Introduction
Microsoft’s Bing Chat has taken the search engine market by storm, introducing a powerful AI chatbot that has taken users by surprise. With Google holding 92% of the market share, Microsoft has much to prove and is making strides toward changing that.
As of the beginning of 2023, the search engine market size has reached more than 120 billion dollars and is expected to reach 350 billion in 2028. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, claimed that Google, a massive stakeholder in this market, could not make bold moves, and Bing had almost nothing to lose, which gave them the power to lead the industry. (Spoiler: He was right!)
The Debate Over AI Chatbots: Risks and Benefits
The rise of AI language models has led to a debate about their ethical and social implications.
Some are concerned about the potential risks of chatbots that can generate realistic and persuasive responses, such as misinformation, manipulation, or abuse.
Others are impressed by the technological advancements and the benefits of having conversational agents that can help with various tasks and queries. As we move on, these issues will be addressed, and artificial intelligence will step more inside our daily lives sooner than we think.
Microsoft’s $13+ Billion Investment in AI Chatbot to Power Bing Chat
Bing Chat is an AI chatbot that uses natural language processing and deep learning to understand and generate responses to user queries. Its advanced capabilities have impressed users, who will be able to get faster and more accurate answers to their search queries and some of the writing features of ChatGPT integrated with it.
Microsoft wants the lead in the search engine market. In 2019, the company invested $1 billion in OpenAI, the small San Francisco company that designed ChatGPT. Microsoft has quietly invested another $2 billion in the years since, according to sources familiar with the investment.
The $3 billion investment was made to provide OpenAI with the vast computing power it needed to build the chatbot. As ChatGPT developed over the years, it required much more computing power and experience to further strengthen the experience of using ChatGPT. When it went viral, the chatbot was frequently crashing, and OpenAI did not want to limit the user numbers because more users meant more experience for their chatbot. Instead, they wanted more users to use ChatGPT to have it gain more experience, so they made another investment agreement with Microsoft.
Sources have previously reported that Microsoft was looking to get a 49% stake in OpenAI, valuing the company at around $29 billion. Under the terms of the proposal, Microsoft would receive three-quarters of OpenAI’s profits until it recovers an investment as high as $10 billion. Not long after, Microsoft and OpenAI confirmed this agreement. This investment aimed to integrate AI with Microsoft Windows OS to revive Clippy, especially its search engine Bing.
Google’s Bard Backfires as Microsoft Takes AI Advantage
Google’s chatbot, Google Bard, has not fared as well. In a public demo, it had an inaccurate response to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope, causing controversy and criticism. The demo caused Google’s shares to go down by 12% in just one day, and people thought that Google had rushed to secure its place in the search engine market and presented their Bard too early.
With Bing Chat’s release on the same day, Microsoft’s shares rose by 22% in just one month. Unlike Google, their shares did not go down after the presentation.
The market cap of search engines is estimated to be $350+ Billion by 2028, and the artificial intelligence war between market giants like Microsoft and Google show no signs of cooling down. As AI gets into our lives faster than ever, it is exciting to watch the market giants battle it out for supremacy.
Conclusion
The AI battle between Microsoft’s Bing Chat and Google Bard marks a turning point in the search engine market and the integration of artificial intelligence into our daily lives. With Microsoft investing heavily in AI and taking a lead with Bing Chat, Google has found itself in a precarious position, needing to catch up to maintain its dominance. As the market cap of search engines is projected to reach over $350 billion by 2028, the competition between these tech giants will continue to intensify.
It is of utmost importance to stay informed and follow the advancements in this field, as the outcomes of this AI competition will significantly impact the future of search engines, technology, business, and the ways in which we interact with the digital world.
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