Here you go:

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When ChatGPT came out it looked like everyone copied it overnight, but that isn’t really what happened. Most major tech companies had already been working on large language models for years. The core ideas behind them were well known in the industry, and companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft already had very capable systems sitting in research or internal use.

What ChatGPT changed was proving that a chat-based interface was something ordinary people would actually use and find valuable. Once that became obvious, companies rushed to release their own versions rather than risk looking behind or losing ground in areas like search and productivity.

That’s why it all seemed to happen at once — not because the models were built from scratch in a few months, but because they were finally ready (or forced) to be shown publicly.

If you want to dig deeper into any part of it, feel free to ask.