The emergence of artificial intelligence is likely to weigh heavily on Microsoft and Google accounts. Both groups have integrated smart solutions into their search system. For its part, Microsoft has enhanced its Bing search engine with ChatGPT. For its part, Google has designed its own solution: Bard, which is currently in the testing phase. These systems have the uniqueness of producing summaries in text form, by analyzing millions of information available online, instead of providing simple indexing of websites as modern search engines do.
But these improvements also generate additional expenses for both groups. The chairman of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), John Hennessy, admitted to the British agency Reuters that an exchange with artificial intelligence would probably cost ten times more than a standard keyword search. Fortunately, the optimizations should quickly reduce the bill.
Feeding a neural network
US bank Morgan Stanley estimates that the 3.3 trillion Google searches last year cost 0.2 cents each. But according to the estimates of the head of the group, this unit sum could reach a few cents in the context of an AI search. By 2024, the bank estimates that spending on the use of artificial intelligence could reach $6 billion. And that’s only if Bard handles half of the requests with 50-word responses.
The cost increase lies in the computing power used. To formulate its answers, artificial intelligence uses the inference process, that is, a neural network deduces the answer according to the training it has been subjected to.
It’s a very different process from traditional search engine searches, which navigate through sites to create a directory of information. They then direct users to the most relevant answer available.
a payment plan
Pending these structural savings, the idea of a payment formula is developed. In France, ChatGPT Plus has been available since mid-February. This version provides faster responses, permanent availability of the service (even in case of saturation) and priority access to new features.
However, the cost-cutting issues apply more to Google and its Bard solution. For Microsoft, the integration of ChatGPT into Bing, the use of which is still very limited, is above all a means to gain market share in the field of online research.
Source: BFM TV
