New features and launches in ChatGPT, Cursor, Perplexity and other AI tools, plus changes to pricing and availability.
OpenAI just rolled out personal finance tools inside ChatGPT, letting U.S. users securely connect accounts from over 12,000 financial institutions via Plaid. Powered by GPT-5.5 reasoning, the tool creates spending dashboards, stores financial memories across chats, and answers questions grounded in real account balances. Why it matters: ChatGPT is evolving from generic financial advice into an active, context-aware money manager.
xAI just enabled Grok subscribers across all tiers to link their accounts directly into Nous Research’s open-source Hermes Agent. The self-improving agent runs on any computer or VPS, maintains persistent cross-session memory, and integrates with messaging apps like Discord and Telegram. Why it matters: subscribers can now tap Grok's models locally without paying extra API fees.
xAI just released an early beta of Grok Build, a dedicated agentic command-line interface built to code, build applications, and automate developer workflows. It is currently locked behind the top-tier SuperGrok Heavy subscription, with xAI planning to fine-tune both the underlying model and the tool based on early user feedback.
Kimi just released its browser extension (formerly Kimi WebBridge), letting AI agents click, type, and extract data directly inside your local Chrome or Edge. Instead of launching a slow isolated sandbox, it hooks into your actual browser via local protocols, keeping logins and data on your machine. Why it matters: agents can now automate tedious web tasks without breaking existing sessions.
Google is reportedly gearing up to unveil Gemini Spark at Google I/O, a persistent personal assistant designed to run 24/7. Unlike standard reactive chatbots, Spark learns from user habits and taps into connected apps and browser sessions to handle inbox and web tasks autonomously. It marks Google's big push from on-demand chatbots to always-on autonomous agents.
Meta just launched a developer preview for its Ray-Ban Display glasses, letting developers build visual experiences via native iOS and Android SDKs or standard web technologies. The glasses also support subtle gesture controls through the Meta Neural Band, and developers can share early builds with up to 100 testers.
Perplexity just launched a Snowflake App Connector for its Computer platform, letting employees query enterprise databases in plain language without writing SQL. Admins retain strict role-based controls and OAuth permissions, with a guarantee that data won't train models. Available now for Pro, Max, and Enterprise users, it brings Perplexity's own internal Slackbot workflow to all teams.
OpenAI just rolled out Codex inside the ChatGPT mobile app in preview across iOS and Android for all plans. Developers can now steer long-running coding tasks, approve terminal commands, and inspect diffs directly from their phones without staying glued to their desks. Secure relays keep local setups safe while syncing context in real time.
Anthropic just increased weekly usage limits for its Claude Code assistant by 50% through July 13. The promotional bump is already live for all Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise subscribers with no setup needed, giving developers substantially more runway for coding workflows.
Notion just rolled out a comprehensive Developer Platform featuring a dedicated terminal CLI (ntn), Workers to run code on Notion's infra, and new Agent APIs and SDKs. The toolkit lets developers and coding agents sync any data source and trigger automated actions. It is basically positioning Notion as a native backend for AI agents.
Microsoft just gave Edge a major AI upgrade on desktop and mobile, letting Copilot reason across all your open tabs to compare details and answer questions. The update adds long-term memory, hands-free Voice and Vision, Journeys topic cards, and a tool to turn tabs into podcasts. Meanwhile, Microsoft is retiring its standalone Copilot Mode.
Meta just launched Incognito Chat for Meta AI on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app, delivering AI conversations that not even Meta can read. Built on WhatsApp's Private Processing, messages are handled in a secure environment and disappear by default without being logged. The feature is rolling out over coming months alongside an upcoming Side Chat tool.
Poppy just launched a proactive AI assistant designed to organize your digital life by connecting your calendar, email, and messages into one dashboard. Instead of waiting for prompts, it spots gaps in your schedule to suggest a park walk or recommends dinner spots based on a friend's past texts. It also secured $1.25M in pre-seed funding, with plans to eventually run entirely on-device.
TikTok just launched its Ads MCP Server, letting marketers plug AI agents directly into its advertising platform to plan, launch, and optimize campaigns. The server automates tedious tasks like setting creatives, tweaking bids, and shifting budgets without human dashboard work. Following similar moves by Google and Meta, advertising operations are rapidly turning fully agentic.
Amazon just launched Alexa for Shopping, merging its Rufus shopping assistant with Alexa+'s cross-device memory into a single AI agent. The new tool lets shoppers ask direct questions in the main search bar, view up to a year of price history, automate recurring reorders, and complete off-site purchases via Buy for Me. It is free for all U.S. customers with no Prime membership required.
Adaption just introduced AutoScientist, an AI system that automates the full model training and fine-tuning loop end-to-end. It co-optimizes training data and recipes simultaneously, beating human AI researcher configs with a 64% win rate. Why it matters: Builders can now adapt custom models without an ML engineering team, and it's free for 30 days.
Perplexity just broke down the security architecture behind Perplexity Computer, its autonomous agent that executes code and browses the web. Each task runs inside an isolated Firecracker microVM with its own Linux kernel, backed by a four-layer prompt injection defense audited by Trail of Bits. It addresses the biggest hurdle to enterprise agent adoption: preventing rogue actions and untrusted data leaks.
OpenAI just detailed how it built a custom Windows sandbox for its Codex coding agent to solve a major usability headache. Without native OS isolation like macOS or Linux offer, the team used synthetic SIDs and write-restricted tokens to lock down file writes and network access without requiring admin privileges. Why it matters: Windows developers no longer have to pick between approving every command or blindly giving the agent full machine access.
Anthropic just launched Claude for Small Business, plugging 15 ready-to-run agentic workflows and app connectors directly into Claude Cowork. It integrates with everyday tools like QuickBooks, PayPal, and HubSpot to automate payroll planning, monthly closing, and invoice chasing, with human approval required before sending or paying.
Google DeepMind just reimagined the mouse pointer with Gemini, letting users point at on-screen content and give natural voice commands like "Fix this" without detailed prompting. The system reads the context around the cursor to turn pixels into actionable entities, and it's already rolling into Chrome and the upcoming Googlebook laptop.
