By Jim Lundy
Year In Review: 2023 Part II: The Year that Generative AI Became Real
Besides a very tough first half of 2023 (see: Year in Review Part I), it will be remembered as the year of Generative AI. Also, the general understanding that we are fully immersed in the age of AI.
This blog discusses part two of a year in review, 2023, with a focus on AI.
The Brilliant Launch of OpenAI GPT 3.5
December 2022 will be remembered as the launch of Open AI GPT 3.5 – and with it a brilliant launch demo that showed what Large Language Models (LLMs) can do to answer basic questions. The OpenAI demos were well-planned and well-executed.
The tech community reacted with shock and awe, as did all the users who flocked to sign up and use OpenAI in December 2022 and January 2023. The tech community realized that they had to respond and start to add Generative AI capabilities. Then came Microsoft and Google.
Google Bard, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Azure OpenAI
Google flubbed its initial response to OpenAI GPT with a bad Google Bard demo and it appears that the PaLM LLM was both not trained well and perhaps not trained as well as GPT 3.5 and 4.0. Google solved that with its recent launch of Gemini.
Microsoft saw what was happening and quickly had to spend some cash to catch up and grab ahold of the LLM wave called Generative AI. So, it invested $10 Billion to acquire a larger stake in OpenAI.
OpenAI did not have a Trust model at all and that quickly became the gotcha that Google and Microsoft used to launch their services: Microsoft Azure OpenAI and Google Vertex AI Services.
On top of all of this, Anthropic and Meta also launched compelling LLMs that are getting usage and adoption, partly due to the endorsement by Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
Enterprise Search World Just Became Conversational
Google Search is being pre-empted by Google Bard its new Conversational Search offering.
We would note that Google Bard is free to Gmail and Google Workspace users. Microsoft Bing Search also added Generative AI answers – making it conversational. Bing Search is now called Microsoft CoPilot.
The free Conversational Search Tools that are offered now include:
- Google Bard (requires sign in)
- Microsoft CoPilot (formerly Bing Search)
The Rise of Intelligent Assistants: Enter Google Duet and Microsoft CoPilot
While Microsoft Research is working hard on Small Language Models (SLMs, Microsoft is entirely dependent on leveraging OpenAI 3.5 and 4.0.
But, they productized its offerings under the Microsoft CoPilot brand, of what has become its branded line of Intelligent Assistants.
Google Duet – which is available for Google Workspace was made fully and generally available before Microsoft CoPilot, which is still only available for Microsoft Enterprise Customers (see the Secret at Microsoft Ignite blog).
Amazon Q: Late to the Party
Amazon did roll out Amazon Q at reInvent, but it is late and is pretty much focused on helping AWS Customers get answers on their AWS instances. We did do a blog overview of Amazon Q and you can find it here.
Bottom Line: Generative AI is Coming to More Products and Services in 2024
The bottom line is we are in the age of AI and we are in the early innings of this transition.
AI is more about automation than anything else. But, with conversational search now being real, the opportunity to enhance productivity by reducing the time it takes to get answers is part of the reason why enterprises need to look at a GenAI front end to legacy applications.
There is much more to discuss here and that is part of the Aragon Research Agenda for 2024.
Get Ready for 2024 with Aragon’s 2024 Q1 Research Agenda!
Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 at 10 AM PT | 1 PM ET
Aragon Research’s 2024 Q1 Agenda
Aragon Research provides the strategic insights and advice you need to help your business navigate disruption and outperform your goals. Our research is designed to help you understand the technologies that will impact your business–using a number of trusted research methodologies that have been proven to help organizations like yours get to business outcomes faster.
On Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, join Aragon Research CEO and Lead Analyst, Jim Lundy for a complimentary webinar as they walk you through Aragon’s Q1 2024 research agenda.
This webinar will cover:
- Aragon’s coverage areas, analysts, and services
- Research offered by Aragon, including Visual Research
- The research agenda for Q1 2024
- Sneak peek at what’s coming in Q2 2024