As the second-quarter 2023 earnings season progresses, generative AI remains a popular and impactful topic in various industries and companies. Many of them are striving to launch their own AI-powered products and services or leverage tools developed by others. Numerous companies have filed documents mentioning "generative AI" with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the abundance of recent news also poses a challenge for companies seeking to stand out amidst the crowd. Gartner analyst Jason Wong highlights the need for companies to assess their readiness to adopt generative AI at scale, as there can be a level of fatigue among consumers. Apart from financial performance, major tech companies like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic have collaborated to establish industry standards for the safe development of AI. To address the rapid expansion of generative AI tools, considerations for enabling consumers to use them securely have also emerged. According to recent research by Forrester, around half of generative AI users are careless about data use and fail to grasp the implications of utilizing public generative AI tools. This ignorance, coupled with temptations and curiosity, leads individuals to make poor decisions regarding their company's data. The following is an overview of some companies that have recently discussed generative AI in their earnings calls or financial disclosures: Meta: Meta extensively discussed generative AI during its latest earnings call, taking into account the unveiling of its open-source large language model, Llama 2. The company's AI investments aim to recommend relevant unconnected content, enhance advertising tools, develop new products and features using generative AI. In addition to Llama 2, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the company's GenAI is driving the development of new products focused on advertising supply, internal efficiency, and AI "agents" set to be unveiled at the next Meta Connect conference in September. Meta's efforts have faced criticism, as shareholders voiced concerns about the company's ability to combat misinformation and protect its reputation using AI. Microsoft: During Microsoft's quarterly earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the diverse applications of the company's AI-powered tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot across all industries. Other tools, such as GitHub Copilot, contribute to developers' productivity. Companies like HP, Land Rover, Albertsons, and Equinox are already utilizing various AI-powered tools offered by Microsoft. Notably, AI is driving increased usage of Microsoft Bing, resulting in a 3% year-over-year growth in search and news advertising revenue. Nadella expressed excitement about the Bing usage signals and the long-term opportunity as Microsoft invests in AI. Azure OpenAI Service has seen more than 11, 000 organizations adopting it, with an addition of up to 100 new customers daily last quarter.

Additionally, over 63, 000 organizations now utilize AI capabilities in Microsoft's Power Platform, with Power Automate reaching 10 million monthly active users, a 55% YoY increase. Alphabet (Google): Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned Google's new Search Generative Experience during Alphabet's earnings call. Launched in May, this initiative utilizes generative AI to enhance the natural and intuitive aspects of search. The integration of generative AI into Android 14 is planned to enable users to personalize their phones. Bard, Google's existing platform, is receiving new capabilities, and the upcoming release of Gemini, Google's next large language model, has been confirmed. Google is testing the incorporation of generative AI into ad placements and formats, having already released some tools. More than 70% of generative AI "unicorns" are Google Cloud customers, including companies like Cohere, Jasper, and Typeface. The company is focused on delivering customer-relevant assets and is working on ways to utilize GenAI in response to user queries. Snap: Snapchat's parent company, Snap, introduced its own AI chatbot called My AI, powered by ChatGPT. Snap's quarterly call discussed the early tests for including sponsored links on My AI, which has a direct impact on user engagement within the app. The AI chatbot helps Snapchat use clear intent signals to enhance content ranking and optimization, including augmented reality tools and advertising. My AI allows Snap to provide more utility to users based on their intents, contributing to improved business performance. Adobe: Leveraging its Firefly technology, Adobe has been incorporating generative AI capabilities into a variety of platforms, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and others. Marketers can harness Adobe Sensei's generative AI capabilities within Experience Cloud to generate target audiences and create personalized campaigns. Adobe also collaborates with AI-focused companies like Google to integrate Adobe Firefly tools into Google Bard. Alongside the potential benefits, Adobe acknowledges the social media and ethical concerns associated with emerging technologies like AI, which pose new risks and challenges for the company. Omnicom: Omnicom recognizes the profound effect that generative AI will have on its industry and the company itself. It has quickly embraced generative AI technology and incorporated GenAI into the Omni marketing platform, enabling clients to harness, deploy, and activate data while adapting generative AI models from various tech partners. However, Omnicom also acknowledges the potential risks associated with using generative AI, including ethical considerations, public perception, intellectual property protection, regulatory compliance, privacy concerns, and data security. Successfully adapting to new developments and addressing risks and challenges related to AI is crucial for Omnicom. In addition to these major players, various other companies have mentioned generative AI in their discussions and filings. Advertising trade organizations have engaged in dialogues with Google regarding disputed claims made in a recent report. Publishers have expressed optimism about revenue and staffing in the upcoming months. Smaller publishers display a level of concern about the death of third-party cookies in comparison to larger ones. The retail media landscape's role in marketers' playbooks has been analyzed in the second installment of our CMO Strategies series. Overall, generative AI continues to shape and influence diverse industries, with companies racing to embrace and develop its potential while acknowledging the associated risks and challenges.