What you need to know

• OpenAI announced an update for ChatGPT's Deep Research feature, which lets users instruct the AI to only pull information for specific sources.
• The update also provides a slight rework to the side menu, adds more connected apps to the AI, and improves the responses for GPT-2.5.
• OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go last month, which has become the AI's cheapest tier at $8.

OpenAI is doing a little more with ChatGPT this week, as the company rolls out an update that researchers may enjoy.

The company's latest Release Notes for ChatGPT highlight an update to its "Deep Research" feature (via The Verge). OpenAI states that it's giving users "greater control" over a report's accuracy within Deep Research. A YouTube video was published alongside this update, showcasing what users can expect from ChatGPT's updated research capabilities.

OpenAI touts "expert-level" reports through this enhanced method. After selecting "Deep Research" in a slightly redesigned side menu, users can type in their query as usual. However, OpenAI has added connected apps for users to choose from, as well as an option to focus the AI's work on specific websites for data.

The video shows the user instructing the AI to only grab information from bea.gov, census.gov, and the like. Additionally, users can add a "follow-up" or an extra set of instructions while the AI is working to fulfill the original request. OpenAI says users can view these "comprehensive" reports directly in ChatGPT. These reports can be viewed in fullscreen.

This update is rolling out already for Pro and Plus users. OpenAI teases that Free and Go users can expect this "in the coming days."

Chasing research

The Release Notes mention a smaller update for GPT-5.2, which aims to improve its "response style and quality."

OpenAI unveiled Deep Research early last year, detailing its ability to truly dive into topics for information. While the company claims the feature is "fast," it was also stated that Deep Research could take anywhere from five to 30 minutes to complete a user's query, likely depending on the heft of the topic. The announcement paints Deep Research as a creation that mimics a human analyst, diving into online sources for "well-rounded" reports.

ChatGPT Go was OpenAI's latest subscription tier—it's cheapest, too. This cheap tier leverages the company's GPT-5.2 model for speedy response times. This tier provides users with 10x more messages, file uploads, and more over the Free tier.

Android Central's Take

It seems like Google and OpenAI are trading blows when it comes to "deep research" AI features. We've got AI Mode and Gemini's enhanced capabilities on one hand, now ChatGPT is coming back with a worthy update of its own. These features are always nice to see, especially when you need to push through heavy text and massive documents. The thing is, that personal touch is still required. To go in and make sure everything truly is factual.

What you need to know

• OpenAI announced that it's rolling out "Age Predictions" in ChatGPT for users in the EU.
• Age Predictions will consider several account-level aspects to make a judgement about the user's age, and if they are deemed under 18, it will impose restrictions to limit sensitive content.
• Last week, OpenAI announced that ads are headed to ChatGPT, as well as its cheaper ChatGPT Go tier.

OpenAI is sticking to its word about bringing additional safety measures to its AI platform this week by "predicting" the user's age.

The company announced in a blog post that it's preparing to roll out "Age Predictions," which reportedly builds upon its existing safety measures. This parameter isn't foolproof, but that's secondary to OpenAI's confirmation that Age Prediction will "help estimate whether an account likely belongs to someone under 18." Your "stated age" is taken into account by the AI; however, OpenAI states its model will also consider the time you're typically active, as well as "usage patterns."

Now, what is all of this for? If ChatGPT determines that the user is (potentially) under the age of 18, it will reduce that person's exposure to sensitive content. Such content includes graphic violence, viral challenges that could pose a health risk, depictions of self-harm, and more.

ChatGPT will also limit content concerning "extreme beauty standards, unhealthy dieting, or body shaming." The innerworkings of ChatGPT's Age Prediction is similar to what Google did on YouTube.

OpenAI acknowledges the trials here, stating that it will utilize Age Prediction to refine the signals that influence its decision-making and minimize mistakes. If ChatGPT wrongly restricts your account, OpenAI states users can quickly verify their age by submitting a "selfie through Persona, a secure identity-verification service." On a related note, the update highlights what parents can do for teen accounts.

Improving AI safety

OpenAI says that parents will find controls to set "quiet hours" in ChatGPT, creating a window of opportunity for their teen to access the AI. Outside of those times, the AI is inaccessible. Additionally, parents can control what the AI "remembers" about their child, alongside tools to control its model training. OpenAI also says parents can opt into notifications if "signs of acute distress" are discovered.

The post adds that OpenAI will take things slow with its Age Prediction for accuracy purposes. This feature is rolling out in the EU "in the coming weeks" for "regional requirements."

OpenAI had a busy week last week, detailing the arrival of its cheapest ChatGPT Go tier. This subscription is meant to give people all the tools they need in the U.S. after observing a "high adoption rate" in other markets. With ChatGPT Go, users have a much higher usage cap than its free tier. Sending messages, uploading files, images, and more becomes a lot easier.

The other main highlight from last week's announcement was ads. OpenAI confirmed that ads are headed to ChatGPT's chats; however, it's more of a test. The post said that ads are designed to be "relevant" to your current conversation with the AI. OpenAI claims it won't use the conversations to influence the ads it shows.

OpenAI is building up an arsenal of design talent as it develops its first hardware product. The company acquired famed Apple designer Jony Ive's startup "io" in a $6.5 billion deal last year. The design lead behind the iPhone and more, plus his entire team, is now under OpenAI's roof working on an innovative hardware product. Now, we have a better idea of when OpenAI actually plans to unveil and release this secretive AI-powered device.

In an interview with Axios, OpenAI's Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said that the company is "on track" to reveal its first product in the second half of 2026. The confirmation is the closest thing we've gotten to a timeline for OpenAI hardware. The company, including its CEO Sam Altman, has been teasing an upcoming AI device, but details have been sparse.

Notably, Lehane wouldn't commit to OpenAI's hardware product being available for purchase this year — we might see a reveal in 2026 and general availability in 2027. The OpenAI policy leader added that the company was "looking at something in the latter part [of 2026]," per the report.

Information regarding OpenAI's mysterious entry into consumer hardware products has been slowly trickling out since the May 2025 announcement. The Wall Street Journal reported that Altman told OpenAI employees that he and Ive plan to ship 100 million of these products. The report notes that Altman described the opportunity as having the potential to be "the biggest thing we've ever done as a company here."

Shortly after, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that mass production of the product was expected to begin in 2027.

More recently, Altman and Ive confirmed they had prototypes of the upcoming product and expected to start building it within two years, the duo said in November 2026 at Emerson Collective's Demo Day (via 9to5Mac).

Leading us to the present day, The Information reported this month that OpenAI is strengthening its audio-based models as it nears closer to building its initial product. The product is expected to ship without displays and instead focus on voice input, explaining the audio focus.

Now, we know that OpenAI's timeline might be moving up with a late 2026 reveal and the potential for 2027 availability.

Why I think OpenAI's first product is worth watching

OpenAI's debut hardware product is inching closer to becoming a reality, and that's exciting for tech enthusiasts. We really haven't seen an innovative new form factor find success since the smartphone and the smartwatch. Other emerging wearables, like earbuds and smart glasses, are making noise — but they're far from becoming ubiquitous. Does OpenAI's first consumer product have the potential to change that?

