Hard Numbers: Deplaning quicker, AI is working at work, Searching for answers, Microsoft chooses France

17: Since implementing an AI-powered system that directs airplanes to the nearest gate with the shortest taxiing time in 2021, American Airlines says it saves 17 hours a day in taxi time and 1.4 million gallons of jet fuel each year. The Smart Gating system started at Dallas Ft. Worth and is now in place at six major airports.

75: According to a new study from Microsoft, 75% of so-called knowledge workers are using generative AI at work, a figure that’s nearly doubled in six months. The study is from a major technology company that has billions invested in the success of generative AI tools and sells its services directly to companies. But this data still suggests that employees worldwide are gaining some comfort with, and finding use for, AI tools at the office.

67: Google is adding AI-generated search results summarizing answers to users’ queries. That’s a potentially troubling development for some publishers that could lose up to 67% of their traffic, according to an estimate from the advertising company Raptive. The firm predicted that these changes could lead to $2 billion in losses to online creators who depend on Google to send them search traffic.

4.3 billion: On Monday, Microsoft pledged $4.3 billion to build cloud and AI infrastructure in France, an announcement that comes two months after it invested $16 million in the French AI startup Mistral. Microsoft president Brad Smith made the announcement at French President Emmanuel Macron’s “Choose France” event, intended to attract foreign investment in the country.