Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News
      Broadband Infraco in limbo

      Broadband Infraco in limbo

      11 February 2026
      Home affairs' R10 ID fee is forcing companies to rethink identity verification

      Standard Bank joins smart ID push with fee-free launch

      11 February 2026
      Zscaler assets seized from South African data centres

      Zscaler assets seized from South African data centres

      11 February 2026
      SA app wants to end guesswork in online grocery shopping - We Need Milk CEO Arjan van den Berg

      SA app wants to end guesswork in online grocery shopping

      11 February 2026
      Absa appoints M-Pesa boss to lead personal and private banking - Sitoyo Lopokoiyit

      Absa appoints M-Pesa boss to lead personal and private banking

      11 February 2026
    • World
      EU regulators take aim at WhatsApp

      EU regulators take aim at WhatsApp

      9 February 2026
      Musk hits brakes on Mars mission

      Musk hits brakes on Mars mission

      9 February 2026
      Crypto firm accidentally sends R700-billion in bitcoin to its users

      Crypto firm accidentally sends R700-billion in bitcoin to its users

      8 February 2026
      AI won't replace software, says Nvidia CEO amid market rout - Jensen Huang

      AI won’t replace software, says Nvidia CEO amid market rout

      4 February 2026
      Apple acquires audio AI start-up Q.ai

      Apple acquires audio AI start-up Q.ai

      30 January 2026
    • In-depth
      How liberalisation is rewiring South Africa's power sector

      How liberalisation is rewiring South Africa’s power sector

      21 January 2026
      The top-performing South African tech shares of 2025

      The top-performing South African tech shares of 2025

      12 January 2026
      Digital authoritarianism grows as African states normalise internet blackouts

      Digital authoritarianism grows as African states normalise internet blackouts

      19 December 2025
      TechCentral's South African Newsmakers of 2025

      TechCentral’s South African Newsmakers of 2025

      18 December 2025
      Black Friday goes digital in South Africa as online spending surges to record high

      Black Friday goes digital in South Africa as online spending surges to record high

      4 December 2025
    • TCS
      Watts & Wheels S1E4: 'We drive an electric Uber'

      Watts & Wheels S1E4: ‘We drive an electric Uber’

      10 February 2026
      TCS+ | How Cloud On Demand is helping SA businesses succeed in the cloud - Xhenia Rhode, Dion Kalicharan

      TCS+ | Cloud On Demand and Consnet: inside a real-world AWS partner success story

      30 January 2026
      Watts & Wheels S1E4: 'We drive an electric Uber'

      Watts & Wheels S1E3: ‘BYD’s Corolla Cross challenger’

      30 January 2026
      Watts & Wheels S1E4: 'We drive an electric Uber'

      Watts & Wheels S1E2: ‘China attacks, BMW digs in, Toyota’s sublime supercar’

      23 January 2026

      TCS+ | Why cybersecurity is becoming a competitive advantage for SA businesses

      20 January 2026
    • Opinion
      South Africa's skills advantage is being overlooked at home - Richard Firth

      South Africa’s skills advantage is being overlooked at home

      29 January 2026
      Why Elon Musk's Starlink is a 'hard no' for me - Songezo Zibi

      Why Elon Musk’s Starlink is a ‘hard no’ for me

      26 January 2026
      South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

      South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

      20 January 2026
      AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies - Nazia Pillay SAP

      AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies

      20 January 2026
      South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

      ANC’s attack on Solly Malatsi shows how BEE dogma trumps economic reality

      14 December 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • IQbusiness
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Netstar
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Vodacom Business
      • Wipro
      • Workday
      • XLink
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Financial services
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Satellite communications
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » AI and machine learning » Bill Gates: AI agent will replace search, shopping sites

    Bill Gates: AI agent will replace search, shopping sites

    Bill Gates believes the technology race to win is the development of the top AI agent.
    By Agency Staff23 May 2023
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Bill Gates

    Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder, believes the technology race to win is the development of the top artificially intelligent agent, poised to disrupt search, productivity and online shopping sites.

    “You’ll never go to a search site again,” he said. “You’ll never go to Amazon.”

    Speaking at AI Forward 2023, an event in San Francisco hosted by Goldman Sachs Group and SV Angel, Gates said it would disappoint him if Microsoft were not in the running, though there was a 50% chance the top player to emerge will be a start-up.

    Whoever wins the personal agent, that’s a big thing

    Amazon, Google and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Gates said Inflection AI, co-founded by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, impressed him.

    Various industry players have worked on building a computer assistant, powered by AI, that consumers can command by speech or text to handle a range of tasks for them.

    “Whoever wins the personal agent, that’s a big thing,” Gates said.  — Jeffrey Dastin, (c) 2023 Reuters

    Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter



    Bill Gates Microsoft
    WhatsApp YouTube Follow on Google News Add as preferred source on Google
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleIntel shifts strategy in fight with Nvidia, AMD
    Next Article Bitcoin blockchain births a new breed of crypto

    Related Posts

    From stocks to crypto, markets reel as AI doubts grow

    From stocks to crypto, markets reel as AI doubts grow

    6 February 2026
    SABC Plus to flight Microsoft AI training videos

    SABC Plus to flight Microsoft AI training videos

    30 January 2026
    Cloud adoption the weak link in SA's digital government push: Microsoft - Vukani Mngxati

    Cloud adoption the weak link in SA’s digital government push: Microsoft

    29 January 2026
    Company News

    Why Acer is the strategic choice for South Africa’s educational future

    11 February 2026
    Fyndae is building Africa's human verification layer for community security and collaboration

    Fyndae wants to turn lost-item recovery into Africa’s trust infrastructure

    11 February 2026
    How NEC XON tackled identity risk for a major telco - Michael de Neuilly Rice

    How NEC XON tackled identity risk for a major telco

    11 February 2026
    Opinion
    South Africa's skills advantage is being overlooked at home - Richard Firth

    South Africa’s skills advantage is being overlooked at home

    29 January 2026
    Why Elon Musk's Starlink is a 'hard no' for me - Songezo Zibi

    Why Elon Musk’s Starlink is a ‘hard no’ for me

    26 January 2026
    South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

    South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

    20 January 2026

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Latest Posts
    Broadband Infraco in limbo

    Broadband Infraco in limbo

    11 February 2026

    Why Acer is the strategic choice for South Africa’s educational future

    11 February 2026
    Home affairs' R10 ID fee is forcing companies to rethink identity verification

    Standard Bank joins smart ID push with fee-free launch

    11 February 2026
    Zscaler assets seized from South African data centres

    Zscaler assets seized from South African data centres

    11 February 2026
    © 2009 - 2026 NewsCentral Media
    • Cookie policy (ZA)
    • TechCentral – privacy and Popia

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Manage consent

    TechCentral uses cookies to enhance its offerings. Consenting to these technologies allows us to serve you better. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions of the website.

    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    • Manage options
    • Manage services
    • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
    • Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    • {title}
    • {title}
    • {title}