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As Americans tuned into the 2024 Olympic Games this week, Google and Microsoft seized the opportunity to advertise their latest AI capabilities and platforms – in very different ways. Google’s ad for Gemini featured a dad using the AI generator to help his daughter write a fan letter to her favorite Olympic athlete. Microsoft’s Copilot spot showcased a variety of everyday athletes using their AI tool in different ways – from summarizing work calls so they’d have more time to train, to analyzing their heart rate results, to drafting an email to their doctor.
Both ads are emotional and empowering. But did Google and Microsoft really understand how their AI tools are used in the real world?
A recent GWI Zeitgeist study tried to answer this question with a resounding: “maybe?” In April 2024, GWI conducted online research among internet users aged 16-64, with representative samples from global markets. What they found: people use AI most often to improve their research skills (38.9%), followed by their efficiency (27.8%) and productivity (26.8%) skills – as shown in Microsoft’s ad. Less than a quarter use it for creativity or idea generation (24.4%), or communication (18.5%) – as shown in Google’s advertising.
Looking ahead, those who use AI tools hope that they’ll become more useful for problem-solving skills (35.4%), research (35.3%), and data analysis (32%). Less than a quarter of respondents were looking for improvements in creativity/idea generation (23%) and communication (18.9%).
The data is clear: using AI as a writing assistant is a neat trick that might grab attention. But the apparent true value of AI lies in driving personal productivity, overcoming challenges, and learning.
Score one for Microsoft.
Read the full GWI Zeitgeist study results here: https://app.globalwebindex.com/reports/384
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