Microsoft lowers AI software sales quota as customers resist new products, The Information reports

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Dec 3 (Reuters) - Multiple divisions at Microsoft (MSFT) have lowered sales growth targets for certain artificial intelligence products after many ​sales staff missed goals in the fiscal year that ‌ended in June, The Information reported on Wednesday.

It is rare for Microsoft to ‌lower quotas for specific products, the report said, citing two salespeople in the Azure cloud unit.

Shares of the company, which is one of the biggest winners of the generative AI boom thanks to its ⁠early bet on ChatGPT-maker ‌OpenAI, fell more than 2%. The stock has gained about 16% this year.

The Windows ‍maker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Lower sales growth goals for Microsoft's AI products are likely to fans fears about ​real-world adoption of AI as an MIT study from earlier ‌this year had found that only about 5% of AI projects advance beyond the pilot stage.

U.S. tech giants are under investor pressure to prove that their hefty investments in AI infrastructure are generating returns.

Microsoft reported a record capital expenditure of nearly $35 billion for ⁠its fiscal first quarter in October ​and warned that spending would rise this ​year. Overall, U.S. tech giants are expected to spend around $400 billion on AI this year.

The companies have said ‍the outlay is ⁠necessary to overcome supply constraints that have hobbled their ability to capitalize on AI demand.

Microsoft has predicted that it would ⁠remain short on AI capacity at least until the end of its ‌current fiscal year in June 2026.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh ‌in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)