We don't know enough about OpenAI's plans to know for sure. However, the company seems fixed in its position that it will focus on an audio-based device, and that gives me confidence. Screen-based consumer technology products will always compete with existing form factors, like smartphones and smartwatches, which is an uphill battle.

That's true even of products that think outside the box in their implementation of displays, like Humane's AI Pin. That now-discontinued device used a tiny projector to display images on your hand. At the end of the day, a screen is still a screen. Humane's once-hyped AI product fizzled out very quickly, leaving early adopters high and dry.

It's a similar story for the Rabbit R1, another screen-based AI device that never caught on. To Rabbit's credit, the company is still supporting the device and recently overhauled the operating system. Even with that in mind, we're not likely to see the Rabbit R1 — or anything similar — disrupt the smartphone or smartwatch form factor.

Meanwhile, it feels like audio-based devices still have room to grow. AI voice recorders are finding a niche in the business world despite offering the same functionality as your smartphone. Earbuds are slowly becoming AI devices with features like Live Translate. Companies continue to experiment with unique form factors for audio gear, from open earbuds and bone-conduction headphones to pillow speakers.

Consumers are voting with their wallets, telling companies that they want more audio products. OpenAI seems to be listening and rising to the occasion. The company confirmed an audio focus for its upcoming product, and leaks suggest it could take the form of earbuds.

The teasers, leaks, and rumors all point to the same thing. OpenAI is putting its hardware efforts in the right direction, avoiding screen-based devices that'll always lose against the smartphone. Instead, it's supposedly leaning into audio, and it sounds like a winning strategy. Based on today's announcement, we might learn more about what this product might look like later this year.

What you need to know

• OpenAI confirms that ads are headed for ChatGPT; however, it will begin a test with adults in the U.S. first.
• Ads are designed to be "relevant," and OpenAI says that it never collects data about the conversation with its AI in order to produce more ads.
• OpenAI also debuted ChatGPT Go, its newest, cheapest tier at $8 a month.

We've heard the rumors: OpenAI wants to bring ads to your ChatGPT chats, and the company's finally speaking about it.

Today (Jan 16), OpenAI announced that it is preparing to bring ads to its ChatGPT chats. The company states that while users have their views on ChatGPT and the assistance it can bring, it also wants to ensure its ads adhere to those expectations. OpenAI adds that its goal is to bring "truly relevant, high-quality ads," as well as control over them.

User choice/control was a key highlight for OpenAI moving forward with these upcoming ads. According to the post, users will have the option to disable personalization in ChatGPT, alongside the option to clear all "data used for ads at any time." OpenAI claims it will "always" give users a way to not see ads, which will be joined by a paid ad-free tier.

How intrusive ads will be was another talking point.

OpenAI states that ChatGPT's ads won't "influence" the AI's responses to queries. In fact, it states that the ads it will show will be "optimized" to be relevant to what you're doing. An example shows a user asking ChatGPT to help brainstorm ideas for a dinner party. While the AI responded as normal, offering dish suggestions, the "relevant" ad was for hot sauce from a grocery store.

Ads are planned to be clearly separated from the user's chat with the AI. Users will find who the ad is from, the product in question, the price, the stock availability, and feedback buttons.

OpenAI says it's not going to just drop ads into its app. Ads are headed for "logged-in adults" in the U.S. on its free and (new) Go tier. The post states that ads will first show up at the bottom of chats; however, there could be a future where users could query ChatGPT about the ad to make an educated decision before making a purchase.

ChatGPT... Go!

OpenAI's announcements to end the week conclude with its newest (and cheapest) AI subscription plan: ChatGPT Go. After debuting in India, OpenAI is now ready to bring its cheapest AI plan to the U.S. after reportedly observing a "high adoption rate." The post states that ChatGPT Go offers the company's GPT‑5.2 Instant model at a lower cost, which may entice more people to give it a try.

ChatGPT Go is available for $8 a month.

At this lower price, ChatGPT Go gives users "10x more messages," file uploads, and image creation when compared to the free tier's capabilities. Additionally, the AI features a larger memory and context window with this Go tier, meaning it'll remember much more about you if you'd like.

OpenAI reports that many users who've engaged with ChatGPT Go typically leverage its intelligence for writing, learning, image creation, and problem-solving. As previously stated, ChatGPT Go is here for U.S. users; however, it's also made itself accessible globally today, too.

What you need to know

• Rumors from overseas claim that OpenAI has progressed with its AI hardware ambitions, as an alleged "Sweet Pea" device appears.
• This device is speculated to be a pair of open-ear-style earbuds that could feature strong computational hardware for AI computing and more.
• Late last year, it was reported that OpenAI and Jony Ive were working together to produce a "small family" of AI hardware devices for consumers.

Rumors have surfaced after an overseas report claimed that OpenAI has advanced its AI hardware ambitions.

With the idea of reportedly "redefining human and computer interactions," the Chinese publication Sohu highlighted a leak about OpenAI earbuds (via Gizmochina). Allegedly, leaked details state OpenAI's earbuds, currently named "Sweet Pea," will contain strong hardware, specifically chips that are positioned to handle "high-performance" and AI computing.

Moreover, OpenAI might seek an open-ear-style design for these buds. Leaks indicate that the device in question features an egg-shaped body made of metal. There are also two "capsules" (or capsule-like objects) that will wrap around the ear and sit behind it against the user's head.

OpenAI has reportedly tapped Foxconn for the production of these earbuds, per this leak; however, that's not all. The post cites additional rumors that claim the company is also looking to produce four more AI-based devices for consumers. At the moment, rumors aren't clear about what these other products could be. What has been alleged is that OpenAI could look to achieve mass-production by the end of 2028.

OpenAI might position its codename "Sweet Pea" earbuds as a "portable AI gateway." This is a sentiment that aligns with what was reported late last year.

Among the many (likely) AI advances and announcements in 2026, one thing we're looking forward to is what AI hardware OpenAI is cooking up with Jony Ive. As Android Central's Brady Snyder points out, it's not like we're expecting OpenAI to replace Google Search or build the next Android. Presently, it seems that its best option is to produce AI hardware that truly captivates consumers.

This OpenAI, Jony Ive partnership was reported by our friends at Windows Central. Both sides alluded to a piece of AI hardware that already had a prototype, as OpenAI looks to deliver a product that "disrupts" the market in a way that Apple's iPhone first did. This didn't come out of left field, as OpenAI reportedly teased that it's been brainstorming and working on a "small family" of devices.

Unfortunately, it's taking quite a bit of time. Just like these rumors that paint a far-off 2028 picture, Windows Central highlighted a Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) statement that reads, "Do not expect anything very soon."

What you need to know

• OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Translate, a new web-based translation tool positioned as a direct competitor to Google Translate.
• ChatGPT Translate supports over 50 languages and offers real-time translations with automatic language detection.
• The tool stands out by offering AI prompts to adjust tone, fluency, and complexity of translated text.

Google Translate has just gained a new competitor, courtesy of OpenAI, in the form of ChatGPT Translate.

Google Translate has long been the go-to tool for quick translations, but there is now a new challenger that aims to raise the bar. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has launched a dedicated website called ChatGPT Translate, putting it in direct competition with Google's translation service.

At launch, the service supports over 50 languages and looks familiar to anyone who has used online translation tools. You get two text boxes, one for input and another for the translated output, along with drop-down menus to select the source and target languages. Like Google Translate, ChatGPT Translate also supports automatic language detection.

