytics data platforms. |
| Amazon Web Services Redshift | Uses AWS AI services (such as Amazon Bedrock integrations) to build generative AI applications around warehouse data. |
If your warehouse is Snowflake, the answer is specifically Snowflake Cortex AI. If you tell me which warehouse you use (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, Synapse/Fabric, etc.), I can map the equivalent service and architecture.
The exact terminology—Cortex —combined with running machine learning and large language models (LLMs) directly on data inside a cloud data platform belongs to Snowflake.
Snowflake Cortex AI is a fully managed, serverless intelligence layer built directly into the Snowflake Data Cloud. Rather than requiring you to extract data, set up separate vector databases, or juggle external API credentials, Cortex allows you to execute generative AI and ML models right where your data lives using standard SQL or Python.
Key capabilities included in Snowflake's in-data AI suite:
AI_COMPLETE, AI_EXTRACT, AI_SUMMARIZE, AI_CLASSIFY , and AI_SENTIMENT ) that let you run multimodal analytics (text, images, audio) using top models from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, and DeepSeek within Snowflake's security perimeter.If you're already using Snowflake or another specific warehouse, let me know what kind of data you want to analyze (e.g., customer support tickets, PDF contracts, or tabular sales data) so I can suggest the right Cortex function or architecture for your use case.
You’re probably thinking of Snowflake Cortex, from Snowflake.
Snowflake Cortex lets you run generative-AI models inside the Snowflake environment, directly against your data, rather than moving the data to a separate AI platform. Its AI functions support models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, and others.
Key pieces include:
And as of 2026, Snowflake has also partnered with OpenAI to bring OpenAI's frontier models directly into Snowflake Cortex, so this isn't limited to Snowflake's own models.
If you tell me which cloud data warehouse you use (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.), I can tell you the equivalent offering and compare the options.