In short, while Microsoft and Nvidia are close contenders, Amazon is the best artificial intelligence (AI) stock in the S&P 500 to buy now, if "best" is defined as the stock with the highest net percentage of buy ratings. Here's what investors should know.

Both of those AI bellwether stocks are still reliable long-term investments, but investors shouldn't gloss over the less obvious AI plays that might soar higher over the next few years. Let's take a closer look at three of those companies: Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), and Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM).

In the AI server space, Dell Technologies and Super Micro have also benefited from the data center boom, up 71% and 82%, respectively, in the past 12 months. Bitcoin miners are increasingly pivoting to artificial intelligence data center operations,

Wall Street analysts expect these industry leaders to grow their earnings at double-digit percentage annual rates over the long term.