Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI, gets lots of attention for its potential to reshape nearly every tech industry and, more ominously, that it could one day make many jobs obsolete.
While it may seem like AI's influence over the technology sector is still decades away, there are plenty of companies integrating artificial intelligence into their products and services right now. Three of the best examples are Microsoft (MSFT 1.65%), Amazon (AMZN 1.30%), and NVIDIA (NVDA 3.65%). Read on to find out how.
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1. Microsoft
Microsoft's AI play comes from the company's expanding cloud services business. Cloud computing and artificial intelligence are being increasingly tied together because companies that need AI services are increasingly looking for AI tech that can be easily integrated into their existing tech, without having to set up all of their own hardware.
For example, Microsoft offers a laundry-list of cloud-based AI services through its Azure cloud computing platform, including cognitive services that "give connected devices, bots, and apps the ability to see, hear, respond, translate, reason, and more." It's these cloud-based cognitive services that companies are using to add AI to their existing platforms and services.
The AI benefit for investors comes from Microsoft's growing position in the cloud computing market. The companies that lead in this space will be the ones that dominate AI services for years to come, and that's good news for Microsoft's investors. The company is the No. 2 public cloud infrastructure company, behind Amazon, in a market that's expected to be worth $331 billion in 2022.
2. Amazon
Of course, if Microsoft is worth considering as an AI play because of its cloud computing position, then Amazon is a potentially even better bet. Amazon holds about 32% of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market and offers an array of AI services for its cloud customers.
But Amazon is a great AI play for more than just its cognitive cloud services. The company is also implementing AI into the everyday workings of its e-commerce business. For example, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said that machine learning, a type of AI, is used to determine which products get placed where on the company's website, which special offers are made, and helps the company predict what items will be in demand.
There's no debating that this approach has worked for Amazon. About 38% of all online sales in the U.S. happen on the company's website, and there appears to be no end in sight for Amazon's e-commerce dominance. Investors who are looking for a company that can benefit from AI in multiple ways should strongly consider Amazon.
3. NVIDIA
Not all great AI plays have to be cloud computing plays, and NVIDIA is the perfect example. The company's graphics processing chips, GPUs, are used by some of the biggest tech companies to power AI servers.
That may be more important for NVIDIA than it seems at first blush. That's because the AI chip market is poised to become a $91 billion industry by 2025. NVIDIA's chips have already been put into driverless cars, supercomputers, and intelligent healthcare devices, and as the market for AI chips grows, NVIDIA will likely benefit.
Some investors may know that NVIDIA's shares have taken a hit over the past year, but the company's second-quarter results have helped share tick up 11% over the past few months. NVIDIA's revenue decline in the quarter wasn't as bad as analysts or the company's management had expected and earnings per share of $1.24 easily outpaced expectations of $1.14 per share. With the company's recent performance and its long-term play with AI chips, investors would be wise to consider the company's stock as a solid AI bet.
Don't underestimate this market
While it may be easy to assume that AI (like some technology trends) is all hype, investors should keep in mind that artificial intelligence is expected to add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Take the time to research some of the top AI stocks now so you can benefit as the AI market unfolds.
