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☆ Heavyweight tech battle: How Microsoft and Alphabet stack up against each other in the A.I. war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"It's a new day in search," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday during an AI event held at the company's headquarters, saying that the "race starts today." So far, Microsoft is making significant headway within AI and rising in popularity in the tech world. Alphabet, he added, "got beaten to market by Microsoft" despite its investments in the space. Alphabet Microsoft may be taking the lead on AI in the near term, but investors shouldn't sleep on Alphabet just yet. "We believe GOOGL has the AI tech and scale to maintain/grow its leading user base," said Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak in a Thursday note.

☆ Microsoft may have won the A.I. battle, but Alphabet could win the war, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft won the first round in the battle to become the next big artificial intelligence leader, but analysts think Alphabet 's ability to overtake its competition in the long-run shouldn't be underestimated. "We think Google's big reveal is still to come, which we would expect in weeks and not months." On the heels of its multibillion dollar investment in ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, Microsoft on Tuesday announced new AI versions of its Bing search engine and Edge browser. "We believe GOOGL has the AI tech and scale to maintain/grow its leading user base," wrote Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak. He also expects Google's AI product visibility to improve over the next few months — and easily offset some higher AI search costs.

☆ Despite Alphabet's AI event flop — remember, Google dominates search for now. That's what matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

While Microsoft's new AI capabilities could take some market share from Alphabet, Google is still the unshakable leader in search. Alphabet also showed AI-enabled capabilities to Google Maps and Google Lens, allowing users to search for images from their phone's camera. Looking at Alphabet's total revenue of $76.05 billion during the fourth quarter , about 57% came from Google Search & Other. But data from Statcounter shows Google accounts for 93% of search engine market share in all platforms including desktop, tablet and mobile, overshadowing Bing's 3% market share. But Google search, the preferred platform for users, still has the edge with advertisers over Microsoft's Bing.

☆ Web search as you know it is dead: Microsoft's and Google's new AIs are about to transform how you look for information online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | James Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AI-boosted search engines from Microsoft and Google are set to change the way we search the web. New versions of Google Search and Bing are meant to give conversational answers to complex queries. It's "more like just asking a personal assistant to do something," an AI expert told Insider. Nadella said in media interviews Tuesday that the AI-powered overhaul of web search represented "a new paradigm" for the industry. The new search AIs draw their answers from the web at large, and information on the web isn't always accurate, to say the least.

☆ Alphabet shares fall 7% following Google's A.I. event
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

During the event Wednesday, which was livestreamed from Paris, Google executives discussed some of Bard's capabilities. Shares of Alphabet slid during the event, suggesting that investors were hoping for more in light of growing competition from Microsoft. Google's event took place just one day after Microsoft hosted its own AI event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft's event centered around new AI-powered updates to the company's Bing search engine and Edge browser. Though Microsoft's latest AI investments increase the pressure on Google search, some analysts say it will take time for Microsoft to see any significant gains.

☆ Whoops: Google's ad for new ChatGPT rival Bard shows the AI chatbot giving an inaccurate answer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google recently revealed its experimental AI chatbot, Bard, a rival to OpenAI's viral ChatGPT. In an ad for Bard, the chatbot gives an inaccurate answer to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope. The ad depicts the chatbot giving an inaccurate answer to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Reuters first reported. In the ad, a user asks Bard, "What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9 year old about?" Shares of Alphabet, Google's parent company, have fallen by over 8% since Google's AI showcase in Paris this morning.

☆ All you need to know about ChatGPT, the A.I. chatbot that's got the world talking and tech giants clashing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by San Francisco-based startup OpenAI. These are tools that allow users to enter written prompts and receive new human-like text or images and videos generated by the AI. With a whopping 175 billion parameters, GPT-3 is one of the largest and most powerful language processing AI models to date. watch nowWhat makes ChatGPT so impressive is its ability to produce human-like responses, thanks in no small part to the vast amounts of data it is trained on. No generative AI application has quite managed to achieve the kind of influence and virality that ChatGPT has.

☆ Google details plans to use AI in search results
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Google on Wednesday detailed plans to use artificial intelligence technology to radically change how people search for information online, one day after rival Microsoft announced a revamped version of Bing powered by AI. These tools are trained on vast troves of information online in order to generate compelling written responses to user prompts and queries. “As we look ahead, you could imagine how generative AI will enable people to interact with visual information in entirely new ways.”Phrabhakar Raghavan, an SVP at Google, details plans to bring the same technology that underpins Microsoft-backed ChatGPT directly into Google's search results. ChatGPT’s meteoric rise in popularity has reportedly prompted Google’s management to declare a “code red” situation for its core product: online search. The rise of AI-powered chatbots, and the incorporation of this technology into products like online search, could also carry risks.

