Microsoft just partnered with publishing giant HarperCollins to use select nonfiction books for training a new AI model. The agreement lets authors opt in for a reported $2,500 fee per title over a three-year period, though some writers are already pushing back against the offer.
Microsoft just announced Microsoft 365 Companions for the Windows 11 taskbar, letting you pull up contacts, files, and calendar events with a single click. Similar to the Phone Link panel, it surfaces Microsoft Graph data directly from floating taskbar cards without opening full apps. It's not yet clear when it rolls out or if third parties can tap in.
Microsoft just revealed Interpreter for Teams, a tool that translates your voice in real time during meetings while making it sound like you. Launching in early 2025 for Microsoft 365 subscribers across nine languages, the feature requires explicit user consent and won't store biometric data.
Microsoft quietly assembled the enterprise agent market leader, revealing over 100,000 organizations now use Copilot Studio—doubling in just one quarter. At Ignite, it unlocked 1,800 third-party models from Azure beyond OpenAI, alongside new autonomous agents that handle complex workflows solo.
ESPN just revealed FACTS, an AI-generated avatar being tested to complement hosts on its college football show SEC Nation. Powered by Nvidia’s ACE, Azure OpenAI, and ElevenLabs, the bot pulls from ESPN Analytics to make complex sports metrics accessible. ESPN insists it is definitely not built to replace human talent.
Elon Musk's lawsuit just revealed old emails showing OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever deeply distrusted Sam Altman as early as 2017, questioning whether AGI was tied to his political ambitions. The records also show early fears of Musk becoming a dictator, Altman considering an ICO to fund the startup, and intense paranoia over DeepMind.
Elon Musk just amended his federal lawsuit against OpenAI, officially naming Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and his own startup xAI as plaintiffs. The filing claims OpenAI and Microsoft effectively formed an anticompetitive "de facto merger" that actively shuts out rivals like xAI from vital funding and cloud compute.
NASA and Microsoft just developed Earth Copilot, an AI prototype powered by Azure OpenAI Service that lets users query over 100 petabytes of geospatial data in plain language. Instead of navigating complex interfaces, researchers can simply ask questions about hurricane damage or air quality. It is currently in internal testing before rolling out to NASA's VEDA platform.
Xbox just revealed in its latest transparency report that it rolled out two new AI tools to protect gamers from unwanted messages and spam. The AutoMod system handled 1.2M cases, cutting moderation removal times by 88%, while a proactive AI filter stopped 19M violating text, image, and video messages from non-friends before they reached inboxes.
Microsoft just launched a suite of industry-adapted AI models developed with partners like Bayer, Siemens, and Cerence. Built on its lightweight Phi architecture, these specialized SLMs target practical domain tasks from crop protection and in-car controls to factory floor troubleshooting via Azure AI Studio.
Trump’s pick to lead the EPA, Lee Zeldin, just announced plans to roll back environmental regulations to unleash energy dominance and turn America into the world's AI capital. With data center power demand surging to train and run AI models, the agency looks set to prioritize computing infrastructure over emissions limits, sparking fierce pushback from climate groups.
Microsoft and the Vatican just unveiled an AI-powered digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica, letting anyone explore the historic site in ultra-detailed 3D. The team used drones and scanners to capture nearly 500,000 high-res photos, using AI to stitch them together. Beyond virtual visits, conservators are already using the scan to spot hidden structural cracks.
Microsoft just added AI-generated themes to Outlook for Copilot Pro and business subscribers. Users can build custom backdrops inspired by over 100 locations or dynamically updated based on local weather and location, rendered in realistic, oil painting, or cartoon styles. It gives everyday inboxes a neat, personalized touch.
Microsoft just rolled out new AI tools to Paint and Notepad for Windows Insiders. Paint gains generative fill to insert new objects via text prompts alongside generative erase, while Notepad adds a Rewrite feature to change tone and length. The catch: generative fill is currently limited to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs.
Microsoft just open-sourced Magentic-One, a multi-agent system built on AutoGen where a lead Orchestrator directs four specialized agents to browse the web, read files, code, and execute terminal commands. It delivers top-tier performance on benchmarks like GAIA without bespoke architectures. The modular design lets developers easily swap or add new agents.
Microsoft just rolled out its new "Xbox Support Virtual Agent" to Xbox Insiders in the US, giving gamers an animated AI assistant to handle console and game support queries. It marks Xbox's first consumer-facing AI test ahead of a broader push across the platform.
Microsoft just pushed back the rollout of its controversial Recall feature for Copilot Plus PCs to December, missing its revised October preview target. The company says it needs extra time to overhaul security, making the local snapshot tool strictly opt-in, fully uninstallable, and protected by Windows Hello authentication.
Microsoft just pushed back against viral rumors claiming its controversial Recall AI feature is secretly being installed on Windows 11 24H2. The company reiterated that Recall remains strictly opt-in and fully uninstallable, with experts noting that recent system references are actually stubs meant to make removal easier for admins. Why it matters: After months of privacy pushback, users are on edge, and Microsoft is still working to rebuild trust before its delayed preview rollout.
LinkedIn just launched Hiring Assistant, its first AI agent built to tackle recruiter grunt work. The tool converts rough notes into full job postings and sources candidates based on skills rather than degrees or location. It is currently available to select enterprise clients like AMD and Canva ahead of a wider rollout.
Meta is reportedly developing its own AI-powered search engine to power conversational news and web summaries inside Meta AI. A dedicated team has spent eight months building the underlying web index to slash the company's reliance on Google and Microsoft Bing. Why it matters: Owning the search layer means Meta can keep its massive user base inside its own ecosystem without paying rivals for web access.