OpenAI quietly launches a new Google Translate rival

You can start typing text immediately, with translations appearing live as you type. What sets ChatGPT Translate apart, however, is a set of quick prompts below the text boxes.

These let you refine translations to sound more fluent, business formal, simplified for a child, or tailored for an academic audience. Tapping any of these prompts opens the request directly in ChatGPT, with the original text and refinement instruction already applied.

The website also mentions support for translating images and files, but those options are not yet available. Unlike Google Translate, ChatGPT Translate currently lacks voice input (on desktop) and features such as full website translation.

While ChatGPT could already be used as a translation tool before, this new website gives users a single, dedicated place for fast translations.

For now, there is no sign of a standalone ChatGPT Translate app or a dedicated section inside the ChatGPT app, and OpenAI has yet to make an official announcement about the tool.

What you need to know

• A report by Similarweb, a digital data company, shows that Google's Gemini is starting to gain significant ground on its competitor, ChatGPT.
• Gemini has reached 21.5% of the traffic share for Gen AI products, as of early this year, while ChatGPT has dropped to 64.5%.
• Earlier in 2025, one of Google's goals was to help push Gemini into more of the market share, and it did so by making some paid features free for all.

In the world of generative AI, there's a lot; however, data companies are noticing a shift in where users are spending their time seeking answers.

Reported this week by Similarweb on X, generative AI website traffic is slowly shifting, as a not-so-unknown player gains ground. According to the digital data company's analytics, Google's Gemini has reached 21.5% of the traffic share as of January 2, 2026. What's leading the race? OpenAI's ChatGPT with 64.5% of the traffic share. There's one clear fact here, per Similarweb's data: ChatGPT and Gemini are the "top dogs," one might say, for traffic.

Among the many AI names, ChatGPT and Gemini account for ~86% of the traffic. The remaining 14% is divvied up between DeepSeek, X's Grok, Perplexity, Claude, and Microsoft's Copilot (in order).

Even when we get down into AI tools traffic, ChatGPT and Gemini still lead the pack, though the former holds the majority.

What's interesting about where Gemini is now is that it's been gaining ground (slowly, but surely) over the past few months. In actuality, it's been a trend all throughout 2025. Similarweb's timeline shows how Gemini's traffic share has been slowly rising, going from 5.7% a year ago to 18.2% in December 2025.

Gemini v. ChatGPT

Increasing Gemini's market share has been a goal for Google, as the company made a decision: paid features are now free.

To clarify, this concerned Google making its Gemini 2.5 Pro experiment free for users just four days after it debuted in March. OpenAI's ChatGPT came out of left field, but it's how the general public views that Gen AI chatbot, as opposed to every other company's version. When ChatGPT debuted, it stunned and retained users, reaching 700 million monthly active users.

This is when Google started making shifts toward Gemini, and then, Apple started to wiggle itself into the mix. Here's the thing: everyone was playing catch-up. While most companies are still playing catch-up, Gemini's doing so at a seemingly faster rate, at least, per the data.

Google and OpenAI aren't slowing down one bit, as the former introduced Gemini features for its TV service, turning it into another companion. For OpenAI, the company recently introduced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated chatting experience with its AI that can help users with medical records and app data.

What you need to know

• OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, which is a new chat focused solely on assisting users who are interested in improving their health and wellness.
• Users can upload their medial records and data from health app to the AI for increased assistance.
• OpenAI says it has implemented security parameters to safeguard users data and the information they discuss with the AI.
• Users can sign up for the waitlist now.

OpenAI has announced a major development for ChatGPT that aims to help users interested in experiencing a true health-dedicated chatbot.

OpenAI is kicking off the new year by focusing on users' health—and there's a waitlist, too. This week, it announced ChatGPT Health, "a dedicated experience in ChatGPT designed for health and wellness." The company states this new dedicated way of using ChatGPT was a direct result of how users already lean on the AI. OpenAI states, "Health is already one of the most common ways people use" the AI with "millions of people asking health and wellness questions each week."

ChatGPT Health takes into account all of your submitted wellness information to help you understand the finer details. OpenAI says users can submit their medical records and data from health apps, like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal.

As you might expect, OpenAI makes it clear that ChatGPT is not intended to replace your doctor; it's simply there to aid your understanding. With that in mind, after you've given the AI your records and app data, ChatGPT can help answer questions you may have about your results, set up future appointments, and offer guidance for workouts and diet.

OpenAI states that it has created ChatGPT Health alongside licensed physicians. The post states that these physicians have also encouraged OpenAI to provide different levels of the AI's responses. From how condensed information is delivered for better understanding to how urgently it should push users to seek their doctor.

Understand what matters most

Uploading sensitive information, such as your medical records, is undoubtedly a fright for many users. To help, OpenAI says ChatGPT Health has received "foundational protections" to safeguard users' data and to give users control over it. Users will have access to temporary chats, the option to remove data from OpenAI's systems within 30 days, and more.

ChatGPT Health has also been trained not to retain users' personal information from chats.

For your medical records, the files themselves are encrypted when moving and when at rest. More than that, OpenAI says there are layered protections, as well as isolation. Essentially, conversations taking place in ChatGPT Health will "not be used" to train OpenAI's foundation models.

As previously stated, users can sign up for ChatGPT Health's waitlist to hopefully gain entry.

OpenAI is already looking to future updates, stating, "We’ll continue to expand what you can connect and the insights Health can support—so ChatGPT can help you feel more informed, prepared, and confident as you navigate your health."

Artificial intelligence experienced growth in 2025, with companies offering strong challenges to OpenAI for the first time.

Google used its corporate might to release more AI-powered features than any other company, Meta used its stockpile of cash to acquire top talent, and OpenAI made big bets looking toward the future. At the same time, smaller companies Perplexity and Anthropic took significant strides, but still look more like acquisition targets than serious threats. And then there's Microsoft, a company that may have tied its horse to OpenAI and an AI PC strategy too soon.

Looking ahead to 2026, I'm predicting a year of reckoning. Multiple companies made promises that they'll have to deliver on next year, like Samsung's smart glasses or OpenAI's upcoming hardware product. Additionally, the results of pending lawsuits and possible AI regulation could loom over the industry in 2026. Here's everything I'm expecting from the AI industry next year, plus what I want to see.

Brand deals and lawsuits will set the tone for AI in 2026

In my AI report card for 2025, I noted that it's hard to judge OpenAI's year because the company prioritized its future over its present. The biggest OpenAI move came just a few weeks before the new year — it inked a deal with Disney that'll see the entertainment giant invest $1 billion in equity into OpenAI. As part of the move, OpenAI will get exclusive access to Disney's intellectual property with over 200 licensed characters. Starting in early 2026, users will be able to generate Sora videos with Disney characters.

It's a big move for both companies, as the three-year licensing agreement gives OpenAI the legal use of Disney characters, with Disney presumably receiving financial kickbacks in return. OpenAI impressively got Disney to throw money its way as part of the deal, too. Perhaps most importantly, Disney sent Google a cease-and-desist letter over the company's use and generation of copyrighted material by its AI models.

