The ai models & agents stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
AI firms are paying for real workplace emails, files and documents. A stalled Spirit Airlines sale shows the privacy risk for workers and the companies that employ them.
Read more: AI companies are paying to buy workers' emails and filesWalmart is opening checkout to AI shopping agents, with limits you set, while Amazon keeps outside bots off its site. Here is how the limits work.
Read more: Walmart will let AI assistants buy for you within a limit you setA music producer says an AI helper now finishes Logic Pro tasks in minutes that once took about three days. Here is what that could mean for your own busywork.
Read more: A Music Producer Used AI to Cut Three Days of Work to MinutesUnion County, Pennsylvania, is offering a hands-on workshop that teaches people to spot the warning signs of scam calls and messages before money is lost.
Read more: Pennsylvania officials hold a workshop to teach people to spot scamsGoogle's Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash cuts video prices 30% and allows longer clips, which could make AI video affordable for small business ads.
Read more: Google's new video AI makes clips up to 15 seconds for less moneyThe UK Home Office is piloting cameras that scan faces in public places and check them against an immigration watchlist, with ports and transport hubs in view.
Read more: UK plans face-scanning cameras to find visa overstayersA little-known firm called XN has built a $5.3bn stake in Anthropic and plans to buy more, even as tech stocks fall. Here is what that signals.
Read more: A quiet Wall Street firm holds $5.3bn of Anthropic and plans to add moreA new Google app version suggests Gemini Live will work offline, but only after an online setup, and with fewer features than the regular version.
Read more: Google's offline Gemini Live needs an internet setup firstUnderdog's Woof model is only 31.7 MB, runs in a browser and can speak and make music, which hints at private AI that stays on your own device.
Read more: A tiny voice AI that fits in a browser game can talk and make musicSaaStr says one AI agent took over most of its four-person marketing team's work. The costs and limits it shared are worth reading before you try the same.
Read more: One AI agent now does most of a four-person marketing team's workInvestors are using AI chatbots to size up founders before meetings, so what those tools say about you now matters. PR teams are paying attention.
Read more: Investors now ask AI chatbots about you before the first meetingBlotato, a social media scheduling service, is now an official ChatGPT plugin. It can schedule posts and run Instagram and Facebook DM automations, but it needs a paid plan.
Read more: Blotato Lets ChatGPT Users Schedule Social Posts and Send DMs by ChatGuava raised $12.5 million to build AI voice agents for insurers and other regulated firms, so some customer calls may soon be answered by software.
Read more: Guava raises $12.5 million to build AI phone agents for insurersResearchers showed a browser extension could use Claude's Dispatch feature to make Claude Desktop run code on a computer. They say the flaw still works.
Read more: Browser add-on could trick Claude into running code on your computerA software update lets Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Buds 2a owners change noise cancellation and equalizer settings by voice, no phone digging needed.
Read more: Pixel Buds now obey voice commands for sound settingsA company that builds no-code tools for AI-powered shopping raised $15 million, a sign that AI agents buying for customers is becoming a real business.
Read more: A no-code shopping platform raises $15M to help stores use AI agentsA TLDR Tech roundup flags doubts about an Anthropic stock debut and new datacenter bans. Both could shape the cost and availability of AI tools you use.
Read more: Doubts about an Anthropic stock debut and new datacenter bansMicrosoft says Claude AI models in Copilot will process data inside the EU by the end of 2026, so European businesses can use them without sending data abroad.
Read more: Microsoft will keep Claude AI chats inside Europe for EU customersAirbnb's CEO says AI agents like Meta's Muse and Instinct bring almost no bookings so far, which suggests people still prefer to plan trips themselves.
Read more: Airbnb says AI helpers are booking almost no stays so farThe UK wants powers to investigate when AI agents slip out of control, and the business that set the agent up is expected to explain what went wrong.
Read more: UK plans powers to investigate when AI agents go out of controlCashfree's checkout pages now let browser-based AI assistants read orders and show a payment QR code, but shoppers still approve every payment themselves.
Read more: Cashfree lets AI assistants help you check out, but you still payA Geeky Gadgets guide says Claude, an AI assistant, can turn plain written instructions into a first website draft. Here is what that could mean for a small business.
Read more: Build a Website by Typing Plain Instructions to ClaudeNvidia is watching where its AI chips go in Southeast Asia more closely, after critics said it did too little to stop them reaching Chinese companies.
Read more: Nvidia Tightens Tracking of Its AI Chips Sold in Southeast AsiaASOS's CEO says casual fashion fans will like AI shopping most, while the retailer's clearest savings so far come from back-office work.
Read more: ASOS says AI shopping will win over casual fashion fans first
