🤖 Bing's GPT-4 Chatbot Revolution With Ads

Update 2023-03-31

News

• Meta Discusses Ban on Political Ads Across European Social Networks

• Ads Come to Bing's Chatbot Powered by GPT-4

• Google Accuses Microsoft of Unfair Advantage in Cloud Computing Battle

• TSMC Expansion in the US Complicated by Double Taxation Burden and US-China Politics

• Twitter Introduces New Pricing Model, Raising Concerns Among Developers

• Snap Launches ARES to Help Retailers Bring AR Shopping Experiences to Customers

• Shopify and Google Cloud Unite to Revolutionize e-Commerce

• ChatGPT Adoption Booms: 1 Million Australians Already Using AI Chatbot Technology

• Generative AI on the Rise: How AI is Transforming Industries in 2023 and Beyond

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Talks AI's iPhone Moment in Interview

• DOJ Plans to Block Adobe's $20 Billion Acquisition of Figma: Breakup Fee Could Reach $1 Billion.

• Glassdoor Owner Getting Acquired for $2.6 Billion

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Big Tech

Meta Discusses Ban on Political Ads Across European Social Networks

Meta executives are discussing a potential ban on political advertising in Europe due to concerns about the company's social networking platform. The discussions come in the wake of new EU regulations, which have raised concerns about how the company will police its social networks. The potential ban would be company-wide and would apply to all of Meta's social networking platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

Meta's discussions about a political advertising ban in Europe follow similar moves in the United States. In 2019, Twitter banned political advertising on its platform, and Google limited its targeting of political ads. The potential ban on political advertising in Europe would be a significant shift for Meta, which has faced criticism for its handling of political ads in the past.

Ads Come to Bing's Chatbot Powered by GPT-4

Microsoft is exploring the possibility of putting ads in Bing's chatbot experience[1]. The chatbot is powered by GPT-4, the same technology that OpenAI used to create ChatGPT. The chatbot embeds relevant ad links in responses to users' actual questions, and the ads come in the form of a linked citation, along with additional links in a "Learn More" section below Bing's response to their query. The ads are not yet widely available, and Microsoft is still experimenting with different ways to embed more ads in the new Bing experience.

🥇 PRO Microsoft is experimenting with embedding ads in its Bing chatbot experience, powered by GPT-4, as a counter-positioning strategy to challenge Google's dominance in the search advertising market. By offering a more conversational and engaging search experience with contextually relevant ads, Microsoft aims to disrupt Google's traditional search ad model and capture market share. This move puts pressure on Google to adapt its advertising model or develop a similar chatbot-based search experience to maintain its dominant position in the search ad market. Read more about this topic in our PRO article 👈.

Google Accuses Microsoft of Unfair Advantage in Cloud Computing Battle

According to a report published in Reuters on March 30, 2023, Alphabet's Google Cloud has accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and urged European Union (EU), regulators, to crack down on its rival's deals with smaller companies.

Google Cloud President Amit Zavery said in an interview that Microsoft has a very anti-competitive posture in the cloud and is leveraging its dominance in the on-premise business as well as Office 365 and Windows to tie Azure and the rest of cloud services, making it hard for customers to have a choice. Zavery also criticized individual deals struck with several smaller European cloud vendors, saying that they only benefit Microsoft and make it an unfair advantage to them.

Microsoft has responded to the allegations, saying that they are committed to the European Cloud Community and their success. There is intense rivalry between the two US tech giants in the multi-billion-dollar cloud computing business, where Google trails market leaders Amazon and Microsoft.

The report suggests that Google's accusations are part of a broader campaign by the company to challenge Microsoft's dominance in the cloud computing market.

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Startups

TSMC Expansion in the US Complicated by Double Taxation Burden and US-China Politics

Taiwanese company TSMC has invested $40 billion in its new Arizona factory, which is set to open in 2024. However, TSMC faces double taxation on its profits from this or any other factory it could build in the US since the US does not have an income tax agreement with Taiwan. According to the Financial Times, unless there is a change in the law, TSMC will be paying out over 50% of its profits earned in the US. In comparison, Samsung pays much less because its home country of South Korea has a tax treaty with the US.

TSMC officials have reportedly asked for an agreement to ease this double taxation burden. However, the US does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country or sovereign nation. Instead, it sees it as part of China. The US versus China politics are complicating matters, and TSMC may not expand in the US if the double taxation rule continues.

Twitter Introduces New Pricing Model, Raising Concerns Among Developers

Twitter has announced new API pricing that will replace its current model, posing a challenge for small developers.

The new pricing model includes three tiers:

• Free

• Basic

• Enterprise.

The Free tier offers write-only access to post 1,500 tweets per month at no cost. The Basic tier offers read-and-write access with a monthly fee of $49, while the Enterprise tier offers additional features and custom pricing.

