#29: Microsoft May Invest $10B in OpenAI, AI Clones Voices, and AI Disrupts Marketing Agencies

Jan 13, 2023

Exciting developments in AI are taking center stage! Microsoft is rumored to invest $10 billion in OpenAI, potentially reshaping their search engine with ChatGPT integration. Meanwhile, their new voice AI model, VALL-E, can replicate anyone's voice after just three seconds of audio—truly mind-blowing! The discussion also dives into the impact of AI on marketing agencies, emphasizing that adaptation is key to survival in an ever-evolving landscape. With these innovations come ethical debates, particularly around deep fakes and voice cloning.

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INSIGHT

Microsoft's AI Play

Microsoft might integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into Bing, challenging Google's search dominance.
This integration could also extend to other Microsoft products like Word and Office.

INSIGHT

Microsoft's Investment in OpenAI

Microsoft's potential $10B investment in OpenAI values the company at $29B.
This investment could give Microsoft a significant stake in OpenAI's future.

INSIGHT

AI or Obsolete

Businesses now face a critical choice: adopt AI or risk obsolescence.
Paul Reitzer's hypothesis suggests two paths: AI-native (built with AI) or AI-emergent (existing businesses integrating AI).

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It’s been another exciting week in the world of artificial intelligence. What does it mean for marketers? The guys break it down on The Marketing AI Show.

First up, Paul and Mike have hypothesized about this, and now the speculation has come true. According to a scoop from The Information, Microsoft plans to incorporate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. Today, Google handles more than 80% of search traffic. In comparison, Bing processed about 9% of worldwide searches in 2022. Rumor has it Microsoft is making a major play into using ChatGPT-like AI answers in search. Not to mention, this could open the door to using ChatGPT in Word and other Office products. Just days after the scoop, Semafor reported that Microsoft has been in talks to invest up to $10 billion in OpenAI. The funding would eventually give Microsoft a 49% stake in the company, valuing it at $29 billion total.

Next, Microsoft just announced a major milestone development in voice AI. The company revealed an AI model called VALL-E that can synthesize anyone’s voice using just 3 seconds of audio. Microsoft shared some audio samples, and simply put, Mike Kaput said they are “pretty stunning.” Based on just a few seconds of a person saying a random sentence, VALL-E can create completely new speech from scratch in their exact voice. The implications of hyper-realistic voice AI technology are widespread and mind-blowing.

Finally, Paul’s recent LinkedIn post on AI disrupting marketing agencies got a lot of attention. In it, Paul said, “Artificial intelligence is going to disrupt a lot of marketing agencies in 2023. Some will seize the opportunity and create enormous value for themselves and their clients, while many will be obsoleted. These laggards won’t all die off overnight, but their relevance and value will quickly fade, and their clients (and people) will move on.” Hear Paul’s motivation for writing the post and the conversation that ensues.

As advancements become more prevalent, conversations have become more important for marketers and business leaders. Tune in to see how you can act on these developments. Listen to the podcast below or in your favorite podcast player.