Artificial intelligence has become a new source of preoccupation for Big Tech firms. Chief executives from companies throughout the industry crammed earnings calls with references to the hotly anticipated technology, which up until recently had more of a supporting role than a significant impact on the bottom line.

According to a Reuters study of conference transcripts, tech executives used the terms 'AI,' 'generative AI,' or 'machine learning' two to six times more frequently in conference calls following financial results than they had the previous quarter.

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The latest major tech fight between Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. executives was fought on the conference call front lines. Alphabet outperformed the opposition on Thursday. 

Compared to Microsoft, whose conference was studded with 39 references, up from 15 in the previous quarter, the Google call owner's mentioned AI 45 times, an increase from 13 at the end of the third quarter.

In conference calls following the release of financial results, tech executives reportedly used the terms 'AI,' 'generative AI,' or 'machine learning' two to six times more frequently than they had the previous quarter, according to a Reuters analysis of conference transcripts.

Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. executives engaged in the most recent significant tech battle over conference calls. On Thursday, Alphabet appeared to outperform the competition. 

The Google call owner cited AI 45 times, an increase from 13 at the end of the third quarter, in contrast to Microsoft, whose conference was peppered with 39 references, up from 15 in the previous quarter.

The advent of software that can virtually generate text and visuals, as illustrated by ChatGPT, a chatbot from the startup OpenAI, has triggered a rush to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into more products and for investors to speculate on which company will succeed.

Microsoft's investment in OpenAI and its ongoing attempts to make ChatGPT widely available to its cloud users, among other initiatives, pose a new threat to Alphabet. 

Industry watchers believe that adding human-like, ChatGPT-style responses to Microsoft's Bing search engine might give it a competitive edge over Alphabet's Google, which has long dominated the information search market.

In response to the public's preoccupation with ChatGPT, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, implied that Google was still in the game.

He said we'll approach this mission bravely and with profound responsibility.He asserts that Alphabet will give AI software a high priority and that it will soon make its own LaMDA chatbot programme widely available.

After staying quiet about its large expenditures in AI, according to Edward Jones analyst David Heger, Google is finally providing more details.

He noted that they were much more forthright about how it benefits practically every element of their organisation and how they want to integrate it in the future further.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHAPE-UP

On Snap Inc.'s fourth-quarter conference call, CEO Evan Spiegel said that generative AI would be vital to building its primary business, augmented reality (AR), over the next five years.

Artists must produce 3D models, limiting the technology that superimposes computer representations in the real world. Spiegel claims generative AI can speed things up.

'Consider playing with your children while wearing AR glasses and exclaiming, 'Oh my god, there's a pirate ship with a giant monster. 'Generative (AI) art is fascinating,' he said.

Mark Zuckerberg called generative AI 'a very intriguing new topic' 30 times in a Wednesday conference call, up from 22 in the previous quarter. 

The CEO of Facebook and Meta Platforms Inc., whose shares rose 20% after releasing financial results, said users might expect 'several new things this year' in generative AI.

Zuckerberg said Meta would include the new technology in most of its products, including those that create photos, films, avatars, and 3D materials. 

He said Meta's apps would help content producers create more. In an interview with Meta's vice president of the worldwide business group, Nicola Mendelsohn, marketers may use generative AI to write paid post content or create graphics and videos.

• Zuckerberg says Meta's goal is to lead generative AI research.

• AI will be necessary even at Apple Inc., where hardware like the iPhone has reigned.

Last Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered a query about the company's AI plan by saying that the technology powers features like automotive collision avoidance in the iPhone and Apple Watch and will be utilised in all Apple's devices and services.

Cook says this area might affect practically everything. Horizontal technology is evident. It will affect all our services and products.

Kenneth Li, Aditya Soni, and Jonathan Oatis edited; Sheila Dang, Greg Bensinger, Stephen Nellis, Nivedita Balu, Tiyashi Datta, Chavi Mehta, Yuvraj Malik, and Jeffrey Dastin reported.