How this all plays out will certainly guide the AI industry in 2026. For now, I can still generate Disney characters with Google AI models, which raises a ton of questions. Will Disney slap Google with a full-on lawsuit over its alleged copyright violations? Does legal access to Disney material give OpenAI the edge it needs over competitors as the AI race tightens? Is Disney really making enough money from this deal to justify giving up its most valuable assets to an AI company?

I'm looking forward to all of these questions being answered in 2026. This is just one of the developments involving brand deals and legal challenges for AI companies in 2026. There are multiple lawsuits filed by brands such as the New York Times, Ziff Davis, Thomson Reuters, and others that aim to force governments to decide whether training AI models on copyrighted material is legal.

In 2026, I want to see these legal questions answered, ideally with a bit of much-needed AI regulation in the mix. I'm also curious whether competitors like Google or Meta try to copy OpenAI's deal with Disney — next year could quickly become the race to secure brand deals with IP holders.

Less AI slop and more thoughtful features

It goes without saying that not every AI feature is bad, but many are. AI-generated content hit new lows in 2025, prompting Merriam-Webster to select "slop" as its word of the year, defined as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." In 2026, I want to see less slop and more truly useful features.

Brands, if you're reading this, stop sticking AI where it doesn't belong. I don't need Meta AI in my Instagram search bar or my WhatsApp DMs. I certainly don't need an infinite-scroll feed of AI slop in the Meta AI app required to manage my collection of Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses.

Meta is an underrated player in the AI industry, especially given its NBA-style contracts for top engineering talent, totaling hundreds of millions in compensation over multi-year deals. Next year, it needs to stop getting in its own way. Create thoughtful AI features that users seek out willingly, and remove the slop shoved into apps that are awesome otherwise.

Meta certainly isn't the only company doing this; it's simply the worst offender. Other AI companies should watch and learn what not to do, making sure to only include features in their best apps that make sense.

I want to see what Samsung, Google, and OpenAI are cooking

I mentioned Android XR as something to watch in my AI preview article for 2025, and I'm bringing it up again in 2026. That puts quite a bit of pressure on Google, the one building the software platform, and Samsung, the one curating the hardware. Eventually, the Android XR teasers and demos that keep trickling out aren't enough, and we need to see results. We finally got Samsung's Galaxy XR headset in 2025, but I'm looking forward to Samsung's upcoming pair of smart glasses even more.

I use Meta smart glasses because they're the best available right now, in my opinion, not because I'm particularly attached to Meta as a company. If Google or Samsung made a better or comparable pair of smart glasses that fit better into the Android ecosystem, there's a strong likelihood I'd be compelled to switch. That's why, in 2026, I need to finally see what Google and Samsung are cooking up. Are these companies going to challenge Meta on day one, or will their initial offerings feel lightyears behind?

As for what Samsung's XR glasses could do to win me over, expanded prescription lens support, better open-air speakers, sharper camera quality, and more comfortable frame designs are at the top of my wishlist.

Oh, and I'd also love to see what OpenAI is working on with Jony Ive on the hardware front. Gemini is slowly catching up to ChatGPT, and I think it's because Google has products and services people use every day, giving it unparalleled integration avenues. OpenAI can't build the next Android or replace Google Search and Workspace overnight, so its best option is to make an AI hardware product that actually catches on.

As an iPod kid at heart, I have skeptical faith in Ive. But like Google and Samsung, OpenAI will need to show me something tangible in 2026 to make me a believer.

AI models like Gemini 3 and GPT-5.2 are so good these days that the updates are starting to feel incremental. The next thing to watch is how these AI models will be implemented. For example, whether a brand deals with IP holders like Disney or hardware releases like XR glasses will define the next stage of the AI race. Whether the courts or legislators will take any steps to regulate the AI industry or protect copyrighted material.

In other words, 2026 is going to be an important year for AI, one way or another.

Grade: B

AI had big years in 2023 and 2024, but heading into 2025, consumers and industry analysts began waving caution flags. Some skeptics warned that AI development would hit a "wall" this year. Others worried that companies like Google and Apple were overpromising, leaving them vulnerable to underdelivering.

I made a few predictions at the end of last year, and most of them seem to have panned out. AI has arrived on operating systems in short order, and it's becoming more agentic and actionable. I was wrong about a few things, too — namely, Samsung shocked me by making it clear which Galaxy AI features run on- and off-device, allowing Galaxy users to disable online features with a single toggle.

Now that 2025 is nearing its conclusion, let's grade how the AI industry as a whole and some of its biggest companies fared.

Reviewing my predictions for AI in 2025

Following the colossal failure of dedicated AI devices like the Humane AI Pin or Rabbit R1, I correctly predicted the industry would pivot and try to put AI directly into our mobile operating systems.

Google led the charge, adding Gemini as a permanent Google Assistant replacement across Android, Wear OS, and more. Microsoft's Copilot is the heart of Windows, and Apple is still trying (but failing) to make Apple Intelligence the architect of iOS and macOS.

That said, it's wild to me that Gemini Live's multimodal video and screen sharing only debuted in 2025, considering how quickly it's become an instrumental Android feature. At this point last year, multimodal Gemini Live video was only a prototype as Project Astra. Not only did Project Astra go public on Pixel devices as expected, but it also came to basically every Android device.

Google checked the multimodal box with Gemini Live, and the combination of audio, visual, and text-based inputs has become a common way to use AI. Agentic control developed a bit slower than I expected, with the Gemini Agent and the agent-based Google Antigravity app only materializing of late. OpenAI's AgentKit debuted similarly late in October. Alas, it's clear AI agents are the current goal for the biggest companies.

I was hopeful that we'd see more AI features built right into the OS, ideally using more on-device AI. That doesn't seem to have happened. Gemini Nano still handles some on-device processing for Pixels, and the same is true for Galaxy AI on Samsung phones, but growth is slower than I expected.

In late 2024, both the CEOs of Google and OpenAI pushed back on the idea that AI would hit a "wall." I didn't think progress would stall; rather, I thought companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google would all challenge each other to be better. That happened, with these companies trading places on leading AI benchmarks throughout 2025.

I also expected the lines between on-device and off-device processing would continue to blur. Samsung proved me wrong by adding a toggle that lets you choose whether to process AI data only on your device. I'm still waiting for other companies to follow suit, though.

Google in 2025: A

Google had a major year for AI in 2025. The company seems to be finally firing on all cylinders, and Gemini 3 is the culmination of that. It hit milestone after milestone this year, growing Gemini's monthly active user count to nearly 350 million as of November.

The bigger moment for me was when Gemini briefly became the number one free app on the iPhone App Store. It's easy for Gemini to succeed on Google platforms where it's placed front and center. But on iOS, where users have to actively seek Gemini instead of convenient options like Apple Intelligence with ChatGPT integration? Gemini's success there is an outstanding sign of what's to come for Google.

Over 150 million accounts are subscribed to Google AI Pro. It's monetizing the experience with advertising tests in AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search, and it's earning revenue from AI dev tools via Google Cloud.

In terms of features, Google released more than I can recap in this article. Some highlights include Gemini Live's video and screen-sharing support, the Google Antigravity AI-based IDE, and the Nano Banana image generator. I'll also tip my cap to Google for continuing to make tons of AI features available for free, including on discontinued smart home devices.

