The head of Microsoft's Bing search engine and ad business is allegedly stepping down from that position. According to a report from Bloomberg News on Monday, March 25, Mikhail Parakhin's departure comes just a week after DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman was appointed to lead Microsoft's consumer artificial intelligence (AI) efforts, with Parakhin reporting to him. Microsoft confirmed that Parakhin, who previously served as the CEO for advertising and web services, will now report to Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott while actively looking for a new role within the company. However, it remains unclear whether Parakhin will be leaving Microsoft or transitioning to a different position. Last week, Microsoft announced the hiring of Suleyman, who was leading a startup called Inflection. Most of Inflection's employees joined Suleyman in his new role at Microsoft. One of Inflection's notable developments was the Pi chatbot, designed to simulate human emotions and provide supportive interactions. The Bloomberg report suggested that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's impatience with the company's progress in AI projects was a driving force behind the leadership changes, citing sources familiar with his thinking. Over the past year, Microsoft has incorporated AI into various projects, including Windows, Office, and Bing search engine, and has introduced digital assistants under its Copilot brand.

Despite these efforts, Bing continues to lag behind Google in the search space, and other AI products are still being developed. As previously reported, Microsoft is one of the key players in the AI race, having invested $13 billion in OpenAI, a company recently valued at $80 billion. "Microsoft's significant investment is one of the factors contributing to OpenAI's high value, " wrote PYMNTS. "Additionally, Microsoft is allocating $2. 1 billion towards another AI company, Mistral, based in France. " In related news, PYMNTS recently examined the proposed partnership between two other tech giants, Apple and Google. The deal aims to integrate Google's Gemini AI engine into the iPhone. Michael Jaconi, CEO of AI marketing tech firm Button, discussed Apple's potential for investment and expansion in AI, saying, "Apple's biggest advantage, the App Store and Apple Services with nearly 2 billion loyal and affluent customers, will prompt them to invest in AI for developer tools, app content, and a category they have always lacked, search. " Jaconi added, "Although Apple receives a substantial $18 billion from Google, no one currently monetizes AI search to a great extent. So why not seize the future when so much of the current search market already begins with you?"