Google and Microsoft provided updates on their respective AI programs during their first-quarter earnings calls. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced improvements in three areas, including building large language models and enabling organizations to benefit from AI advances. He also noted an updated version of the Google Bard AI chatbot, which can now help with programming and software development tasks, and mentioned new AI tools for search under development to counter Microsoft’s ChatGPT on Bing. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Copilot, an AI chatbot embedded in Microsoft 365 applications, is the “future of work” and that Bing’s downloads have grown four times since the incorporation of AI features.
Both companies have invested heavily in AI-related research and its applications for web search, which has led to a tense competition between them. Microsoft added AI to Bing, while Google is reportedly planning to release new AI tools for search. The companies are also incorporating large language models, including GPT-4, to improve their services.