The ai models & agents stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Apple's new CEO says AI will show up in its products, but only where it makes something better, not as a selling point. Here is what that means for your iPhone.
Read more: Apple's new CEO says he won't add AI just to say it has AIA federal judge refused to dismiss the NAACP's suit saying xAI ran gas turbines at its Memphis-area data center without required air permits.
Read more: Judge lets NAACP lawsuit over xAI's Memphis data center pollution proceedReducto says ChatGPT and Codex can now edit Word and Excel files for free, which could save time for anyone who lives in spreadsheets and documents.
Read more: Reducto adds free Word and Excel editing to ChatGPT and CodexCredit Saison says its ChatGPT Enterprise pilot returned 954%, but the number comes from OpenAI's own post and the math is not shown.
Read more: Japanese lender says its ChatGPT trial paid back 954%Xero users can now ask Google's Gemini chat about profit, overdue bills and cash, and get charts from live numbers. Changes still need your approval.
Read more: Xero accounting data now works inside Google's Gemini chatAnthropic is adding a hidden text watermark to four more Claude models, but on two of them one settings change can switch it off.
Read more: Anthropic marks Claude's text with a hidden pattern, but two models have a gapAnthropic's new Claude Duet agent handles tasks while you're away, starting at the $20 Pro plan, but it needs access to your accounts and a waitlist spot.
Read more: Anthropic's Claude Duet is an AI helper that works while you're awayA MakeUseOf writer gave Claude Code a key to his Home Assistant setup. It could then control real devices, and a wrong answer could change real things.
Read more: A writer gave Claude the keys to his smart home, and it got complicatedGoogle moved a tool called AppFunctions to beta, letting AI assistants run actions inside Android apps. Businesses with booking or ordering apps should take note.
Read more: Google lets AI assistants use your phone's apps directly, in betaA new comparison of Anthropic's Claude models lists prices of $4, $2 and $0.10, so picking the wrong one could change what a business pays for AI.
Read more: Claude AI models compared: prices run from $4 down to $0.10Phonic-1, a new voice AI, begins looking up answers while you talk. In the company's own demo, it replied 1.1 seconds after the speaker stopped.
Read more: New voice AI starts looking up answers while you are still talkingGoogle's Gemini app can now make, preview and edit files inside a chat, but on phones only PDFs work. Everything else needs a web browser.
Read more: Gemini can now make and edit documents right inside the chatMicrosoft is offering voluntary severance to about 60,000 employees, a quarter of its staff, while it keeps spending heavily on AI.
Read more: Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 workers, a quarter of its staffOpenAI will train its models on Daybreak Blue session data from November 29, even for users who had switched training off. A separate opt-out is promised.
Read more: OpenAI will start training on a security tool's data it once excludedNvidia raised the Shield TV Pro to $300, and a report says a $150 to $250 mini computer can do more for a TV setup, if you like to tinker.
Read more: A $300 Nvidia streaming box now loses to a cheaper mini computerA writer who long found Google's Gemini lazy at coding says its new Argon model built a note-taking app with far more features than requested.
Read more: Google's new AI coder surprised a writer who had doubted itWealth firm Arca lets AI agents do the background work, but only human advisors can trade or move client money. Here is why that setup matters for your own tools.
Read more: This wealth firm lets AI do the prep work and humans move the moneyAI agents that can pick a product and start the payment are becoming practical, and businesses can set the limits. Early use is expected to be narrow.
Read more: AI shopping agents can now buy things for you within set limitsA new report says Google still gets 18 times the traffic of ChatGPT, which matters if customers find your business through search.
Read more: Google still draws 18 times the traffic of ChatGPTOpenAI and ServiceNow now let staff look up work data and take actions from inside ChatGPT, within each company's own permission rules.
Read more: ChatGPT can now carry out work tasks inside ServiceNowA new AI model called Jev returns a probability score instead of text. Its maker says that makes sorting tasks far cheaper, though the claim needs checking.
Read more: New AI model answers with odds, not text, and claims 100x lower costA man reportedly used Meta's AI model, Muse, to sue a company. The case settled in 20 minutes, a sign of how AI could reach small legal disputes.
Read more: Man used Meta's AI to sue a company, and it settled in 20 minutesA new grant will fund AI tools to help states understand and replace the old computer systems behind Medicaid and SNAP, which could mean fewer delays for families.
Read more: Grant will use AI to help states fix outdated food and health aid systemsAnthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot, has filed to go public, and the filing leaves open questions about its business and the wider AI sector.
Read more: Anthropic's stock market filing raises questions about its business