Small developers have expressed concern about the new pricing model. One developer who creates software that sends Twitter threads to be read on Kindle said the changes mean he'll either have to stop supporting Twitter or increase prices. Another developer called the Free tier "terrible" because of the limited post cap and the inability to read simple information like tweets, likes, and follows from the platform.

Snap Launches ARES to Help Retailers Bring AR Shopping Experiences to Customers

Snap has launched a new business called AR Enterprise Services (ARES) that will help retailers with augmented reality (AR) shopping[.

• ARES will offer a "Shopping Suite" solution that includes virtual try-on features for products like clothes, sunglasses, and shoes.

• Customers can upload a photo of themselves to see how they would look or interact with AR experiences to see how the product would look on their bodies in real time.

• The Shopping Suite is oriented toward retailers across verticals like fashion, apparel, accessories, and home furnishings. Snap says over 300 customers have used various Shopping Suite features, including retailers like Goodr, Princess Polly, and Gobi Cashmere.

Snap's new business is expected to help retailers enhance their online shopping experience and increase sales by allowing customers to try on products virtually before making a purchase. The use of AR technology in retail has been growing in recent years, with companies like Ikea and Sephora offering AR-powered shopping experiences.

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SaaS and Cloud

Shopify and Google Cloud Unite to Revolutionize e-Commerce

Shopify and Google Cloud have integrated their AI capabilities to enhance e-commerce capabilities. The integration will allow Shopify merchants to use Google Cloud's AI and machine learning tools to improve their online store's performance. The devices will help merchants to personalize their customers' shopping experiences, optimize their inventory management, and improve their marketing strategies. The integration will also enable merchants to use Google Cloud's AI-powered chatbots to provide customer support and improve customer service.

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AI

ChatGPT Adoption Booms: 1 Million Australians Already Using AI Chatbot Technology

Generative AI is a rapidly growing technology in Australia, with one million Australians already using it, according to research by analyst firm Telsyte.

• One in five Australians aged 16 or older are already aware of Open AI's ChatGPT, and more than a million had already adopted the technology just a month and a half after its release.

• The research found that one in three Australians were interested in using generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT for various tasks, including language translation, brainstorming ideas, summarizing long documents, and helping with research.

• However, almost half of Australians anticipate significant changes to the workforce and job requirements, with 35% of workers expecting machines, AI, or robots to take over their duties.

Generative AI on the Rise: How AI is Transforming Industries in 2023 and Beyond

The article "Deep Dive into Generative AI and What Will Drive Tomorrow" discusses the development of generative AI and its potential impact on various industries. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as images, videos, and music, based on existing data. The article notes that there has been an explosion of activity in the generative AI space, with growing consumer and enterprise interest in the technology.

The article also highlights some of the sub-verticals, technologies, and startups that are receiving the most funding in the generative AI space. Chatbots, voicebots, and personal assistants received the largest investment in 2022, capturing 59.6% of all dollars invested. Other areas of interest include avatars, video generation, and editing.

The article notes that generative AI has the potential to transform various industries, including healthcare, finance, and entertainment. For example, generative AI can be used to create personalized medical treatments, generate financial models, and create new forms of entertainment[1].

Overall, the article suggests that generative AI is a rapidly growing field with significant potential for innovation and disruption. As more companies invest in the technology, we will likely see new applications and use cases emerge in the coming years.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Talks AI's iPhone Moment in Interview

In an interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talks about AI's iPhone moment. The interview covers a range of topics, including the impact of ChatGPT, Nvidia's focus on inference, and the company's commitment to go-to-market and ongoing support. Huang discusses the scale of the inference business, which has gone through a step function, and the type of inference that is being done right now, where the video will have generative AI added to it to augment the video either to enhance the background or enhance the subject. Huang also talks about Nvidia's place within the stack in an LLM world and export controls.

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Funding, Venture Capital and M&A

DOJ Plans to Block Adobe's $20 Billion Acquisition of Figma: Breakup Fee Could Reach $1 Billion.

According to Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice is planning to block Adobe's $20 billion proposed purchase of the design software startup Figma. The acquisition will likely attract antitrust scrutiny, as Figma was founded as an Adobe competitor and has grown impressively by doing that. The acquisition could be anti-competitive, as Adobe is already the dominant player in the space. If the acquisition is blocked legally over antitrust concerns, Adobe will have to pay Figma a $1 billion breakup fee in cash.

Glassdoor Owner Getting Acquired for $2.6 Billion

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, has agreed to acquire Japan's top HR software developer, Recruit Holdings, for $2.6 billion. Recruit Holdings is the parent company of Glassdoor, a job search and company review website. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023. GIC's investment in Recruit Holdings is part of its strategy to invest in high-quality companies with strong growth potential. Recruit Holdings has a strong presence in Japan and is expanding globally, with operations in the US, Europe, and Asia.