Really, it's hard to pick apart Google's AI strategy this year, which is why I'm giving it an A grade. If I had to nitpick, I'd say I'm concerned Google isn't making brand partnerships — like Meta's integration with Garmin or OpenAI's deal with Disney — as these may prove important heading into 2026.

OpenAI in 2025: B-

OpenAI feels like a company retooling and looking toward the future rather than aggressively building AI products right now. The company is making a handful of long-term bets that could make its 2026 look a lot better than the B- grade it's looking today. However, as it stands now, OpenAI's market share is being chipped away at by competitors, and its leading GPT-5.1 and now GPT-5.2 models are struggling in benchmarks and among users.

While ChatGPT still has a gigantic user base compared to the competition, at nearly 900 million monthly active users, its priorities feel questionable. ChatGPT recently added group chats, as if we needed another DM inbox. And there are signs the ChatGPT app could be flooded with ads based on early reports.

On the other hand, OpenAI is valued at $500 billion, giving it significant power. The company successfully restructured to become a for-profit entity, a bigger feat than any AI model or feature it could've released in 2025 (even if the departure from non-profit status feels questionable to outsiders).

OpenAI partnered with one of the greatest designers of our lifetime, Jony Ive, and has a working prototype of its upcoming AI device. It made a deal with Disney that turned the Mickey Mouse brand against Google, and in the process, OpenAI received a $1 billion investment from Disney. The fleecing makes Sora easily the best consumer-facing AI video-generation product.

I'll state it plainly — if OpenAI uses its for-profit status to its advantage, builds a killer AI device with Ive, and Disney becomes Sora's ace, we could easily look back on 2025 as a great year for the company. For now, there simply aren't enough results to justify giving OpenAI more than a B- grade.

The rest in 2025: C

The grade "C" is supposedly average, and just about every other AI company not named Google or OpenAI was average in 2025.

The lone exception in my book is Meta, which earns a B grade. It's making the best face-worn multimodal AI technology with Meta smart glasses. Garmin integration with Meta AI is genuinely amazing.

The problem? Meta is shoving AI everywhere its users don't want it, and turned the Meta smart glasses companion app into an endless scroll feed for AI slop. The move is so bad that I'm tempted to give Meta an F grade for this alone, but I'll be fair and give it a B for how far Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses are ahead of the competition.

Apple and Samsung were strictly average in 2025, with neither releasing game-changing new features. Apple correctly avoided overpromising this year, which I give it credit for. The flip side is that it didn't release anything of note on the AI front, either. For Samsung, its best AI features can be traced back to Google.

On the AI model front, there were bright spots from unlikely candidates, like DeepSeek. But it faded into obscurity just as quickly as it became popular.

Final verdict

If it came down to a coin toss, I'm inclined to lower AI's overall grade for 2025, regardless of how far the technology has come. That's why I'm only giving AI a B grade for the year, even though over a billion people are using platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. The reason? We were sold a bill of goods that simply hasn't materialized.

The year 2025 is now coming to a close, and we haven't seen anything close to artificial general intelligence (AGI). We haven't cured cancer or eliminated poverty. All the while, AI is using more and more finite resources, leading to water drought concerns and global RAM shortages. Layoffs are mounting by the tens of thousands, and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman now says he's "worried about the rate of change that's happening in the world right now."

So, yes, AI models and interfaces are more powerful than ever in 2025. But let's face it — few are truly excited by AI writing your emails or generating a bad TV commercial. We were sold a life-changing technology, and three years after ChatGPT debuted, it's clear AI is still far from fitting the bill. With this context, an overall B grade is the absolute highest I can give AI for 2025.

What you need to know

• Disney is dropping $1 billion into OpenAI to bring Sora into its ecosystem starting in 2026.
• Users will be able to generate short videos with 200+ licensed characters across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars.
• The deal excludes real actor likenesses and voices, meaning you can't create clips with digital versions of the stars.

Not long ago, the entertainment industry saw AI as a major threat. Now, Disney has changed direction by investing $1 billion in equity in OpenAI, marking a major shift in how studios work with generative AI.

Beginning in early 2026, this partnership will connect OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video model with Disney’s large library of intellectual property. Users will be able to create short videos featuring over 200 licensed characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, according to the joint announcement from both companies.

This includes popular characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, The Mandalorian, and Rey. Animated favorites like Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Simba, Mufasa, Stitch, and Baymax are also available. Users can access well-known costumes, props, and vehicles, and generate custom Frozen or Toy Story clips almost instantly by typing a prompt.

Strict limits apply

However, there are clear restrictions. Disney limits use to animated, masked, and creature characters only.

That means this deal explicitly excludes actor likenesses and voices. You won't be generating a digital Robert Downey Jr. or cloning Mark Hamill’s voice for your clips.

While the tech is impressive, the deal might spark fears that democratizing these characters devalues the hand-crafted storytelling Disney is known for.

Despite these concerns, Disney plans to embrace user-generated content by curating select fan-made videos to stream on Disney Plus. This experiment could either boost fan engagement or affect the service’s reputation.

In addition to consumer features, Disney will use OpenAI’s tools internally. The company plans to become a major customer, using ChatGPT to help employees develop new products and experiences.

The rollout is planned for early 2026. Whether the result is a new era of creativity or a flood of digital noise remains to be seen.

What you need to know

• A report claims that OpenAI could start showing ads in its ChatGPT on Android in a future update.
• Early code directly mentions an "ads feature," as well as carousels that could display these ads for users, though speculation states they might not appear in one-on-one chats.
• These ads could be produced based on what the AI remembers about the user, bringing that personalized aspect to them.
• A previous ChatGPT update for Android brought Spotify into the mix, giving users the ability to task the AI in playing music or finding new songs.

OpenAI's chatbot on Android is supposedly headed down an ad-filled direction that users might not enjoy.

A deep dive into the ChatGPT app on Android was conducted by Tibor Blaho, who posted their discovery of the chance for ads to greet users (via NotebookCheck). Blaho states they discovered an "ads feature" in the early code of a ChatGPT app beta for Android users. The code contains quite a few mentions of advertisements to hit the app, such as "AdTarget," "SearchAd," "ApiAdTarget," and more. Blaho directly mentions other code mentions, like "bazaar content" and "search ads carousel."

So, while it seems that the ChatGPT app on Android is staring at an ad-filled future on Android, the X post went into more detail, stating this has been in the plans for a while.

A subsequent post highlights a post from October by The Information, which highlights OpenAI's ever-shifting stance on ads in the app. Supposedly, OpenAI is "considering whether ChatGPT could show ads based on its memory or the information it remembers," per an employee. Blaho goes further, stating OpenAI is trying to figure out how to do this in a "careful way."

How this could appear to users isn't known; however, there's speculation that the ChatGPT app could display ads in a card-style without imposing on the chats users have with the AI directly. As one might expect, these ads could only impact users on the free tier of the ChatGPT app, not those who've subscribed to additional capabilities.

ChatGPT's going with the flow

Blaho compares what OpenAI is seemingly moving ChatGPT toward to what Google has done with ads and AI Overviews. Google announced last year that it was preparing to bring ads to results shown to users via AI Overviews. The idea was to be "more helpful," as the little snippets would display ads only if they were relevant to the user's query and to the information provided by the AI.

The company even highlighted some of its data, which reportedly showed that users who've seen ads have found them helpful. There's no doubt that users may have their own personal takes if this actually rolls out for ChatGPT on Android.