☆ An artificial intelligence announcement sends an obscure staff-recruitment stock on a wild ride
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Staffing 360 Solutions announced a deal with ActivateStaff to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities Tuesday. Shares of Staffing 360 surged nearly 25% on the news but then tumbled roughly 9% later in the day. A number of obscure companies have seen wild stock swings in recent weeks since the rise of ChatGPT. Staffing 360 CEO Brendan Flood noted the company's Headway unit has competed in "markets centered around flexibility and transparency through the use of artificial intelligence." The hype surrounding OpenAI's ChatGPT has already sent several larger artificial intelligence stocks soaring since the chatbot's launch on November 30.

☆ Explainer: Bard vs ChatGPT: What do we know about Google's AI chatbot?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and rival Microsoft (MSFT.O) are once again locked in a race to rule the internet zeitgeist after the Google owner launched "Bard" in answer to AI chatbot sensation ChatGPT. The artificial intelligence service could change how consumers search for information or create content on command and free up time for white-collar workers. The services that Google's Bard and ChatGPT would offer are similar. Microsoft and Google plan to embed AI tools to bolster their search services Bing and Google Search, which account for a big chunk of revenue. Bard draws on information from the internet, while ChatGPT has access to data until 2021.

☆ Microsoft announces its new search engine with OpenAI that promises to be 'more powerful than ChatGPT'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Aaron Mok | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft just announced its latest search engine, the "new Bing." The new Bing will run on a new next-generation language model Microsoft calls the "Prometheus model" designed specifically for search purposes. The search engine will also include a chat extension that Microsoft said can come in handy for things like "trip planning and shopping." Users can "talk" to the search engine by asking it to recommend the cheapest TV when shopping or to create a itinerary for a five day trip with the family. The news comes just weeks after Microsoft announced that it will be investing billions of dollars into OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT-like tools into its products such as search engine Bing, Excel, and Powerpoint.

☆ Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said he will be 'enlisting every Googler' to help test Bard, its new ChatGPT rival, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sundar Pichai said he'll ask all Google employees to help test Bard, its new ChatGPT rival, CNBC reports. "We're looking forward to getting all of your feedback — in the spirit of an internal hackathon," Pichai told staff. Sundar Pichai sent a company-wide email on Monday after the company announced that it was rolling out Bard over the next few weeks. "Next week, we'll be enlisting every Googler to help shape Bard and contribute through a special company-wide dogfood," Pichai wrote in the email, per CNBC. Bard appears to be similar to ChatGPT in that users can ask it questions and get an answer in response.

☆ Google opens Bard chatbot to test users, plans more AI for search
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

In a blog post on Monday, Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said the company is opening a conversational AI service called Bard to test users for feedback, followed by a public release in the coming weeks. Powering Bard is LaMDA, Google's AI that can generate prose so human-like that a company engineer last year called it sentient, a claim the technology giant and scientists widely dismissed. Google also plans to add AI-powered features to its search engine that synthesize information to answer complex queries, like whether a guitar or the piano is easier to learn to play, Pichai said. And Google will give tools, first powered by LaMDA and later by other AI technology, to web developers, creators and enterprises starting next month, he said. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Google just introduced Bard, a new rival and competition for ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The technology is powered by LaMDA, a large language model Google unveiled in May 2021. On Monday, Pichai unveiled its Bard AI service in a blog post on Google's website, which he described as "an experimental conversational AI service." Bard is powered by LaMDA, a language model trained on dialogue that Google announced in May 2021. Pichai noted that Bard will draw on information from the web to provide "fresh, high-quality responses." However, Pichai noted that Google is releasing Bard with a "lightweight model version of LaMDA."

☆ Google announces Bard A.I. in response to ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CEO of Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai during press conference at the Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland on March 29, 2022. They included a chatbot called "Apprentice Bard," as well as new search desktop designs that could be used in a question-and-answer format. Google on Monday announced an artificial intelligence chatbot technology called " Bard " that the company will begin rolling out in the coming weeks. Bard will compete directly with rival ChatGPT , an AI service created by OpenAI. Google's prime business is web search, and the company has long touted itself as a pioneer in AI.

☆ Google CEO issues rallying cry in internal memo: All hands on deck to test ChatGPT competitor Bard
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google Inc. speaks during an event in New Delhi on December 19, 2022. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees Monday the company is going to need all hands on deck to test Bard, its new ChatGPT rival. He also said Google will soon be enlisting help from partners to test an application programming interface, or API, that would let others access the same underlying technology. Pichai's note to employees also said search boss Prabhakar Raghavan will be "sharing progress" at an event in Paris later this week. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch a version of its own search engine, Bing, that will use ChatGPT to answer users' search queries.

