Diversifying AI products

The turmoil within OpenAI's management has prompted customers to diversify their artificial intelligence (AI) product offerings to avoid the risks of dependence. This has created a diverse supply of AI, although OpenAI remains considered one of the best tools available.

OpenAI stated that it did not lose any customers during the turbulent period when Sam Altman was fired and then reinstated as CEO. However, the management disruption at OpenAI in November 2023 could have long-term impacts on the company's business, as some customers see it as a wake-up call about the risks of over-reliance on a single company's technology.

Diversifying AI products is a growing trend.

CEOs at companies using OpenAI software say they are looking to diversify their use of technology from multiple companies to mitigate future risks. For example, at Walmart, senior leaders have reminded some members of their internal technology team not to directly approach OpenAI to build AI tools. Instead, they need to stick with Walmart's internally developed platform, which is interchangeable across various AI models, including OpenAI, to ensure Walmart's AI software remains operational.

A Walmart spokesperson said the company's focus has always been on developing general-purpose AI tools compatible with a wide range of language models. Similarly, other companies have been working quickly to ensure they are protected from potential risks.

Doug Merritt, CEO of Aviatrix Cloud Networks, immediately checked with the technology team to determine that Aviatrix's AI tools were not dependent on OpenAI. According to Merritt, Aviatrix is still using ChatGPT but is not tied to it. In fact, companies aren't completely abandoning their dealings with OpenAI, but even the potential shift of some future work to competitors could begin to erode OpenAI's dominance.

Competitors like Google and other giants, as well as startups like Anthropic, are all vying to take market share from OpenAI. Manyam Mallela, co-founder of Blueshift, a company that sells AI marketing software, said that OpenAI's problems demonstrate that a single option isn't enough. That's why, in recent months, companies have tended to seek licensing options for AI software from multiple vendors and are starting to use cheaper, more task-specific software compared to OpenAI's powerful and relatively expensive tools.

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky emphasized that his company provides access to a number of AI models, including those created by competitor OpenAI's Anthropic and Cohere, as well as free, open-source software created by Meta Platforms. According to Selipsky, nobody wants to be tied to a single AI or cloud provider, especially at this time.

KHANH MINH

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