Artificial intelligence (AI) is already beginning to change the trajectory of companies and industries. AI is being put to work doing everything from evaluating medical diagnoses to making cars drive themselves to writing online content. (Back off AI!)
More and more companies are going all-in on putting AI to work, and that's got the attention of investors. While some companies out there are just trying to tap into the hype and don't really have what it takes to make AI work for them, you can be sure that Alphabet (GOOG 9.96%) (GOOGL 10.22%), Microsoft (MSFT 1.82%), and Amazon (AMZN 3.43%) are committed to AI and have long-term plans to improve their businesses with it.
Here's why these three tech giants are great AI stocks to buy and hold for the next 10 years.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Alphabet
Alphabet isn't an AI newbie by any stretch of the imagination. The company has used artificial intelligence in many of its products and services for years, including for its Google search engine, its self-driving car subsidiary Waymo, and even for text suggestions in its Google Workspace apps.
But Alphabet's Google has ramped up its AI focus lately since launching Google Bard, the company's generative AI chatbot similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Google has a massive 92% market share dominance in the online search space, and Bard will help the company utilize advanced AI to hold onto its lead.
At its core, Alphabet is a high-tech online advertising company, and it is already implementing AI into its massive ad platform. Alphabet's leadership said on its second-quarter earnings call in July that nearly 80% of advertisers are using the company's AI-powered ads.
As Alphabet integrates more of its services with AI, now is a great time for investors to consider buying some of the tech company's stock. With its early adoption of AI into its search and advertising businesses, Alphabet is gearing up for years of AI growth.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft helped kick off the current AI tech race with its investments in OpenAI over the past few years. Microsoft has invested an estimated $13 billion in the ChatGPT creator so far, and its recent implementation of this latest AI tech into its services will likely help the company for years to come.
For one, Microsoft has already infused its Edge web browser with ChatGPT, which helped spur other competitors to ramp up their use of generative AI bots. For example, Google scrambled to release its Bard bot after it saw Microsoft bring ChatGPT into its browser. While that hasn't translated to more browser market share for Microsoft yet -- Edge has slightly more than 5% of the market right now -- it has given Microsoft an early lead in the AI race.
Additionally, the company has already brought ChatGPT into its popular Microsoft 365 suite of apps -- including Word, Excel, and Outlook -- as well as its huge Azure cloud computing service. The latter could be a big win for Microsoft, as the AI-powered cloud services market is projected to be worth an estimated $640 billion by 2030. Microsoft's Azure is already the No. 2 cloud computing company, behind Amazon, and with its new focus on AI companies may be more likely to choose Azure than ever before.
Finally, Microsoft's large initial investment in OpenAI gives it a 49% stake in the company, which provides it with both access to new technologies that AI develops as well as a portion of the profits that OpenAI generates from its services until Microsoft recoups its initial investment. That's setting Microsoft up perfectly to benefit from new iterations of ChatGPT in the coming years.
3. Amazon
Another great long-term bet on AI is Amazon, which has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence implementation for many years. I wrote back in 2017 that Amazon was already using machine learning to decide which items get displayed on its online marketplace and to enhance its Amazon Cloud Services (AWS) business. Not only is Amazon continuing down the AI path, but it's also picking up the pace.
With AWS, the company offers advanced AI services, allowing developers to integrate large language models (LLMs), automate speech recognition, and analyze images and videos in their apps and websites.
Not only are app developers turning to AWS for AI services, but companies also need high-powered servers to process all of their AI computing. And Amazon has them in spades. Amazon uses the latest H100 Nvidia graphics processors, which are top-shelf processors for AI.
Amazon is already a leader in cloud computing, with a 32% infrastructure market share in the latest quarter. And its recent AI integrations should help Amazon hold onto its lead.
These tech leaders continue to make the right moves
There are lots of smaller companies out there that are making big moves in AI right now. And while some of them could end up being good AI plays, putting your money behind these tech behemoths could be a better decision.
Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon are already leaders in their respective markets, and their latest AI moves show that they're eager to continue growing. This allows investors to invest in dominant tech companies that are preparing for the next wave of tech innovation.
