4A's Noteworthy News - 24th Edition
If AI progress seems relentless, it may be because tech giants and startup investors are sparing no expense to make it so. This week's earnings from Microsoft, Google, and Meta show not just a commitment but a flat-out arms race in AI investments. Tech giants, for their part, reported strong growth, fueled in part by AI offerings (Google Cloud up 35%, Meta up 19%, MSFT Azure growth hit 33%). Increased investment in AI infrastructure was a recurring theme across the board, to the point where Microsoft is now spending more on AI in a SINGLE QUARTER than it did in an entire year prior to the pandemic. Meta appears to be in a similar position. (Thanks to the team at The Neuron newsletter for aggregating that data).
On the venture side, GenAI funding is on track to set a new record in 2024, surpassing 2023’s total of $22.7 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
These massive investments show no sign of slowing down, even as the broader market - and some shareholders in public companies - question when we might see the ROI. The pace of change that these record-breaking funds are creating is now just a fact of modern business life. As a result, we expect that the next 12 months will see an acceleration of already pervasive AI adoption in the agency community, with use cases expanding beyond the obvious.
Our GenAI Blueprint is a fantastic resource for member agencies seeking to capitalize on the tremendous potential of this rapidly evolving technology.
OTHER INTERESTING AI NEWS FOR AGENCIES:
SearchGPT: ChatGPT’s new search powers go live. Get the full story
Google’s AI-Driven Coding Surge: Pichai reports 25% of Google’s code is AI-written. Learn more
Apple Intelligence Update: The first wave of Apple’s new AI-powered features debut. See what’s new
Recraft’s “Design Language” Model: This AI speaks designer. Find out how
ChatGPT history now searchable: a much-needed feature for frequent users. See the announcement
Time’s best inventions of 2024: is packed with GenAI products and features C2PA’s content credentials, highlighting the importance of content provenance. Check out the full list
AI Data Marketplace Launches: Trainspot debuts a marketplace for creators to license content for AI training. Explore more
Google’s Project Jarvis AI Agent: Google’s new Project Jarvis aims to automate web tasks directly in browsers, potentially reducing the need for traditional APIs. Read more
Responsible AI Marketing: Fast Company’s experts share 14 tips for using AI responsibly in campaigns, from challenging biases to boosting creative workflows. Read more
Meta’s AI Search Initiative: Meta builds a new AI search engine to reduce Google dependency. Explore
RECENT CAMPAIGN EXAMPLES AND USE CASES:
Disney is Poised to Announce A Major AI Initiative focused on post-production and VFX.
KPMG pilots AI agents, but hasn’t rolled anything into production yet because “We want to make sure that we can really understand what these agents do.”
Top 5 recent AI activations from AdAge.
NOTE: this post first appeared on LinkedIn here.