☆ ChatGPT ignited a new A.I. craze. What it means for tech companies and who's best positioned to benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Since the launch of ChatGPT late last year, no one in the tech world can seem to stop talking about artificial intelligence. CEO Sundar Pichai announced Thursday that the company will launch its LaMDA language model and new AI features "very soon ." But it's not just technology companies rethinking AI. We combed through earnings transcripts available through FactSet to find out what some of the biggest tech companies are saying about the latest craze and who could benefit the most. Preparing for an 'AI arms race' in tech There's no question that Microsoft stands to gain from ChatGPT and the AI push on Wall Street.

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook says AI will eventually 'affect every product and service we have'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tim Cook said AI would be a "major focus" for Apple and affect every product and service. Recent AI products like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 have caught the attention of the business community. Cook said Apple has already integrated AI into some of its iPhone and Apple watch features. It will affect every product and every service that we have," Cook said. Many predictions about artificial intelligence seemed like the stuff of science fiction until recently, when several consumer-facing AI products hit the market, including AI photo editors like Lensa AI and DALL-E 2, along with AI chatbot ChatGPT.

☆ Google CEO Sundar Pichai says users will be able to interact directly with AI features in its search engine 'very soon'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He said on the Thursday call that AI "is the most profound technology" the company is working on. Its CEO, Sundar Pichai, told investors on Thursday that AI "is the most profound technology" the company is working on. Pichai said on Thursday that the tech giant was planning to make its language models, starting with Google's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), available for users to "engage directly" with. "Very soon, people will be able to interact directly with our newest, most powerful language model as a companion to Search, in experimental and innovative ways," he said. Google also reportedly plans to demo a version of Google Search with AI chatbot features this year.

☆ Google will bring generative AI to Gmail. It's trying to stem the threat of the Microsoft-OpenAI alliance.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's been developing AI models for years and has used AI in products, including search. Google will release new tools and APIs for developers and users to experiment with its AI models. Unlike some Big Tech AI models, ChatGPT went insanely viral because it was so easy to use and available even to non-programmers. The company also announced plans to offer more AI products for businesses and organizations, though Pichai did not specify which kinds. Pichai pointed to using AI to improve Google Search and said people should expect further upgrades fueled by AI.

☆ Analysts overlook Alphabet's disappointing quarter, cite confidence in AI push as ChatGPT threat grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts are willing to overlook Alphabet' s disappointing quarter in lieu of its artificial intelligence push and focus on costs. Shares of the search giant fell more than 4% after the company missed Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter. But, analysts lauded the company's focus on artificial intelligence as it faces mounting pressures from popularized Microsoft-backed chatbot ChatGPT . Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company plans to release its LaMDA language model with search components "very soon." GOOGL 1D mountain GOOGL falls after earnings Analysts also cited some confidence in the company's push to reengineer its cost structure and reduce inefficiencies.

☆ Analysis: From Meta to Microsoft, AI's big moment is here
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoFeb 3 (Reuters) - Big Tech companies have a new obsession: artificial intelligence. Executives from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), behind the latest big rivalry in tech, took their battle to the conference-call front lines. We can bring those to life using generative (AI) art, which I think is really exciting," he said. "One of my goals for Meta is to build on our research to become a leader in generative AI," said Zuckerberg.

☆ Alphabet finally got the message that investors have had it with wild spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Alphabet (GOOGL) reported weaker-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results Thursday evening as a combination of foreign exchange headwinds and a slowdown in ad spending continued to plague the company. Bottom line This wasn't a great showing from Alphabet, but management's call with investors reassured us about the path ahead. The team said it will continue to invest in growth and the future — something we appreciate as long-term investors. While the effort to slow operating expense growth is underway, the team said the impact will become more visible in 2024. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Across the company, Alphabet will "meaningfully" slow its pace of hiring this year, said Porat. Net income fell to $13.62 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $20.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit of $1.05 per share fell short of an expected $1.18 per share, according to Refinitiv. Revenue from Google advertising, which includes Search and YouTube, fell 3.6% to $59.04 billion. Late last month, the Justice Department and eight states sued Google over what they said were anticompetitive practices in its digital ad sales.

☆ Google CEO promises new AI features are coming to search 'very soon' amid competition from ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Thursday that the company will soon add advanced AI features to its search engine. Pichai said that it will release the large language model "in the coming weeks and months" so the company can get more feedback. Weakness in the advertising business appeared in an 8% revenue decline in YouTube's advertising revenue and a 2% fall in Google's Search and Other revenue. Google's prime business is web search, and the company has long touted itself as a pioneer in AI. But generative AI products like ChatGPT could pose a threat to the entire model of internet search, as they can provide creative answers to more complicated queries.

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