OpenAI’s immense success in AI and new “temporary prototype” search tool prompts Microsoft to officially list the ChatGPT maker as a competitor

Microsoft officially listed OpenAI as a competitor in search and AI.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

Last month, Microsoft concluded its fiscal year 2024. The company reported $64.7 billion in revenue, $245.1 billion for the full year, and an upward trajectory across all its divisions in itsFY24 Q4 earnings report.

Following the report, investors raised concerns overMicrosoft’s exorbitant expenditure on AI projects, which don’t necessarily reflect similar results in profit. Microsoft is also seemingly shifting its focus to cybersecurity after backlash for its cascade of security failures. The company CEO Satya Nadella recently indicated thatsecurity is its top priorityas it underpins every layer of the tech stack.

In case you missed it, Microsoft also listed OpenAI as its competitor in search and advertising alongside other rivals, Including Amazon and Google. This makesMicrosoft and OpenAI’s partnership more complicated, especially with the former’smulti-billion dollar investment in the ChatGPT makerand broad adoption of its AI-powered technology across its products and services.

SearchGPT could give Bing and Google a run for their money

SearchGPT could give Bing and Google a run for their money

It is evident that OpenAI and Microsoft are scrambling for a big share of the AI market share as the technology becomes widely available, and more companies hop onto the bandwagon and integrate the tech into their workflow.

For instance, OpenAI recently debuted its temporary prototype search tool —SearchGPT. While the search tool is still limited to a select group of users, it’s already raising concerns among key players in search. SearchGPT could give Google a run for its money, especially after the antitrust ruling that deemed ita monopolist in search.

A former Google engineer says the company hasbigger fish to fry with SearchGPTthan the antitrust ruling and pending regulation. Google will likely appeal the court’s ruling, pushing back the regulation process. The engineer says the emergence of OpenAI’s SearchGPT is a more prevalent issue that Google needs to address immediately to maintain its dominance in the space.

Gmail Creator Paul Buchheit saysGoogle missed its opportunity with AI to maintain its search dominance, despite its vast resources, including talent, funding, and more. Its recent failure with theGoogle AI Overviews featurerecommending eating rocks and committing suicide doesn’t help its case.

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Microsoft’s Bing is slowly gaining traction, reaching140 million daily active users in April. The company attributed the immense success and growth of the platform to AI. However, users are seemingly more inclined to Google (the world’s most popular search engine).

EvenApple admitted that there’s no amount Microsoft could pay to get it to ditch Google, including offering Bing for free. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella previously indicated the company is willing topart with up to $15 billion to attract a similar deal, which he defined as a “game-changing opportunity.” The iPhone maker cited Bing’s search quality issues as the main deterrent.

While Apple doesn’t have a wide array of search engine options, Google pays a jaw-dropping $26 billion to maintain its search engine as the default across Apple devices. It’ll be interesting to see the impact SearchGPT will have on this in the future if it gets Google and Microsoft’s missteps right.

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.