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[1/3]A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. tech giants could signal an end to the nearly year-long slowdown in their cloud businesses as signs of economic resilience encourage clients to boost technology spending, while a pickup in digital ads will also aid profits.

Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms companies that are together valued at over $6 trillion are set to report earnings this week and the next, in what will be a test for their hefty valuations and the broader market rally they have driven thanks to optimism over artificial intelligence.

"We're really only looking for metrics that point to ramping user traction for AI-based offerings, with the idea being that they will generate more meaningful revenue in the medium-term," Canaccord Genuity analyst Kingsley Crane said.

The four companies have this year aggressively integrated AI into their products on hopes that it would drive the industry's next growth cycle, but those efforts will take time to pay off.

For Amazon (AMZN.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) the three biggest players in the cloud market the April-June quarter is expected to mark another period of dismal growth in the business that has long been a cash cow.

Both Amazon and Alphabet will likely report their lowest-ever growth for the cloud computing business at 9.8% and 24.4%, respectively, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. Meanwhile Microsoft Intelligent Cloud, home to Azure, is expected to grow at 13.7%, the slowest rate since 2017.

However, several analysts believe the trend is about to change.

"While the macro continues to be soft, it is not getting materially worse and companies are figuring out how to operate in this," RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria said.

The current quarter will also have easier year-ago comparisons as the cloud slowdown started in the September quarter of 2022, Jaluria added.

A recent survey by RBC Capital of more than 150 enterprise technology buyers showed that over four-fifth of them were funding projects related to generative AI and they broadly expect IT spending to increase this year over 2022.

For Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META.O), revenue is expected to grow at its fastest pace in six quarters thanks to a pickup in the digital advertising market as consumer spending stays strong.

"If the digital ad space is like riding a roller coaster, we are just about done with the boring/tough part, slowly climbing to the top chain link by chain link," Bernstein analysts said.

The digital ad market recovery will also aid Alphabet, whose Google Search has so far avoided any meaningful market share loss to Microsoft's AI-powered Bing.

Alphabet is expected to report 4.5% revenue growth in the April-June period, its best in three quarters.

"Google Search has seemingly shifted from market share risk to monetization risk, but with search share seemingly healthy, Google may have less urgency to integrate LLM (large-language model) results into commercial queries," analysts at BofA Global Research said.

Microsoft and Alphabet will report quarterly results on July 25, Meta on July 26 and Amazon on Aug. 3.

Reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Big Tech looks to turn the corner on cloud as AI focus stays strong - Reuters

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Content marketing is crucial for brand awareness and engagement in the digital landscape.

Generating compelling ideas consistently can be daunting, but generative AI like ChatGPT offers solutions.

This article explores top AI tips to boost your content marketing efforts.

AI prompts are any type of text, data, or question that tells the AI the desired response you seek. These prompts can inspire and generate ideas for limitless content marketing concepts.

Before diving into AI-generated prompts, define your content marketing goals. Are you aiming to educate your audience, generate leads or increase brand visibility?

By having clear objectives in mind, you can better tailor your AI prompts to deliver the desired outcomes.

Dig deeper: 8 important content strategy goals to consider

Want to access the full potential of AI prompts? Use platforms that provide advanced language models.

These platforms allow you to generate high-quality prompts by providing relevant instructions and context.

Experiment with different platforms to find the one that aligns with your needs and offers the best results.

Image AI platforms:

Text AI platforms:

AI music platforms:

AI movie generator platforms:

Use AI prompts effectively to pose thought-provoking questions about your industry or niche.

These questions can be excellent starting points for blog posts, social media content or videos.

For example, if you are in the fitness industry, an AI-generated prompt like What are the latest trends in high-intensity interval training? can inspire a comprehensive article that engages your audience.

Prompt ideas:

AI prompts can help you think outside the box and generate unique perspectives on a given topic.

Instead of relying solely on your own expertise, use AI-generated prompts to explore different angles and viewpoints.

This can add depth and diversity to your content, making it more engaging and valuable for your audience.

Prompt ideas:

Dig deeper: Elevate your PPC with ChatGPT: The art of asking disconfirming questions

ChatGPTs responses may not always be perfect or exactly what youre looking for on the first try.

Experiment with different phrasing or approaches to refine your interaction and get closer to your desired unique perspective.

Engage in dialogue

Instead of asking a single question, engage in a back-and-forth conversation with ChatGPT.

Ask follow-up questions and request elaboration to deepen the exploration of ideas. This iterative approach can help generate more nuanced and diverse perspectives.

Incorporate real-world examples

Provide relevant examples or scenarios to ground the conversation in real-life contexts.

This can help ChatGPT draw connections and generate unique perspectives based on its understanding of the world.

Use your creativity

Stuck in a creative rut? AI prompts can act as creative catalysts, sparking new ideas and fresh content concepts.

Experiment with different prompts and instructions to see how AI-generated suggestions can inspire you to think differently.

For instance, a prompt like Write a futuristic scenario envisioning the impact of AI on Medicare Enrollment could lead to an imaginative and thought-provoking piece.

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ChatGPT can comprehend different styles and tones. Here are some styles and examples to help curate your content to get a more specific result.

A formal and authoritative tone suitable for business-related queries or professional discussions.

Example: "Based on extensive research, it can be concluded that..."

Use cases:

A conversational and approachable tone that fosters a casual atmosphere.

Example: "Hey there! I'm here to help you out. What can I assist you with today?"

Use cases:

An objective and informative tone that provides accurate and detailed explanations.

Example: "The process of photosynthesis involves the conversion of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen."