Outside of a potential ad bombardment, ChatGPT had an update on Android that brought its AI capabilities to music. Users who've connected their Spotify Premium accounts to ChatGPT can have the AI find songs for them, play tracks, and even throw on their favorite weekly mixes, like Discover Weekly and New Music Friday. The entire update was very similar to Spotify's extension for Gemini, which offers more of the same tools for music discovery and playback.

Video generation models aren't new. Artificial intelligence has been able to create realistic video content for a while, and consumer tools are readily available. Both Google and OpenAI have released Veo and Sora text-to-video and image-to-video generation models in the past. So, why is the technology only blowing up now with the launch of OpenAI's Sora app?

For those unfamiliar, Sora is the AI video-generation app from OpenAI that combines a generator and social platform in one. It launched for iOS and on the web in September and recently debuted for Android. Chances are, even if you haven't heard of Sora, you've probably seen a video from it shared on another platform, like X or TikTok.

Sora is on its way to becoming a household name for OpenAI in the same way ChatGPT did two years ago. It's succeeding and starting to infiltrate pop culture in a way Google's Veo video-generation models haven't. After trying both Veo 3 and Sora 2, it's clear that OpenAI is winning the generative video race by going all-in on presentation — and removing as many limitations as possible.

Veo 3 and Sora 2 are both hyper-realistic video generation models

AI video generation models like Veo 3 and Sora 2 face an uphill battle. Simply making an excellent, hyper-realistic video generator isn't enough to be successful. Brands like Google and OpenAI need to make AI videos cool, and I wasn't sure that was possible until the Sora app launched.

By wrapping the Sora 2 model in a TikTok-like social feed and adding human cameos, OpenAI seemingly changed the perception of AI content overnight — what was once slop and garbage became funny and engaging. That has nothing to do with the model itself, but rather, the interface.

Sora, like Gemini, is both a model and an interface. Sora 2 is the video-generation model powering the experience, and OpenAI says it is "more physically accurate, realistic, and more controllable than prior systems." The company adds that it thinks Sora 2 "may be the GPT‑3.5 moment for video."

That sounds a lot like Google's claims regarding Veo 3.1, which just rolled out to the Gemini app in October. Google said Veo 3.1 adds "richer audio, more narrative control, and enhanced realism." It's pretty similar to what OpenAI touted about Sora 2 a month earlier.

Why hasn't Veo 3 surged in popularity like Sora 2? It's because Google doesn't have an app to tie it all together.

OpenAI's Sora app turns AI video generation into a social platform

Google's Veo 3 model, while technically as capable as Sora 2, is often positioned more toward developers and businesses than the average consumer. It's accessible in the Gemini app for Google AI Pro or Ultra subscribers, and it powers photo-to-video generation in the Google Photos app. Even those implementations are ones the user needs to seek out — they're not a major part of either app.

By comparison, Sora 2 is available at sora.com, but OpenAI also built an entire app around it. The company noticed the vertical video and infinite scroll formats working for social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and others. It responded by making the Sora app a similar hub for AI-generated videos and a place where users can make their own.

A core part of the Sora experience is the cameo feature, which allows users to make realistic AI videos of themselves or others. These can eventually be shared with others via the Sora feed. The idea is that you connect with your friends on Sora, create AI cameos, and share them, so that everyone has a TikTok-like feed of clever AI content.

Comparing Veo and Sora quickly revealed that OpenAI's approach with cameos immediately separates it from the competition. At a time when many video generators are blocking the creation of AI video content about real people, OpenAI made it Sora's entire reason to exist. There are limitations to prevent people from using Sora irresponsibly, but they end up feeling more like detours than outright roadblocks.

Here's what OpenAI says about how people can protect their likeness within Sora:

Still, these are looser restrictions than what you'll find using Veo 3 with Gemini. People are unsurprisingly always trying to find ways around them, too.

While testing Veo 3 and Sora, I struggled to get Gemini to create anything realistic involving actual people or celebrities. Gemini would say, "I can't generate that video," and link to its video policy guidelines. Oddly enough, there's nothing in there that specifically bars generating videos of real people, but Gemini and Veo models are clearly trained against it.

This puts Google and Veo 3 in a precarious position because Sora's popularity proves people crave realistic AI videos of actual people.

Are Google's strict policy guardrails holding its AI features back?

OpenAI's headfirst dive into lifelike AI videos represents a sharp contrast to Google's insistence on AI responsibility. I can't say for certain why OpenAI is starting to bend the lines, but after following the AI industry closely for years, I have a theory — AI development is plateauing, and OpenAI's competitors are catching up.

Shortly after announcing Sora, OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, said in October 2025 that ChatGPT would soon be allowed to engage in "erotica for verified adults" (via AP). Altman added that OpenAI is "not the elected moral police of the world."

These are separate decisions, but as a whole, they appear to show OpenAI systematically removing guardrails for its AI products. By letting Sora go all-in on AI videos of real people, OpenAI created an instant hit. Meanwhile, Veo is still relatively unknown to the masses.

To me, AI videos are still slop, regardless of whether Veo or Sora makes them. Who knows if OpenAI's bet on Sora, social, and cameos will pay off? But for now, it's hard to argue with early results — the Sora app has already been downloaded millions of times across iOS and Android.

FAQ

What you need to know

• OpenAI has launched its AI-powered video generation app, Sora, on Android after its iOS debut.
• The Sora app lets users create, share, and remix AI-generated videos directly from text prompts.
• The app is available in seven countries for now and requires an invite code to access.

After launching on iPhone in September 2025 and teasing it last month, OpenAI has finally started rolling out its AI-powered video generation app, Sora, on Android.

For those unaware, Sora allows you to generate videos using just a text prompt. For example, you can create a video of a woman interviewing an alien simply by typing that description, as demonstrated by OpenAI on X/Twitter. Moreover, in addition to generating videos, the app also lets users share and remix AI-generated creations.

While OpenAI already has a video generation model named Sora, this is an AI app that takes things further by combining creation and discovery. It functions like a social media platform, featuring a TikTok-style vertical feed filled with AI-generated videos.

Sora app brings AI video creation to Android phones

For now, the Sora app is available on the Google Play Store in seven countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. If you're outside these regions, you'll have to wait a bit longer. Even users in supported countries need an invite code to gain access to the app.

OpenAI says Sora generates "hyperreal videos" with "unprecedented realism," and the app has already been a massive hit, crossing 1 million downloads within just five days of its iOS launch.

Once you get access, you can generate videos in seconds by simply describing what you want. You can choose from various styles, such as cinematic, animated, photorealistic, or cartoon and even "change the vibe, add scenes, or extend the story."

Beyond generating videos from text, Sora also includes a "Cameo" feature that lets you inject yourself or anyone else into an AI-generated video just using an image. And even though the technology is impressive, OpenAI has faced criticism for its handling of deepfakes and copyrighted material.

That said, OpenAI has improved on these issues in recent weeks, and now Android users can finally experience Sora on their devices. For reference, Google also offers a similar tool called Veo 3 in the Gemini app for Android, which also allows video generation from text prompts.

What you need to know

• Sora, the viral OpenAI social platform for AI content, is finally nearing an Android debut.
• The app held the top spot on the App Store for weeks, but remains an iOS exclusive for now.
• In the meantime, Android users can run Sora on their devices as a PWA (instructions below).

