Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere in the business world these days, and there are plenty of companies using AI, just as there are investors looking to capitalize on the opportunities with the new technology.
Anyone who's used ChatGPT or other new AI applications knows that there are a lot of opportunities to leverage artificial intelligence. AI systems can communicate with customers, replace human labor, process large amounts of data, and solve difficult problems.
In this article, we'll explore how companies are taking advantage of AI and the wide variety of ways they're doing so.
Artificial Intelligence
Ten companies leveraging AI
Ten companies leveraging AI
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1. Amazon
Few companies are involved in as many industries as Amazon (AMZN 1.8%), including e-commerce, cloud computing, logistics, voice-activated technology, and even autonomous vehicles. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Amazon is also using AI in a wide range of ways.
For example, Amazon uses artificial intelligence to analyze images and videos to improve product listings and recommendations. It uses AI to make its supply chain more efficient as well, including forecasting demand, optimizing inventory levels, and routing orders efficiently. It's making voice assistant Alexa more conversational, and it's even aiming to use autonomous mobility robots in its warehouses.
Amazon Go, its chain of cashier-less "Just Walk Out" stores, is a good example of real-world AI. The stores use computer vision and deep learning algorithms to automatically charge customers based on what they take.
E-commerce
2. Meta Platforms
Another tech giant that has long been harnessing the power of AI, Meta Platforms (META 0.28%), is best known as a social media titan through its ownership of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The company uses AI for recommendation algorithms. When you go on Facebook or Instagram, the accounts it gives you to follow or the stories it chooses to show you are based on AI.
Similarly, it uses AI to recognize content like nudity or hate speech. More recently, the company has applied AI to features like chatbots, virtual assistants, and real-time translation.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg also laid out a compelling vision for generative AI, handling entire ad campaigns, including creative, starting with just a budget and objective. While Meta has yet to implement that, it shows the potential of the technology and the company's ambitious plans.
Meta AI, the company's chatbot was also on track to be the most used AI chatbot in the world by the end of 2024, according to management.
3. Tesla
Few companies are making as big of a bet these days on AI as Tesla (TSLA -8.09%), the leading electric vehicle maker, which has been investing heavily in making full self-driving, or autonomous driving, a reality.
AI is at the core of autonomous vehicle systems, and Tesla's AI system gathers visual data in real time from eight cameras on the car to produce a 3D image that identifies the road and any obstacles and makes decisions accordingly.
Tesla uses AI for data analytics and is also working on creating a general-purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot, known as Optimus, that can handle a wide variety of tasks.
CEO Elon Musk has said several times that autonomy will be the differentiator and that Tesla is spending aggressively on AI hardware to handle the massive computing needs.
Its autonomous vehicle technology will face a big test in June when the company plans to deploy its robo-taxi network in Austin.
4. Upstart
Upstart (UPST -1.7%) has gotten a lot of attention as an AI stock since its debut in 2020. The company aims to disrupt traditional credit scores with an AI-based model.
Upstart assesses borrowers using a machine-learning model with 1,600 data points and 15 billion cells of data to better determine risks and creditworthiness.
With its AI-first model, Upstart seeks to make loans accessible to more individuals and hopes to democratize the financial system. It also says that its algorithm can assess risk more accurately than traditional credit scores.
The company introduced a new model, Model 18, in 2024 that significantly improved its conversion rate, or the percentage of loan applicants that get approved, showing that its technology continues to get better.
5. Netflix
If you're wondering how Netflix (NFLX 0.34%) determines what shows and movies to show you when you log into your account, AI is the answer. The company uses machine-learning algorithms to analyze your viewing and match the preferences of others who have similar tastes.
The streaming leader uses AI in other ways, such as deciding which image of a title to show when you're browsing. It even uses AI to help decide what locations to shoot for movies and shows.
Netflix is also using AI for dubbing, which is helping to drive its global business and making it easier for content to travel from country to country.
Machine Learning
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6. Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOG 0.95%) (GOOGL 1.09%) CEO Sundar Pichai said that his company was an AI-first company shortly after he became chief executive in 2016, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the tech giant is implementing AI in a number of different ways.
