Microsoft Stock: Don't Overlook This AI Pick Hiding in Plain Sight

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) have been strong this year - now up 33% year to date - thanks primarily to the artificial intelligence (AI) rush. What's more impressive than its stake in ChatGPT parent OpenAI is that the firm seems to have melded generative AI across its broader range of offerings, from its search engine Bing — which appears to be utilizing ChatGPT-4 as a weapon to be more competitive with Alphabet's (GOOG) Google Search — to its Office suite, its flagship Windows operating system, and even Azure.

Undoubtedly, there's a gigantic opportunity to monetize Microsoft's offerings further as generative AI looks poised to enhance productivity in the workplace. Even with the threat of antitrust, though, Microsoft doesn't want to hinder its pace as it preserves its first-mover advantage in the field of generative AI.