Chances are, even if you're an Android user waiting for access to the viral Sora app, you've seen a video created or shared on the platform. It's OpenAI's latest foray into consumer apps, and claimed the number one spot on App Store charts for weeks. The social platform is designed around generating and sharing short videos created with AI, and it seems to be slowly-changing public perception of AI-generated content — from slop to social.

Now, OpenAI has confirmed that an Android app is officially on the Sora roadmap. "Finally, the Android version of Sora is actually coming soon," wrote Bill Peebles, who is OpenAI's head of Sora, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The upcoming Sora app for Android will join a slew of future features Peebles also teased in the post. Character cameos is arriving in "the coming days," and it'll let Sora users create AI-generated videos of their favorite pets or inanimate objects.

"We're expecting people to register lots of crazy new cameos with this feature," Peebles explained. "To make them easier to find, we're updating the generation UI to show the latest trending cameos in real time."

Cameos are a core feature of the Sora app — they're AI-generated videos created of yourself based on a sample video you upload for training. After providing Sora with a video of yourself, you can make AI videos of your lifelike doppelgänger doing basically anything. From there, these videos can be shared in a "For you" style social feed with others, much like TikTok or Instagram.

"We're working on making the social experience much better," Peebles wrote. "We are exploring new ways to use Sora with your friends (versus just a global feed) and broader community. Think channels that are specific to your university, company, sports club, etc."

Character cameos and improved social features will join basic video-editing tools, so users can stitch clips without leaving the Sora app. Currently, Sora is only available on the web and iOS, but these features will presumably arrive on the now-confirmed Android app.

How you can use Sora on Android today

Sora is only available on the App Store for now — Android users on the Google Play Store are out of luck. However, the existence of Sora's web client means Android users can create their own progressive web app (PWA) for Sora before the official app arrives. Follow the steps above to try it out for yourself!

What you need to know

• Spotify announced that it has arrived in the the ChatGPT app on Android and iOS, bringing AI capability to music discovery.
• Users can ask the AI to find new music from their favorite artists and songs from regularly updated weekly playlists like Discover Weekly and New Music Friday.
• ChatGPT free, Plus, and Pro users can even ask the AI to create playlists based on certain themes and moods.
• Spotify brought an extension to the Gemini app last year, as well as one for YouTube Music, which sports similar capabilities.

Spotify's extending its reach to more places, and this time that expansion includes OpenAI's ChatGPT app.

Spotify announced this week that users can now use the ChatGPT app to find "personalized" music and more, using their prompts. Spotify in ChatGPT is rolling out for the app, and the company states you will need to connect your account during your first prompt. Users with free or Premium accounts can take advantage of the AI's assistance with Spotify, though each tier has varying capabilities.

Users on the Free tier of Spotify can lean on ChatGPT to access the service's music in Discover Weekly and New Music Friday playlists that are updated on their respective days (Monday and Friday). Spotify Premium users in the ChatGPT app can do more, like "collaborating" with the AI to create whole new playlists.

Spotify states users can ask the AI to create a playlist that fits a specific theme, mood, or topic. If you know what you're looking for, such as a genre of music, you can just use that. On a related note, the AI can lean on Spotify's music library for users asking about new music from their favorite artists.

Whatever you ask ChatGPT to do, whether it's surfacing a certain selection of playlists or asking it to create a playlist full of popular Latin artists, it will surface Spotify's results in the app. Users will see what resembles a Spotify widget in the app. The post states users can tap individual tracks, which will toss them into the Spotify app. However, if you've asked ChatGPT to create a new playlist for you, there will be an "Open in Spotify" option, so you can see everything as it is in the app.

Spotify in AI

When it comes to the ChatGPT app, the post states free, Plus, and Pro accounts can utilize Spotify, so long as they're signed in. This feature is reportedly arriving in over 145 countries this week on Android and iOS.

It seems fitting that Spotify would lend its musical knowledge to OpenAI's ChatGPT app, considering it did the same thing with Google's Gemini. Those on Android using Gemini can find a Spotify extension, which lets the AI dive into Spotify to try and satisfy the query at hand (there's also an extension for YouTube Music). In the Gemini app, users can tell the AI to play a specific album, playlist, or ask it to play a song by a specific artist.

On a grander note, Spotify finally (finally) launched its Lossless Listening feature for Premium subscribers in September. While the music you'll hear will be more refined and rich, Lossless Listening comes at the cost of siphoning even more data, so it's worth expressing caution if you're not listening on a Wi-Fi connection. Lossless Listening is available in private playlists and Liked Songs, as well as DJ, Jam, Mix, AI Playlists, and Daylists.

Artificial intelligence is coming for your favorite Android smartphone, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, finding the best AI apps for your particular use cases and workflows can actually add convenience and save time. Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT are both household names at this point, and they fall firmly into the chatbot and voice assistant category.

If you look a bit deeper, there are plenty of great Android apps using AI for things that go way beyond the conventional chatbot. You can find productivity apps, social media apps, photo apps, and more that all leverage some form of machine learning and artificial intelligence to help you get stuff done. We've done the legwork for you, scouring the Google Play Store to find the AI apps that stand out, and the ones below are the absolute best.

The best AI chatbots and voice assistants

Chances are, chatbots and voice assistants were probably your first introduction to mobile AI. They're the most accessible and helpful form of AI on your Android phone, so that makes sense. The ideal way to use mobile AI chatbots and voice assistants to automate your everyday life is to try out a bunch of them and figure out which performs best for your specific needs. While most people know Gemini and ChatGPT, there are a few other great ones worth keeping an eye on.

The best AI productivity apps

AI is most useful in streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity, and it's built into some of the best productivity apps for Android. Notion is an underdog in the AI game, as the workspace program uses it for summaries, analysis, and answers. Industry staples like Microsoft and Google have also incorporated artificial intelligence into their workspaces, simplifying the learning and productivity process. AI is especially helpful in these apps with large data sets or bases, as it can parse way more information than a human could at a quicker pace.

The best AI social media apps

Artificial intelligence is taking over social media, both in the form of updates to the biggest platforms and the creation of new ones. Meta is leading the charge by adding Meta AI experiences to standout services like Facebook and Threads, as well as offering a standalone app for AI experiences. OpenAI is trying to challenge with a new app released in October 2025 on iOS, and you can try it on Android too.

The best AI camera and photo apps

Your favorite Android phone's default camera app probably uses some form of machine learning or artificial intelligence for post-processing, but there are even more AI photo editing tools to take advantage of after the shot. There are dedicated apps for using AI to adjust color and lighting, remove unwanted objects, or even create brand-new images with generative AI. We love Google Photos, as it's widely-known and free with limits, but options like Adobe Lightroom and Lensa AI are great too.

The AI apps for Android that are essential

There are a bunch of apps on this list, but which ones do you really need? If you only install one app from this guide, it should be Gemini. It's hands-down the best AI app for Android users, thanks to its deep integration with Android and Google services. For those that haven't installed Gemini or replaced Google Assistant yet, you should consider it. We've also got a complete guide to Gemini and all its features if you need a deeper dive into everything it can do on your smartphone.

