Most people associate artificial intelligence (AI) with Alphabet Inc's (GOOG  ) (GOOGL  ) Google, as opposed to ChatGPT parent company OpenAI.

That's according to a Jefferies survey published Tuesday. This result is surprising given that OpenAI is strictly an AI-based organization, while Alphabet has strong footholds in various departments, including video content and hardware.

What Happened: The survey asked consumers and workers about their AI use on the heels of Alphabet's unveiling of Google AI Overviews at its I/O conference in May. Here are the key takeaways:

  • 63% of respondents associate AI with Google; 51% associate AI with OpenAI.
  • 41% of respondents prefer AI-powered search on Google; 29% do not prefer AI-powered search; and 30% did not notice the change.
  • A majority of respondents are open to switching to a non-Google AI platform for search.
  • 61% are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to use AI for search; 15% said that they are "already doing this all the time."
  • Of the employees surveyed, 27% use OpenAI for work; 15% use Google.
  • AI users reported that they are price-sensitive in using ChatGPT. 41% of respondents said that they would only use ChatGPT if it was free.
  • 20% said they would pay a maximum of anywhere from $1 to $5 monthly.
  • 15% would pay a maximum of somewhere between $6 and $10.
Why it Matters: Reluctance to pay for ChatGPT (among other AI platforms) could perhaps indicate that there is no obvious "AI killer" use case yet. Respondents to the survey did not report overwhelming use for one particular task.

Tech giants like Alphabet have spent billions in the first quarter of 2024 alone developing disruptive AI technologies. There were a few embarrassing hiccups along the way, but these projects can potentially pay major dividends if they prove to be valuable to users.

The market has reacted as such by propelling Alphabet, along with other AI players such as NVIDIA Corp (NVDA  ) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT  ), to all-time high market capitalizations.