The race in Big Tech to sell customers on AI products is heating up

Meanwhile, in today’s newsletter, we’re looking at how AWS is ramping up its sales team to pitch customers on AI.

What’s on deck:

But first, coffee is for closers.

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The big story

Sell, sell, sell

When it comes to the AI revolution, building is only half the battle.

After drawing scrutiny from investors about their massive investments in generative AI, tech companies are prioritizing getting returns on their big bets.

At Amazon Web Services, that’s meant a new internal sales campaign focused on its AI offerings, writes Business Insider’s Eugene Kim.

The three-pronged strategy, dubbed “Find One, Launch One, Ramp One,” is about selling, installing, and generating revenue for Amazon’s AI assistant, Q, and AI platform, Bedrock.

A key piece of the plan is obviously AWS’ salespeople, who are being incentivized with performance bonuses tied to Q and Bedrock and even a pizza party at an executive’s home for top performers. (I’d probably just opt for the cash.)

But it’s not just salespeople getting in on the action. Staffers meant to implement tools with customers or craft the right cloud service for a client are now being encouraged to get more involved in the sales process.

An AWS spokesperson told Eugene the company is merely responding to their customers’ needs, and that the lines between salespeople and non-salespeople are still clear.

AWS’ pressure to ramp up AI sales isn’t just focused on ROI.

While it’s long been a leader in the public cloud space, Amazon hasn’t held the same dominance in the AI race. In particular, it’s faced stiff competition from rival Microsoft, which benefited from its early bet on OpenAI.

As a result, AWS has become more aggressive with its AI strategy, spreading doubts about its competitors to customers.

But apart from all the fighting over customers and the push to create cutting-edge tools, a bigger question remains: Does anyone even want this stuff?

It’s still early days, but Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have all previously gotten some not-so-great feedback on their tools. And while these companies can’t afford not to pitch their customers on AI tech, they also risk turning them off to the idea by selling them products that might not live up to expectations.

I don’t mean to sound naive. I am well aware this is a business that needs to make money. And sometimes not doing something can be just as risky as rushing into something.

But it’s a fine line to balance for tech companies banking on AI being the industry’s next gold mine.

News brief

Top headlines

3 things in markets

1. What’s hot in white collar crime. These are the most common illegal maneuvers the rich use to get richer, according to defense attorneys. The top of the list may not surprise you — after all, Martha Stewart, Al Capone, and “The Situation” got busted for the same one.
2. Clouds roll over the Sunshine State’s housing market. It’s getting harder and harder to enjoy living in Florida. Once among the pandemic’s hottest housing markets, the state is increasingly expensive, hot, and crowded, residents say. Expect gray days for Florida’s real estate.
3. Starting a hedge fund? Don’t do this. Hedge fund launches are on the rise, but the funding environment is mixed. Two top Morgan Stanley bankers broke down common early mistakes and what to do instead.

3 things in tech

1. For sale: the sacred playbook of Larry Page’s money man. Wayne Osborne has been the keeper of the keys to the Google cofounder for years. Now, he’s stepping out of the shadows with his own wealth management company to put his trade secrets to work for other clients. Insiders say the goal is to dominate wealth management the way Page dominated online search.
2. How Elon fumbled Twitter — and apparently gave Grimes’ baby name to his other child. A new book by Ryan Mac and Kate Conger unearths new details about the chaotic period in 2022 when Musk decided to buy Twitter, and its descent into ~whatever it is now~. They spoke to BI about what they found.
3. Google’s feeling lucky. The online search giant dodged a jury trial in its big adtech case, thwarting the Justice Department’s hopes. The juryless trial came with a price tag, though: $2,289,751, to be exact.

3 things in business

1. Why you probably hate your downtown. There are two versions of the American downtown: one is designed to serve office workers and tourists, and the other is more local-centric, with plenty of housing, schools, and local businesses. Ironically, tourists prefer the latter, but many cities are still depending on the former to revive their economies.
2. Meet the portfolio career. We’ve entered a new era of work where more people are becoming overemployed and diving into multiple sides of hustles instead of the traditional 9-to-5. There’s a lot of flexibility and earning potential when it comes to a portfolio career, but it’s not for everyone.
3. Hollywood’s bleeding under post-strike pressures. Despite gains in wages and benefits won after last year’s Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, the industry is still struggling. Spending on new content has significantly declined, and everyone’s biting their nails over AI.

In other news

What’s happening today

• Kamala Harris meets with Teamsters leaders.
• Court hearing in TikTok’s challenge to a Biden administration law forcing the app’s sale or ban.
• The Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist nominees are announced.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.