Google and Anthropic Release Claude for Sheets, Rivaling Microsoft’s ChatGPT Excel Integration
Anthropic's latest Google Workspace plugin is up against Microsoft's ChatGPT integrations.
Key Takeaways
- Anthropic has released a new Google Sheets plugin, bringing its AI assistant Claude to the cloud spreadsheet software.
- Claude for Sheets has arrived on the scene as ChatGPT threatens to overrun Google Workspace.
- With Claude and ChatGPT positioned as rival AI assistants, Anthropic and OpenAI are replicating the rivalry between their Big Tech backers.
As AI tools have become increasingly part of people’s everyday work, developers have worked to integrate chatbots into popular software platforms like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
Thanks to its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft gained a headstart, introducing a range of GPT plugins for Word, Excel and other Office applications earlier this year. Before long, third-party developers had created equivalent extensions for Google Workspace apps. With ChatGPT advancing on its territory, Google has started fighting back.
Google Turns to Anthropic’s Claude to Keep ChatGPT at Bay
Facing the prospect of colonization by its chatbot rival, Google has thrown its weight behind Claude – an alternative AI assistant developed by Anthropic. The AI company recently launched Claude for Sheets – a new extension that lets Sheets users interact with the chatbot in-app.
Since its listing on Google Workspace Marketplace on December 6, more than 6,000 people have downloaded the plug-in. Not bad, but still a long way behind the most popular GPT integration developed by Talarian, which boasts over five million downloads.
AI Integration: The Latest Frontier of Big Tech Rivalry
Since Google first invested in Anthropic, their partnership has often been compared to the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI.
Both Big Tech giants have lavished billions of dollars on their respective AI developer sidekicks. In turn, Anthropic and OpenAI have granted their financial backers privileged access to the large language models (LLM) that power ChatGPT and Claude.
With both sides competing for the prize of mass adoption, embedded AI has emerged as a key battleground. In the race to embed LLMs in established digital platforms, OpenAI gained an early lead when Microsoft plugged GPT-4 into Bing. With its models increasingly integrated with both Google and Amazon products, Anthropic is fast catching up.
Moreover, between shifting alliances and the emergence of new billion-dollar AI startups, the field is far more dynamic than a simple one, two or three-horse race.
