Google seems to have the most difficulty executing when it comes to AI, says Perplexity CEO

CNBC Television
4 Mar 202404:45

TLDRIn the transcript, the CEO of Perplexity, an A.I. answer engine, discusses the current A.I. landscape and how smaller companies are making progress competing with tech giants. The CEO praises Microsoft for its rapid integration with enterprises but criticizes Google and Apple for their execution challenges in the A.I. space. The CEO also shares the inspiration behind Perplexity, aiming to provide direct answers to queries without浪费时间on ads and irrelevant links, positioning itself as the next evolution in search technology.

Takeaways

  • 🚀 Perplexity aims to be the world's first A.I. answer engine, focusing on providing direct answers rather than links and ads.
  • 🌟 Microsoft is excelling by rapidly integrating its products into various enterprises and is considered one of the best executing companies.
  • 📉 Apple and Google are facing challenges; the market is waiting for Apple's update on Siri, while Google struggles with execution in the A.I. space.
  • 🔍 The average person associates Google with accuracy, but in the A.I. age, where mistakes are highlighted, Google's past strength is now a challenge.
  • 💡 The inspiration for Perplexity came from the founder's personal experience of not understanding health insurance terms and being overwhelmed by search engine ads.
  • 📈 Perplexity's goal is to revolutionize search by providing direct answers, similar to how Google's algorithm disrupted the traditional portal model like Yahoo!.
  • 👥 Knowledge workers, who are highly paid and time-conscious, are incentivized to use more productive search tools, potentially impacting Google's user base.
  • 🌐 The A.I. landscape is evolving, with smaller companies like Perplexity making progress in competing with larger, established entities.
  • 🛠️ The market is a key indicator of company performance, rewarding those that meet consumer needs and taking market cap from those that don't.
  • 🔗 The traditional search engine model of selling links as a business model is being challenged by the rise of answer bots.

Q & A

  • What is the name of the company founded by the guest in the transcript?

    -The name of the company is Perplexity.

  • How does the guest describe Perplexity?

    -The guest describes Perplexity as the world's first A.I. answer engine.

  • What is Microsoft's strategy according to the guest?

    -Microsoft's strategy is to integrate their products into as many enterprises as possible and create co-pilots for various sectors like finance, health, and Office 365.

  • What does the guest think about Apple's current market position?

    -The guest suggests waiting for Apple's update on Siri, implying that Apple's current market position is not strong due to a lack of new products.

  • Why does the guest believe Google is struggling in the A.I. space?

    -The guest believes Google is struggling because their business model and reputation for accuracy are not well-suited for the A.I. answer bot space, where mistakes are highlighted more.

  • What problem did the guest encounter that led to the creation of Perplexity?

    -The guest faced difficulty in understanding health insurance terms and finding the best plan for a startup with limited funding when using Google.

  • How does the guest's product differ from traditional search engines like Google?

    -The product provides direct answers to questions without wasting time on links, spam, or ads, aiming to save time for knowledge workers.

  • What impact could the shift to A.I. answer bots have on Google's business model?

    -The shift could disrupt Google's business model, which relies on selling the link UI as a high-margin internet business model, as users seek more direct and efficient ways to obtain information.

  • What does the guest imply about the future of search engines?

    -The guest implies that the future of search engines may involve A.I. answer bots that provide direct answers, similar to how search engines like Google initially disrupted portal sites.

  • What is the significance of the guest's mention of knowledge workers?

    -The guest highlights that knowledge workers, who are among the highest paid people in the United States, could significantly impact Google's reputation if they stop using it for daily searches at work, due to the incentive to be more productive.

  • How does the guest's experience with health insurance reflect a broader issue with current search engines?

    -The guest's experience shows that current search engines often prioritize ads over providing useful information, leading to a need for more direct and informative tools like A.I. answer engines.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Startups Competing with Tech Giants

The paragraph discusses the competitive landscape of smaller companies in the AI industry against major tech corporations like Microsoft and Google. It highlights the progress made by smaller firms and introduces the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity, a company that claims to be the world's first AI answer engine. The CEO shares insights on the performance of Microsoft and critiques the market's perception of Apple and Google, particularly Google's challenges in the AI space due to their business model and reputation for accuracy.

🤖 Innovations in AI Answer Engines

This paragraph delves into the founder's motivation for creating Perplexity, an AI answer engine designed to provide direct answers to queries without the clutter of links, spam, and ads. The founder shares a personal anecdote about the difficulty in finding clear information on health insurance, which led to the creation of a tool that could directly answer questions and improve efficiency for knowledge workers. The discussion touches on how AI answer engines could revolutionize the search engine market, much like how Google once disrupted the portal model.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡A.I. Answer Engine

An A.I. Answer Engine refers to a sophisticated artificial intelligence system designed to directly provide answers to user queries without the need for browsing through multiple web pages. In the context of the video, Perplexity, a company mentioned, claims to be the world's first A.I. Answer Engine, aiming to revolutionize the way users seek information by offering direct answers rather than a list of links.

