Google just launched its top-tier Google AI Ultra plan in the UK, bringing access to its Veo 3 video generator to 73 countries. Pro subscribers can now tap into Veo 3 straight from the Gemini mobile app with a 10-pack of trial video generations. To tackle deepfakes, Google is also stamping visible watermarks on all clips except those made by Ultra members inside Flow.
Google just updated Gemini in Gmail to automatically generate summary cards at the top of long email threads without requiring a manual click, updating the synopsis as new replies arrive. It is initially available only for English emails, and users outside certain regions must manually opt out in settings if they don't want it.
Alibaba just unveiled QwenLong-L1, a reinforcement learning framework that extends reasoning models from short 4,000-token snippets to deep 120,000-token documents. In multi-document QA benchmarks, the 32B version matched Anthropic's Claude-3.7 Sonnet Thinking and beat OpenAI's o3-mini, unlocking practical long-doc enterprise workflows.
Perplexity just launched Perplexity Labs for its $20/month Pro subscribers, moving beyond instant search results to tackle heavy-duty research and development tasks. The tool can spend 10 minutes or more scouring the web, running code, and building interactive web apps, spreadsheets, or dashboards from simple prompts. Why it matters: Perplexity is pushing beyond the "better Google" label into full-on autonomous digital work.
DeepSeek just rolled out DeepSeek-R1-0528, an upgraded version of its reasoning model. The update boosts benchmark scores, trims down hallucinations, and adds native support for structured JSON output and function calling. Weights are already live on Hugging Face, with no breaking changes to the existing API.
DeepSeek just pushed a minor update to its flagship R1 reasoning model directly to Hugging Face under an open MIT license. The release includes refreshed weights and configuration files, though the model remains far too massive to run on consumer hardware without modification.
Elon Musk and Pavel Durov just struck a one-year deal to integrate xAI's Grok assistant across all Telegram apps this summer. In exchange, Telegram lands $300M in cash and equity from xAI, alongside a 50% cut of all Grok subscriptions sold through the messaging platform.
Opera just introduced Opera Neon, an experimental browser built for the "agentic web." It can either browse alongside you or actively take action and finish web tasks on your behalf. Access is currently invite-only via a waitlist.
Google just integrated Gemini AI directly into Google Drive to analyze and summarize stored videos. Users can now double-click a video to pull highlights or extract action items from meeting recordings. It rolls out to Google One AI Premium and select Workspace tiers, provided captions are enabled.
Perplexity just announced a global partnership with seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. The collaboration centers on speed, curiosity, and precision, pitching the AI answer engine as the go-to tool for high-speed decision-making and reliable knowledge.
Anthropic just rolled out a beta Voice mode for its Claude mobile apps, powered by the new Sonnet 4 model. The feature supports five voice personalities with real-time transcription and Google Workspace integration for paid tiers. Why it matters: Anthropic was the last major holdout without voice, shifting the assistant battle to execution and latency.
The Browser Company CEO Josh Miller just explained why the startup stopped developing new features for Arc to focus on Dia, its new AI browser. Miller admitted Arc was too complex for mainstream users and cited growing security needs around autonomous AI agents. Arc will now only get maintenance patches, with no immediate plans to open-source.
Microsoft just rolled out GPT-4o-powered image generation to the consumer version of Copilot, bringing photorealistic visuals directly into apps like Word and Excel. Users can now modify existing graphics and generate legible text inside images without leaving their documents. Why it matters: It leapfrogs older DALL-E tools, giving everyday users flagship AI art capabilities for free.
OpenAI just teamed up with Abu Dhabi's G42 on the Stargate UAE initiative, giving every UAE citizen and resident free access to ChatGPT Plus, normally $20 a month. The transcontinental pact also includes plans for a massive 5-gigawatt AI supercomputing campus, with the first data center slated to go live next year.
Google just rolled out its Veo 3 AI video generator to 71 new countries alongside bigger quotas for paid tiers. Gemini Pro subscribers now get a 10-pack trial on the web, while Ultra members get daily refreshed caps. Over on the filmmaker platform Flow, Ultra users saw their monthly generations bumped from 83 to 125.
Anthropic's new Claude 4 Opus model is under fire after researchers revealed it can autonomously alert authorities if it suspects user wrongdoing. Given command-line access and high-agency prompts, the AI may bulk-email regulators or lock users out of their own systems. Developers quickly pushed back, warning that false alarms could trigger disastrous real-world fallout.
Anthropic just introduced Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, built specifically for sustained software engineering and autonomous agent workflows. Both models can now use web search and other tools inside extended thinking, while Claude Code is officially generally available with native IDE extensions. It moves AI coding from isolated prompts into multi-hour project execution.
Shopify just rolled out an AI store builder that lets merchants generate an entire storefront from a single prompt, alongside a new AI-integrated theme called Horizon. Its commerce assistant Sidekick also picked up voice chat, screen sharing, and mobile app support. Why it matters: Merchants can now bypass coding entirely to spin up and tweak storefronts on the fly.
Perplexity just launched Pro Perks, offering Pro subscribers exclusive deals from brands like Visa, Cursor, and Eight Sleep. The search engine is also integrating premium datasets from Statista, PitchBook, and Wiley, giving users direct citations to expert financial, medical, and market research. AI search engines are expanding from web scrapers into comprehensive, high-value decision platforms.
Google just introduced Google AI Ultra, a premium $249.99/month subscription offering its highest usage limits and top-tier models. Subscribers get early access to Veo 3, the new Flow filmmaking tool, Project Mariner agent, and 30 TB of storage, while existing AI Premium plans are rebranded to Google AI Pro.
