Google’s AI race: A two-year run of crisis and chaos, recapped

Google’s AI race: A two-year run of crisis and chaos, recapped

  • 25.03.2025 18:59
  • pcworld.com
  • Keywords: AI, Market Share

Google lost AI dominance after OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. Over two years, they scrambled with restructuring, layoffs, and rapid development to compete, launching Bard and Gemini. Despite progress, challenges like high costs, energy use, and internal concerns persist.

Alphabet News

Estimated market influence

Google

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Analyst rating: N/A

Loses control of AI space after OpenAI's ChatGPT release. Internal restructuring, layoffs, and rapid AI development.

OpenAI

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Analyst rating: N/A

Set new bar with ChatGPT, leading to Google's loss of AI dominance.

Context

Business Insights and Market Implications Analysis

  • Main Challenge: Google lost control of the AI space after OpenAI's ChatGPT release in late 2022, despite pioneering transformer architecture.
  • Internal Response: Google declared "code red" and underwent a two-year period of restructuring, layoffs, and rapid AI development.
  • Product Development: Sissie Hsiao led the AI team to develop Bard within 100 days as a ChatGPT competitor, involving thousands of employees and scaled-down security checks.
  • Strategic Shift: The merger of Google’s Brain and DeepMind AI units resulted in Gemini, a language modeling project that helped restore the company's reputation.
  • Market Positioning: Gemini was launched in late 2023 and is being integrated across Google’s ecosystem (e.g., Gmail, Google Maps).
  • Financial Concerns: The AI initiative is costly and energy-intensive, raising worries about its long-term sustainability and impact on search advertising revenue.
  • Competitive Landscape: Google faces intense competition from OpenAI's ChatGPT and other AI players, with internal concerns about workload and whether this effort represents a second chance or a risky pivot.
  • Long-Term Effects: The race to develop advanced AI models may drive innovation but could also lead to significant financial strain and regulatory scrutiny.
  • Regulatory Risks: High costs and energy consumption raise questions about the environmental impact and potential regulatory challenges for large language models.
  • Strategic Considerations: Google’s focus on AI integration across its ecosystem positions it for long-term dominance, but the pace of development and competition remain critical factors.
  • Future Prospects: While Google has regained some ground with Gemini, the success of its AI initiatives will depend on balancing innovation with financial and operational sustainability.