Like other companies on this list, Alphabet uses recommendation algorithms to determine what web pages to show in its search results, and AI helps improve results from its ad products since it allows for better targeting.
AI also plays a role in Google Cloud, which offers machine learning services to its customers. Google Cloud also uses AI tools to improve its cybersecurity.
Beyond that, the company is using AI in its autonomous vehicle unit Waymo and in new products like its Gemini chatbot.
It's also introduced an AI assistant for Google Search, and YouTube uses AI for enhanced search to take users to the right starting frame of a video.
Arguably, Alphabet has more applications and potential applications for AI than any other company.
7. JPMorgan Chase
It's not just tech companies that are leveraging the power of AI. The financial industry is also taking advantage of these new tools, including big banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.11%).
JPMorgan Chase uses AI to help with fraud detection and customer service. One of the more creative ways it's using the new technology is with a ChatGPT-like model that analyzed speeches from the Federal Reserve over the last 25 years to try to decipher trading signals and gain an advantage.
Algorithmic trading is also a popular AI application for financial services companies, so it makes sense that JPMorgan Chase would use it to help its trading business.
It also introduced a tool for employees called LLM suite, giving them a set of generative AI tools, and using gen AI in call centers.
Considering the amount of research big banks do, AI has reportedly saved JPMorgan a lot of time, eliminating two to four hours of work per day by quickly calling up information and helping to make decisions.
8. Boeing
Big manufacturing companies like Boeing (BA -0.92%) also use AI in a number of ways.
For example, Boeing signed an agreement with Shield AI to collaborate on autonomous capabilities. Shield AI has created an AI pilot that has flown a variety of aircraft. The pilot also has the ability to enable drones and aircraft to operate autonomously.
AI technologies help airlines adjust or optimize routes to minimize fuel consumption, reduce flight times, and avoid turbulence.
Additionally, Boeing is experimenting with using artificial intelligence in air traffic management systems, using AI technologies like computer vision and speech recognition. AI is playing a role in its financial management as it uses to automate sourcing and makes its bids more competitive.
Finally, Boeing sees an opportunity to use AI to take pictures and analyze images of planes that have landed to see if there is any damage. Similarly, it's using AI techniques like advanced modeling to identify safety concerns before they become major issues.
9. Johnson & Johnson
Healthcare companies like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.35%) are also using AI in a number of different ways.
For instance, Neutrogena, its skincare brand, has an app that will analyze your face and how it's changing to ensure that your beauty routine is delivering the desired results. The technology uses a skin scanner device that goes over your smartphone camera, magnifies your camera lens, and uses lighting to get a clear image.
Another AI algorithm helps doctors more easily use a bronchoscope during lung biopsies and locate tumors.
Johnson & Johnson is also using AI to help with drug discovery. One way that AI helps is by sorting through photos of microscopic compounds and using those photos to inform future experiments on other diseases.
10. ExxonMobil
Energy giants like ExxonMobil (XOM 0.91%) are tapping into the power of AI to make their businesses more efficient and improve their outcomes.
For example, ExxonMobil has long used machine learning algorithms to avoid equipment failures, increase production, and automate certain jobs. AI has important applications for the energy industry because equipment failures can cause major delays, and some platforms are unmanned. AI also makes operations more efficient and automates some parts of the drilling process. Ultimately, the company is pursuing autonomous drilling, a system that can determine optimal parameters and drill automatically in some circumstances.
The company also uses AI to manage the reams of data it generates and to avoid siloing. As machine learning tools get even better, they should become even more commonly adopted by ExxonMobil and its big oil peers.
Related investing topics
What's next for AI?
What's next for AI?
As you can see from the list above, the biggest companies in the world are turning to artificial intelligence to cut costs and work more efficiently, but they're not alone.
AI is being embraced across the business world by both small and medium-sized businesses since its benefits can help businesses of any size.
Staying competitive is crucial in any industry, which means that companies are likely to look for more ways to take advantage of AI. Its ability to cut costs and solve problems that humans can't swiftly solve can give these companies a competitive advantage.
