This document compares speed control of a separately excited DC motor using conventional and artificial intelligence (AI) based controllers. It first provides background on separately excited DC motors and discusses their conventional control using a proportional-integral (PI) controller. It then introduces fuzzy logic and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) controllers for speed control. The controllers are modeled and tested in MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results show AI controllers provide better performance and robustness during large load disturbances compared to the conventional PI controller.