A lighthearted and fun tone that adds a touch of humor to the conversation.

Example: "Hold on to your hat, because I've got an amazing answer coming your way!"

Use cases

A humorous writing style can make the information more engaging and shareable or even put a fun spin on a conversation with a customer.

A compassionate and understanding tone suitable for discussing sensitive topics or offering emotional support.

Example: "I understand that this situation can be challenging. I'm here to listen and help you through it."

Use cases

Heres a list of prompts that can help you or your team create great ideas:

AI prompts empower content marketers to enhance their creativity and deliver impactful messages that resonate with their audience.

As technology advances, embracing AI in content marketing will become increasingly essential for businesses seeking to stay ahead in the digital landscape.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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Top AI tips and prompts to supercharge your content marketing - Search Engine Land

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Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian Getty

Google just published its 2023 environmental report, and one thing is for certain: The company's water use is soaring.

The internet giant said it consumed 5.6 billion gallons of water in 2022, the equivalent of 37 golf courses. Most of that -- 5.2 billion gallons -- was used for the company's data centers, a 20% increase on the amount Google reported the year prior.

The numbers provide a stark reminder of the environmental cost of running huge data centers, which often require vast amounts of water to stay cool. And as Google and every other tech company in the AI arms race speed to build new data centers, the amount of water they consume will very likely keep rising.

The 20% jump in water consumption is roughly in line with the increase in Google's compute capacity, which has been largely driven by AI, said Shaolei Ren, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside.

However, Ren said he's skeptical that this increase is sustainable in the long term, even with Google's commitment to replenish water to offset its usage."It just makes their water accounting looks nicer, but the water is still consumed," he told Insider.

Google said it has targeted 2030 as a deadline to replenish 120% of the freshwater it consumes across its offices and data centers. Right now it's replenishing just 6%, according to its own report.

The majority of the water Google is consuming right now is "potable," clean enough to be used as drinking water.

In its latest report, Google said it takes "local water stress" (another way of saying scarcity) into account, and said 82% of its freshwater withdrawals in 2022 came from regions with low water stress.

For the remaining 18%, it says it's "exploring new partnerships and opportunities" to improve watershed health, but it may face increased resistance as more places face water shortages.

In 2019, Google planned a data center in Mesa, Arizona that got a guarantee of up to 4 million gallons of water a day.But as Insider's Alistair Barr recently pointed out, Arizona is already facing a water shortage that could put the brakes on some of these types of deals.

Indeed, a Google spokesperson told Insider that, once completed, the Mesa data center will now make use of "air-cooled technology" instead.

Google isn't the only one that's thirsty. Meta, which is also building a data center in Arizona, used more than 2.6 million cubic meters (about 697 million gallons) of water in 2022, mostly for data centers. Its latest large language model, Llama 2, took a lot of water to train.

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Google's water use is soaring. AI is only going to make it worse. - Business Insider

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July 24 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) is forming a joint venture with warehouse automation company Symbotic (SYM.O) to build AI-powered warehouses that will be majority owned by the Japanese technology investor, the companies said on Monday.

The firms are investing a total of $100 million in the venture, which will be called GreenBox Systems. The unit has also signed a contract to buy AI-powered systems from Symbotic that will be worth $7.5 billion in the next six years.

Symbotic went public through a merger with a SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) blank-check firm last June, with investment from SoftBank in public investment in private equity (PIPE) at a valuation of $5.5 billion.

The deal will give SoftBank warrants representing about 2% of the U.S. company's outstanding shares. The Japanese firm said it had also bought 17.8 million shares of Symbotic from CEO Rick Cohen, upping its stake in the company from about 5% to 8%.

Based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Symbotic provides robotics warehouse automation solutions and counts Walmart (WMT.N) as its major backer and customer. The company said it has a contracted backlog of $12 billion as it helps to retrofit an existing facility to make it automated.

The JV will pursue customers who want to access the warehouse-as-a-service model to have more flexibility in multi-tenant facilities across the supply chain, according to Symbotic.

Shares of Symbotic dropped 6.2% on Monday after giving up initial gains, with a market cap of about $22 billion. SoftBank closed 1.2% higher on the Tokyo bourse before the news.

The move comes at a time when SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said his conglomerate plans to shift its stance to "offence mode" amid excitement over advances in artificial intelligence.

The rise of ChatGPT this year has led to a flurry of investments in all things AI, even as wider funding dries up in an uncertain economy.

The Japanese company will have a 65% stake in GreenBox, with Symbotic owning the rest.

Symbotic said it expects more than $500 million in annual recurring revenue from the sale of software, parts and services to the JV once it's operational. For fiscal year 2022, Symbotic reported revenue of $593.3 million, up 136% year over year, with a loss of $139.1 million.

Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala and Krystal Hu; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Anil D'Silva and Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Krystal reports on venture capital and startups for Reuters. She covers Silicon Valley and beyond through the lens of money and characters, with a focus on growth-stage startups, tech investments and AI. She has previously covered M&A for Reuters, breaking stories on Trump's SPAC and Elon Musk's Twitter financing. Previously, she reported on Amazon for Yahoo Finance, and her investigation of the company's retail practice was cited by lawmakers in Congress. Krystal started a career in journalism by writing about tech and politics in China. She has a master's degree from New York University, and enjoys a scoop of Matcha ice cream as much as getting a scoop at work.

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SoftBank forms JV with Symbotic to build AI-powered warehouses ... - Reuters

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Transformers: the Google scientists who pioneered an AI revolution - Financial Times

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