The ai models & agents stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
HubSpot's guide to building a first AI agent says to start with a repeatable job, and to skip the agent if simple rules or one prompt can do the work.
Read more: How to build your first AI agent, from first goal to going liveOpenAI and Poland's NASK will work together on AI safety and security, a move meant to make the AI tools people use daily harder to misuse.
Read more: OpenAI teams up with Poland's research institute on AI safetyGerman energy company PreussenElektra is working with Nvidia to see if the country's idle nuclear plants could be reborn as data centers, a shift that could touch power costs.
Read more: Germany's shut nuclear plants could become data centersAn early Anthropic investor says a group small enough for an elevator will decide the world's future, a reminder of how few people steer AI.
Read more: Anthropic is courting investors who share its big AI visionCasey Newton and Kevin Roose have launched Machine Gods with NPR, an AI podcast that takes the risks seriously without giving up on asking what could go right.
Read more: Two tech journalists launch a new AI podcast with NPROpenAI is moving fast to raise up to $30 billion before rival Anthropic goes public. The race shapes the AI tools people and businesses use and pay for.
Read more: OpenAI Races to Raise Up to $30 Billion Before Rival Anthropic Goes PublicOpenAI fired three safety researchers, saying they mishandled sensitive information. The case shows how tightly AI companies guard their work.
Read more: OpenAI fires three safety researchers over suspected leaksinDrive, the ride app known for haggling over fares, plans to test Pony.ai robotaxis in Astana in 2027, a sign driverless rides are spreading beyond the US and China.
Read more: inDrive plans self-driving taxi tests in Kazakhstan in 2027After OpenAI dropped in-chat checkout, brands kept the payment. The author argues they still lose the customer's reasons, which is what drives the next sale.
Read more: Brands keep the sale in AI shopping chats, but lose the conversationFello AI asks whether Claude, Anthropic's AI chatbot, works with no login. The answer matters because signing in can tie your chats to your name.
Read more: Using Claude, Anthropic's AI Chatbot, Without an AccountDeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, closed a funding round worth about $15.9 billion, which could mean stronger rival AI tools and more choice for users.
Read more: DeepSeek raises $15.9 billion, more than double its original goalChipmaker Nvidia and investment firm TCV are backing Higgsfield, an AI video startup, which could mean cheaper, faster marketing clips for small businesses.
Read more: Nvidia and TCV back AI video startup Higgsfield with new fundingGoogle says Gemini will get a single business home page that pulls in tools like Google Ads, Shopify and Canva. Owners should check costs and data first.
Read more: Google Gemini adds one home page to run a small businessAt Money20/20 USA, Amex said only 36% of US shoppers are comfortable letting AI complete a purchase, even though 59% like AI help with research.
Read more: AI shopping agents are coming, but most people don't trust them with payments yetKearney surveyed more than 100 leading global companies on agentic commerce, AI tools that shop for you, and the question is who controls the sale.
Read more: AI shopping agents are coming for retail, and big companies are preparingProof and Circle showed an AI agent proving one fact about its owner, then paying in digital dollars, which hints at safer shopping by AI assistants.
Read more: AI shopping assistant buys with digital dollars after proving who it isA privacy expert joins the Security Bite podcast to ask who benefits when you let an AI agent act for you, and what it can see about you.
Read more: Privacy expert asks who your AI assistant is really working forOwners are using AI coding tools to remove ads and clutter from TVs they already own, but results vary by model and a wrong change can break the set.
Read more: Owners use AI tools to strip ads from TVs they already ownWorkday says its new AI agents can handle hiring, payroll and accounting checks in the background, with people still approving the key steps.
Read more: Workday launches AI helpers that run payroll checks and hiring on their ownSkyfire and Forter now let stores check which AI agent is buying and who sent it, so real agent orders stop getting blocked as bots.
Read more: Online stores learn to tell helpful AI shopping agents from fraud botsAmerican Express is offering guidance to small business owners on AI tools that shop for customers, a shift that could change how people find and pay you.
Read more: American Express Helps Small Businesses Get Ready for AI Shopping AgentsMicrosoft is rolling out Copilot Code, a tool that builds simple work apps from a plain-English description, so non-developers can make their own trackers and dashboards.
Read more: Microsoft starts letting workers build apps by describing themBeijing has approved DeepSeek and MiniMax to offer their AI models overseas, so more AI tools from China may soon reach your phone or business.
Read more: China clears DeepSeek and MiniMax to offer their AI abroadVisa is rolling out new fraud tools for business-to-business payments and starting a pilot where AI agents help handle them.
Read more: Visa adds fraud protection and tests AI helpers for business payments
