Big Techs Race To Capitalize On AI: How Apple, Microsoft, Google Would Monetize The Technology

In this photo illustration Google, Amazon and Apple logos seen displayed behind silhouettes of model/toy people. These companies have a different perspective on the use AI. PAVLO GONCHAR/BENZINGA

The past week saw some milestone events on the artificial intelligence front, with OpenAI unveiling the latest iteration of its GPT large language model and Baidu Inc. announcing its Ernie chatbot.

In this photo illustration an GPT-4 logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen and Microsoft Office 365 suite in the background. The technology behind the world’s most talked about artificial intelligence (AI) system, ChatGPT, is being added to its most ubiquitous work software, Microsoft 365., in Athens, Greece, on March 17, 2023. NIKOLAS KOKOVLIS/BENZINGA

Reviewing the development, Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster commented that big techs are racing to capitalize. He shared some insights into the potential ramifications for some of the biggest techs.

Training data will likely differentiate one LLM from another, and therefore having unique sources of data like Tweets or customer reviews will likely fetch unique responses from the AI model, Munster said. He sees the potential of these LLMs built into the backend of many tech services.

In the long term, this could hurt ad models, as fewer eyeballs at Alphabet Inc.’s Google Search could mean less ad revenue, Munster said.

While details of how AI-powered ads will eventually look aren’t clear yet, the venture capitalist is of the view advertisers will find a way into the AI ad funnel.

“Now we’re entering the age of AI-powered search and discovery and a new ad model paradigm will emerge over the next decade,” he said.

Whurley speaks onstage at Featured Session: “QuantumanAI: Why Your Future Depends on Quantum Computing & Artificial Intelligence” during the 2023 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Hilton Austin on March 15, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The future of AI has been the topic of how it will elevate the future. ERRICH PETERSEN/BENZINGA

For Microsoft Corp. which has invested about $13 billion into OpenAI since 2019, the path is clear, given the expectation that more than 80% of the business will eventually have some form of AI assistant, Munster said.

The company will likely monetize the usage of AI in Microsoft 365 and Azure by raising prices, and with Bing, it could go with advertising for monetization, he added.

Munster noted that Google has been an AI-first company since 2017, and it has a 90% share of the global search market, excluding China and Russia, which will likely feed its AI models and make them smarter.

Alphabet could monetize the usage of AI in search and YouTube, which together account for 80% of the overall revenue, through advertising, the fund manager said.

With Google Cloud, the company might raise prices or charge for models, he said, adding that it will likely take a similar approach as Azure and Amazon Inc.’s AWS, charging for AI models that developers can plug into applications hosted in the cloud.

While conceding that Apple Inc. is missing in AI conversations, Munster said it is the only company owning both mobile and desktop operating systems. “AI in its most useful form will be the fabric of an operating system that enables new features within apps,” he added.

Apple could raise hardware prices for AI-integrated iOS and MacOS, he said. He sees the use of autonomous systems in Apple’s self-driving cars in the works as the “mother of all AI projects.”

Produced in association with Benzinga