We recently compiled a list of the 15 AI News That Broke The Internet. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against the other AI stocks that broke the Internet recently.
U.S. e-commerce sales hit a record this year on the unofficial shopping holiday, and artificial intelligence has played a starring role. According to Adobe Analytics, online spending has hit $10.8 billion in the US, and Generative AI chatbots drove a 1,800% surge in retail site traffic compared to 2023. These tools helped bargain hunters find deals, compare products, and check out more quickly.
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Similarly, Salesforce revealed that the use of AI-enabled online chat services grew 31% year-on-year on Black Friday, with U.S. Black Friday online sales reaching $17.5 billion, up 7% year-over-year. Digital retailers using generative AI and agents in their customer service experiences saw a 9% higher conversion rate compared to those who did not.
In other news, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, told the Financial Times that the company is considering introducing ads on its platform. She further revealed that the company had recently hired Kevin Weil, an executive from Instagram, who was well-suited to the task.
“The good news with Kevin Weil at the wheel with product is that he came from Instagram. He knows how this [introducing ads] works”.
However, a later statement issued by Friar reveals that while OpenAI may be open to the possibility, they currently don’t have any active plans for the same.
“While we’re open to exploring other revenue streams in the future, we have no active plans to pursue advertising.”
A Bloomberg Opinion column by Dave Lee reveals that such an apparent change in statements could be because the AI Company realized that advertisements tend to signal “troubling trends”. The shift may send doubts about the profitability of its subscription-based model, raising concerns about potential “enshittification”, as tech commentator and activist Cory Doctorow famously terms it, where user-focused features are compromised for advertiser-driven engagement and time optimization.
Moreover, OpenAI’s endeavors are so huge that its revenues don’t manage to cover them. The development of advanced AI models would require even greater spending, which is why advertising could be seen as an avenue to help bridge the gap. However, its risks undermine ChatGPT’s appeal as an alternative to Google search, potentially disrupting its user experience, Lee noted.
