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Microsoft and Google Race to Lead the AI Revolution

Table of Contents

Microsoft Integrates Bing and ChatGPT for Smarter Search

During its annual Build developer conference last week, Microsoft unveiled several AI-focused updates to make Bing search and its ChatGPT chatbot work together in a more intuitive way. One of the key new capabilities allows ChatGPT to ground its conversational responses in web search results from Bing, and provide citations so users can verify facts or learn more.

This integration of Bing search into ChatGPT responses aims to make the chatbot smarter and its answers more reliable. Until now, AI chatbots like ChatGPT have lacked the ability to look up facts on the web, instead relying solely on their training data which can become outdated. By tapping into Bing's index of current webpages, ChatGPT can now provide citations to back up its responses.

ChatGPT Gains Ability to Cite Sources

During a chat conversation, ChatGPT can now retrieve relevant webpages from Bing and include links to them when answering questions. This allows it to ground its responses in factual information from credible sites across the web, rather than just relying on its training data from 2021. Providing citations makes ChatGPT's responses more transparent and trustworthy. Users can click the links to verify the facts themselves or learn more about the topic being discussed.

Coming Soon to All Users

So far, the new Bing-powered ChatGPT is only available to Microsoft's ChatGPT Plus subscribers. However, Microsoft plans to roll it out soon to all free users as well via a plugin. Offering web-enhanced responses from ChatGPT for free will allow far more people to benefit from more accurate, up-to-date information in their AI chats. This could help increase trust and adoption of AI chatbots.

Microsoft Expands AI Copilot Across Windows 11

In addition to supercharging ChatGPT with Bing search, Microsoft announced at Build 2023 it is expanding its AI Copilot feature more broadly across Windows 11. AI Copilot is designed to help users write faster and more efficiently by providing AI-generated suggestions and completions right within documents.

Now available across Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and OneNote, Copilot can summarize documents, help draft emails, create presentations, and more. It aims to save time and boost productivity by handling rote writing tasks.

Summarizing, Editing and Creating Documents

Copilot leverages the power of large language models like GPT-3 to provide a range of intelligent writing assistance. It can generate concise paragraph summaries of longer documents, allowing users to quickly understand the gist. The AI can also suggest completions as you type to autocomplete sentences and entire paragraphs. This helps users write faster by reducing repetitive typing. Beyond finishing thoughts, Copilot can generate entire documents like emails, reports, and presentations based just on a few prompts. This level of AI-powered drafting can save huge amounts of time.

Google's AI Investments Pay Off in Rising Stock Value

While Microsoft charges ahead with new AI product features, Google has been boosting its AI capabilities more quietly in the background recently. But this investment in next-gen AI is starting to pay dividends in the form of rising stock value.

So far this year, the share price of Google's parent company Alphabet has risen 37%. According to analysts, this stock surge is largely thanks to Google's potential in AI as it tries to catch up to Microsoft.

Alphabet Share Price Up 37% This Year

After lagging behind Microsoft and some other tech giants in 2022, Alphabet has come roaring back in 2023 with its share price rising 37% year-to-date. This gives the company a market cap of over $1.2 trillion. Analysts attribute most of these stock gains to Google's rapid advances in AI. Initiatives like its LaMDA chatbot, AI Test Kitchen demos, and investments in generative AI models have demonstrated its prowess.

Anthropic's Claude Raises $450 Million

Anthropic, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI researchers, raised $450 million this week to fund ongoing development of its AI assistant Claude. Billed as a more safe and helpful alternative to chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude is focusing on conversational AI that minimizes harms.

The massive funding round, led by investment firms Baillie Gifford and Coatue, reflects surging interest in generative AI amid recent high-profile launches like ChatGPT and Google's Bard.

Focus on AI Safety

As one of the new wave of AI companies, Anthropic emphasizes responsible development of conversational AI. Given concerns about bias, misinformation and other risks from chatbots, Anthropic aims to make safety a key pillar of Claude. Techniques like constitutional AI and self-supervised learning allow Claude to minimize harmful responses, while still providing useful information to users.

Backers Include Google and Zoom

Joining lead investors in Anthropic's latest funding were prominent tech companies including Google, Microsoft, and Zoom. Their support highlights the mounting competition to lead in safe, value-aligned AI. With Google also backing firms like Anthropic, it aims to hedge its bets and share in promising innovations in natural language processing.

ChatGPT's Download Numbers Surge

ChatGPT may have launched back in November, but public interest continues to surge. After gaining access to Bing search results last week, downloads of the ChatGPT mobile app have skyrocketed.

This latest viral craze for generative AI has also boosted Microsoft's share price as investors see big potential in natural language chatbots.

Over 770,000 Downloads in Days

In the first few days after ChatGPT was updated to connect with Bing, the ChatGPT mobile app saw over 770,000 new downloads according to app tracking firm Apptopia. This 8x increase in downloads highlights just how eager people are to try AI chatbots, especially as they gain more intelligence from searching the web.

Boosts Microsoft's Stock Price

The surge in ChatGPT usage has contributed to Microsoft's stock price rising 32% so far in 2023. Investors are bullish on its generative AI potential as Microsoft tries to lead the new AI revolution. If Microsoft can successfully integrate ChatGPT across its search, Office software and other products, it could gain a dominant position in the next era of computing.

Conclusion

The AI space continues to see incredibly rapid progress, as evidenced by Microsoft's and Google's latest product updates. Integrating web search into ChatGPT makes it more useful, while Copilot promises to boost productivity.

Investor enthusiasm for the potential of generative AI models has pushed up the share prices of AI leaders like Microsoft and Google. Meanwhile, new entrants like Anthropic aim to spur advances in safe, responsible AI.

The use cases for large language models are proliferating across search, writing assistance, customer service, and much more. While risks remain, AI promises to transform how we gather information and communicate.

FAQ

Q: How has Microsoft improved Bing's AI capabilities?
A: By integrating it with ChatGPT to ground answers in web search results and citations.

Q: What is Microsoft's new AI Copilot feature?
A: A capability across Windows 11 to assist with document editing, summarizing, creating, and comparing.

Q: How has Google invested in AI lately?
A: Through development of models like LaMDA and Bard chatbot, boosting stock price 37%.

Q: What company raised $450M for AI safety focus?
A: Claude developer Anthropic raised funds from backers like Google and Zoom.

Q: How popular is the new ChatGPT app?
A: Over 770,000 downloads quickly, lifting Microsoft's stock price.

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