Analysis: From Meta to Microsoft, AI's big moment is here

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Big Tech companies have a new obsession: artificial intelligence. This week, chief executives across the sector packed earnings calls with mentions of the heavily hyped technology, which until recently existed more in the background than as a solid contributor to the bottom line. In conference calls after financial results, tech execs uttered the phrases "AI," "generative AI," or "machine learning" from two to six times as often as they did in the previous quarter, according to a review of conference transcripts by Reuters. Executives from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), behind the latest big rivalry in tech, took their battle to the conference-call front lines. On Thursday, Alphabet appeared to edge out the competition.