💡Competition

Competition in this context refers to the rivalry between different companies in the technology sector, particularly those involved in the development and provision of A.I. and search engine services. The video script discusses how smaller companies like Perplexity are making progress in competing with larger, established entities such as Microsoft and Google.

💡Enterprise Integration

Enterprise integration refers to the process of incorporating various software, systems, and processes within a large organization to improve efficiency and productivity. In the video, Microsoft is praised for its efforts in integrating its products into different enterprise sectors, such as finance and health, to create co-pilots that streamline operations.

💡Market Perception

Market perception is the collective view or opinion of investors and consumers about a company, its products, or its overall performance. The video script suggests that the market perceives Apple as lacking innovative products and Google as struggling in the A.I. space, which impacts their competitive positions.

💡Product Differentiation

Product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others in the market to attract a specific target segment. In the video, the founder of Perplexity discusses how their A.I. Answer Engine differentiates itself from traditional search engines like Google by providing direct answers to queries, which saves users time and enhances their experience.

💡Knowledge Workers

Knowledge workers are individuals who perform intellectual or technical work, often requiring higher education or specialized skills. In the video, the impact of A.I. Answer Engines on productivity is discussed, emphasizing the potential benefits for knowledge workers who seek efficient ways to access information during their work time.

💡User Experience

User experience refers to the overall satisfaction and ease of interaction that users have with a product or service. The video emphasizes the importance of providing a superior user experience by offering direct answers to queries, which saves time and reduces frustration associated with traditional search engines.

💡Search Engine

A search engine is a software system designed to search for information on the World Wide Web in response to a user's query. The video discusses the evolution of search engines and the emergence of A.I. Answer Engines as a new paradigm that aims to enhance the way users find information by providing direct answers instead of a list of links.

💡Health Insurance

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that pays for medical and surgical expenses incurred by the insured. In the video, the founder of Perplexity uses the example of trying to understand health insurance terms and options to illustrate the need for a more direct and efficient way to access information, which their A.I. Answer Engine aims to provide.

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency with which tasks are completed, often measured by output per unit of time. In the context of the video, the discussion around A.I. Answer Engines suggests that these tools can enhance productivity by saving time for knowledge workers, who are highly paid and whose time is valuable.

💡Business Model

A business model describes the strategy and plan a company uses to generate revenue and make a profit. In the video, the challenges faced by Google in adapting their business model to the A.I. Answer Engine space are discussed, highlighting the importance of aligning a company's operations with evolving market demands and technologies.

Highlights

The co-founder and CEO of Perplexity discusses the company's position in the A.I. landscape as the world's first A.I. answer engine.

Microsoft is recognized for its tremendous performance and rapid integration of products into various enterprises, making it one of the fastest and best-performing companies.

Google is perceived as struggling in the A.I. space due to its business model and the public's association of Google with accuracy, which is challenged by the A.I. era's need for fact-checking and ethics.

The interviewee suggests waiting for Apple's update on Siri, hinting at potential improvements in Apple's A.I. capabilities.

Perplexity aims to differentiate itself from big incumbents by providing direct answers to queries, saving users' time from sifting through links, ads, and irrelevant information.

The creation of Perplexity was inspired by the difficulty in finding straightforward information about health insurance for startups with limited funding.

Perplexity's tool is designed to answer questions directly, representing the next evolution of search engines like Google, which have become reliant on ad revenue.

Answer bots are disrupting the traditional search engine model by offering direct answers, similar to how search engines like Google have disrupted the portal model.

The shift towards A.I. answer engines is particularly impactful for knowledge workers, who are incentivized to be more productive and save time on searches.

The interviewee expresses satisfaction with Perplexity's product and notes its popularity among friends in tech and finance sectors.

The interviewee reminisces about the early days of Google, suggesting that A.I. answer engines like Perplexity are reminiscent of that innovative period in tech.

The market's perception of Google's difficulty in executing in the A.I. space is attributed to the magnification of their mistakes due to their reputation for accuracy.

Perplexity's approach to providing direct answers is seen as a solution to the problem of information overload and the inefficiency of traditional search engines.

The interviewee highlights the importance of user satisfaction and the potential for A.I. answer engines to redefine user expectations from search platforms.

The discussion touches on the challenges faced by legacy tech giants in adapting to the evolving demands of A.I. technology and user preferences.

The interviewee's personal experience with the shortcomings of traditional search engines led to the creation of Perplexity, aiming to enhance user experience.

The potential impact of A.I. answer engines on productivity is emphasized, particularly among high-income knowledge workers in the United States.