Google just rolled out three AI-powered features for Chrome built on its Gemini models. Desktop users can now tap Google Lens directly from the address bar to select and query web content, while an upcoming Tab compare tool compiles product comparison tables across tabs, alongside natural-language history search.
OpenAI just started rolling out its advanced voice mode to a select group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers, and early demos are popping up online. Videos show the bot imitating pilot intercoms, correcting French pronunciation, and mimicking regional US accents. OpenAI confirmed the feature will expand to all paying Plus users this fall.
Anthropic just made Claude officially available across Brazil, giving users and developers direct access via web, mobile apps, and the API. Paid Pro plans run R$ 110 per month with full Claude 3.5 Sonnet access. Why it matters: Anthropic is speeding up global expansion to meet surging regional demand for frontier models.
Google just faced intense backlash over its new Olympics ad for Gemini, titled "Dear Sydney." In the commercial, a father asks the chatbot to write a fan letter to a track star on behalf of his young daughter, prompting viewers to criticize it for outsourcing heartfelt human expression. The outrage highlights a growing public discomfort when tech companies suggest AI should replace authentic creativity and emotion.
Microsoft just officially added OpenAI to its competitor list in its latest annual report, specifically flagging AI offerings alongside search and news advertising. Even though Microsoft poured $13B into the startup, OpenAI's new SearchGPT shows they're now stepping straight onto each other's turf. OpenAI says the partnership remains intact.
Meta just shut down its celebrity lookalike AI chatbots after spending millions on likeness rights just last September. Instead of handcrafted personas based on stars like Dwyane Wade and Paris Hilton, the company is pivoting to AI Studio, letting creators build their own bot personas.
Perplexity just launched a revenue-sharing program for publishers, signing up partners like TIME, Der Spiegel, and Fortune. When media content is cited in sponsored follow-up queries, publishers will earn a revenue share, plus free API access to build custom on-site answer engines and a year of Enterprise Pro for their entire staff.
OpenAI just launched an experimental model dubbed gpt-4o-64k-output-alpha that can generate up to 64K tokens in a single completion. It targets new long-form workflows, though higher inference costs push pricing to $6 per million input tokens and $18 per million output tokens for Alpha testers.
Meta just rolled out AI Studio in the US, allowing anyone to build and discover custom AI characters powered by Llama 3.1. Creators can set up AI extensions of themselves to answer common questions and engage with followers. However, Meta later noted it has halted new character creation as it shifts focus to Muse Spark.
Google just upgraded the free version of Gemini to its speedier 1.5 Flash model, bringing noticeable latency drops, stronger reasoning, and a 4x context boost to 32K tokens. Responses now include clickable source chips to tackle hallucinations, with file uploads and chart visualization rolling out soon. Why it matters: Google is making its fastest frontier capabilities accessible to everyone without a paywall.
OpenAI just unveiled SearchGPT, a temporary prototype designed to give fast, timely answers backed by clear web sources. Users can ask conversational follow-up questions with shared context, and sites can appear in results even if they opt out of AI training. It’s OpenAI’s clearest signal yet that search is shifting from ten blue links to direct dialogue.
Microsoft just started testing a radical Bing redesign that puts AI-generated answers front and center while banishing traditional blue links to a skinny right sidebar. The new layout turns search into multi-section deep dives with charts and videos. Microsoft claims it maintains publisher clicks, but it's currently limited to a handful of queries.
X just rolled out a Grok-powered "More About This Account" button for paid web users, letting you hover over any profile to generate a quick AI summary. The problem? Early tests show Grok frequently confuses users with celebrities or invents hobbies out of thin air. Why it matters: Even with direct access to platform data, turning social posts into reliable user context is proving harder than expected.
Meta just rolled out a major upgrade to Meta AI, adding preview access to its flagship Llama 3.1 405B model alongside a new "Imagine me" stylized selfie feature. Users can now generate custom scenes starring themselves, though the 405B model requires manual switching and has weekly limits.
OpenAI just launched GPT-4o mini, a powerful small model priced at 15 cents per million input tokens. It scores 82% on MMLU and outperforms rivals like Gemini Flash and Claude Haiku in math and coding tasks. Why it matters: Frontier-level intelligence just became dramatically cheaper to chain, parallelize, and scale.
Tencent Yuanbao just rolled out a "3D Avatar Dream Factory" feature that generates customizable 3D characters from a single front-facing selfie. The tool offers 10 different styles with PBR material mapping and full 360-degree viewing, and users can even take their virtual models to an offline 3D printer to make real figurines.
Google just updated Gemini on Android to answer general questions—like checking the weather—straight from the lockscreen without requiring an unlock. Previously, asking anything beyond basic alarms or media controls prompted an annoying biometric check. A new toggle in preferences makes the hands-free voice experience actually usable.
Anthropic just released its official Claude app for Android, bringing its top-tier Claude 3.5 Sonnet model to Android devices for free and paid users alike. It supports real-time vision, translation, and advanced reasoning, while seamlessly syncing your chat history across web, iOS, and mobile.
OpenAI just shared an internal five-level framework to track its progress toward AGI, and executives say it is already closing in on Level 2. The ladder runs from basic conversational chatbots up to "Reasoners" capable of human doctorate-level problem-solving, all the way to systems that can do the work of an entire organization. It gives the clearest view yet of how the company defines human intelligence.
Stability AI just updated its Stable Assistant chatbot with two major creative tools: Search & Replace and music generation. Users can now seamlessly swap specific objects inside uploaded images, or generate full-length instrumental tracks up to three minutes long via Stable Audio 2.0 at 44.1 kHz stereo. It essentially turns the assistant into an all-in-one multimodal workstation, backed by a 3-day free trial.
