S&P 500 companies naturally found themselves in the front line. At Intel's results presentation last Thursday, executives and analysts mentioned AI 58 times, compared with 15 times at the previous conference in April. So far, the processor specialist has not benefited from the boom in components for AI computing, and sales of its data center and AI businesses fell by 15% in the second quarter. Intel is working to catch up with Nvidia and other rivals whose chips power the technology behind ChatGPT. The 6.6% rise in Intel's shares on Friday following the release of its results was based on hopes of a recovery in PC sales after a sluggish period.
 
As for Alphabet, participants in Tuesday's analyst conference call mentioned AI 62 times, compared with 52 times three months ago. On the same day, AI was mentioned 58 times at Microsoft's conference, compared with 35 times at the previous conference.
 
The new pet theme
 
The recent increase in the number of companies talking about their AI projects reflects Wall Street's overwhelming optimism about the use of generative AI and related technologies to deliver new services and increase efficiency across a wide range of industries. This enthusiasm largely explains the 2023 leaps of the Nasdaq (+37%) and the S&P 500 (+20%).
 
According to an analysis conducted by Reuters, more than a third of S&P 500 companies reporting results this month mentioned AI at least once during conference calls with analysts, compared with around a quarter of companies during the same period in the first quarter. The terms "AI" or "artificial intelligence" were uttered 827 times on 76 out of a total of 221 calls held in recent weeks, according to a Reuters analysis of the transcripts.
  

Other sectors are waking up
  
The big names in technology have led the conference calls where AI has been most talked about since the start of the quarter, but companies not generally thought of as "tech companies" have also been talking a lot about AI. AI was mentioned 58 times during conference calls organized by Moody's and rival S&P Global this week, which promoted the integration of technology into risk assessment software and other areas. This is a considerable leap from the March quarter, when AI was mentioned just 3 times on Moody's conference call and 10 times on S&P Global's.
 
Other companies that mentioned AI 10 times or more on their recent conference calls include insurer The Travelers Companies, which uses the technology in underwriting and claims processing, as well as marketing company Omnicom, consumer credit rating company Equifax and data center investor Digital Realty Trust.
  

AI in France
   
In France last week, the term "AI" was mentioned 22 times at the Atos conference and 38 times at the Capgemini conference... but only 5 times at STMicroelectronics and 2 times at BNP Paribas.