Microsoft Deal, Apple-Google Talks Show Need for AI Help (1)

Earlier this week, Microsoft Corp. named artificial intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman chief of its consumer AI business and hired most of the staff from his Inflection AI startup. A day before, Bloomberg reported that Alphabet Inc.’sGoogle was in talks to license its Gemini AI engine to Apple Inc.

The moves suggest that despite pouring billions of dollars into partnerships, investments and product development, Microsoft and Google are struggling to figure out how to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence. Neither company is moving fast enough to field consumer products that generate revenue and grab market share, and, despite their size and power, ...