Otherwise, picking one app from each remaining category should have your bases covered. For productivity, I recommend choosing an AI app based on the platform you use already. If you're deep in the Microsoft or Google productivity ecosystems, go with 365 Copilot or Drive, respectively. Those into Notion should use the AI features built right into the app. In terms of social media and photography, Meta AI and Google Photos are easy recommendations.

Either way, you can't go wrong with any of the AI apps on this list, and people really intrigued by the technology should try them all to find the one that works best for their needs.

OpenAI has the clear brand advantage in the AI race, and that's something that may prove impossible for competitors to overcome. ChatGPT has more weekly users than Meta or Google has on a monthly basis. Being first comes with benefits, which OpenAI is certainly reaping.

In the time since, though, the competition caught up — at least on a functional level. AI models from Google, DeepSeek, Claude, and xAI have all held top-five spots on LMArena's leaderboard, signaling that the race from basic large language models (LLMs) to artificial general intelligence (AGI) is far from decided. For months, I've been certain that Gemini 2.5 Pro is a better and more versatile thinking model than anything coming out of OpenAI.

Well, OpenAI is hoping to change that narrative with the release of GPT-5, which launched for everyone last week (Aug. 7). It's actually a collection of models that can intelligently pick which one is best for a given prompt on the fly. And at least for now, it's at the top of both the LMArena and WebDev Arena leaderboards — two crucial LLM benchmarks.

GPT-5 doesn't solve all of ChatGPT's hallucination problems, and it's definitely not AGI. There are some areas where Google models still outperform comparable ones from OpenAI. Regardless, GPT-5 looks impressive and free, and that might be all OpenAI needs to maintain its hefty lead over the competition.

Where OpenAI's GPT-5 beats Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro

GPT-5’s smartest feature has nothing to do with compute or its knowledge base. It’s called real-time routing, and it helps pick the right model for your task without any additional user input. Currently, AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini are littered with a variety of new, old, and experimental models best suited for a specific prompt. That’s great, but the onus was on the user to decide which one is best. With names like GPT-o3 and GPT-4o, or Gemini Flash Thinking Experimental, making that decision wasn’t always easy.

Instead, GPT-5 is a simple name for a collection of OpenAI models. It includes a lightweight model for quick, easy prompts and a more thoughtful model called GPT-5 Thinking for complex queries. OpenAI’s real-time router means that all of these models function as one, at least to the user. After inputting a prompt to ChatGPT, the GPT-5 router will decide which one to use, streamlining the UX.

There are still ways to manually control which GPT-5 model responds to your prompt. You can use phrases like “think really hard about this” in your prompt to trigger GPT-5 Thinking. If ChatGPT mistakenly opts for the thinking model, users can tap Get a quick answer to pivot to the lightweight model instead. Both models appear to be very reliable in early testing, clearly citing sources to avoid hallucinations.

These online sources, which include sites like Android Central, are a key reason why hallucinations are down with GPT-5. OpenAI says that with web search enabled on GPT-5 prompts, the model is about 45% less likely to contain a factual error than GPT-4o. Hallucinations are by no means extinct, but they are less prevalent when using GPT-5 in ChatGPT.

Independent tests and benchmarks seem to align with OpenAI’s claims that GPT-5 is better at writing, coding, and health-based tasks. It finally usurps Gemini 2.5 Pro on both the LMArena and WebDev Arena leaderboards, claiming the top spot overall. Specifically, GPT-5 seems to have the edge in text-based and coding prompts. I used a sample prompt from OpenAI to test GPT-5’s coding capabilities in ChatGPT, and came away seriously impressed.

Where Gemini still beats ChatGPT

GPT-5 isn’t better than Gemini 2.5 Pro in every area, and OpenAI still doesn’t seem to be able to match Google’s image and video generation. That’s reflected in LMArena’s text-to-image, text-to-video, and image-to-video benchmarks — Google’s Imagen 4 and Veo 3 tools sweep the graphical suite of generative AI tests.

I wanted to test that outcome in the real world, so I fed ChatGPT and Gemini the same prompt: "Generate an image of Johnny Thunderbird holding up a Big East Tournament trophy at Madison Square Garden." Here’s how the images turned out:

Anecdotally, the generated images align with the benchmark results — Google’s video- and image-generation chops are much stronger than OpenAI’s. For starters, Google gave me a generated image in about 10 seconds, and I had to wait nearly two minutes for an image to come back from ChatGPT.

From an accuracy standpoint, Gemini won handedly. It knew I was talking about my alma mater’s basketball program from the mascot reference, and correctly recreated Madison Square Garden with a ton of detail and flair. Meanwhile, ChatGPT produced an image with the wrong team and I’m not convinced the generic background is really MSG; it looks like it could be any basketball court.

So, if you’re the kind of person who likes to switch between LLMs based on your task, perhaps choose GPT-5 for writing or coding and Gemini for image or video generation.

GPT-5 is great, but GPT-4o just won't go away

A wrinkle in OpenAI’s GPT-5 rollout is user attachment to older models. GPT-5 was more than two years in the making, as OpenAI reportedly struggled to make an AI model worthy of the title. As it turns out, users didn’t want one. OpenAI is bringing back GPT-4o — a model that was supposed to be sunset in favor of GPT-5 — because of user backlash (via Tom’s Guide).

It might seem silly for those of us who touch grass, but ChatGPT users have seemingly created parasocial relationships with OpenAI models. They’d rather use the AI model they “know” over GPT-5, even if the newer one is better in every way.

I think you can extrapolate this premise to the broader AI race. In some ways, it really doesn’t matter whether Google, OpenAI, Claude, or DeepSeek has the best-performing model. People are going to stick to the models they like and are familiar with, and if that’s the case, OpenAI’s lead in this space may be insurmountable for the competition.

What you need to know

• OpenAI is now leaning on Google Cloud to help carry the backend load for ChatGPT and other AI tools.
• Google Cloud will now power ChatGPT’s Enterprise, Edu, Team plans, and the API.
• Sam Altman blamed the ongoing GPU shortage for the pivot to multiple cloud providers.

OpenAI is tapping Google Cloud to help run the backend for ChatGPT and its other AI tools. Basically, Google is stepping in to handle part of the heavy lifting under the hood.

The AI giant has long leaned solely on Microsoft Azure to keep its services running. But with demand climbing, it’s shifting gears and looking to expand its backend setup and avoid putting all its eggs in Microsoft’s basket.

This marks the first big move in that shift. According to CNBC, OpenAI is about to start running parts of ChatGPT on Google's cloud. OpenAI's updated sub-processor list shows that Google Cloud will now help run ChatGPT’s Enterprise, Edu, and Team plans, plus the API side of things.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wasn’t subtle about it, having recently pointed to the GPU shortage as a major reason behind the push to both scale up and branch out to more cloud partners.

Rumors about the OpenAI-Google Cloud deal first surfaced in June, but the fine print was pretty vague at the time.

Google’s quiet win

OpenAI jumping on board with Google Cloud is a solid win for Google. Even though it trails behind AWS and Azure, Google’s cloud setup will now help power OpenAI’s operations in the U.S., UK, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway.

This change probably flies under the radar for most users, but it’s a pretty bold shift in strategy. OpenAI, backed by Microsoft and often toe-to-toe with Google in the AI race, is now buying compute power straight from Google. Both have spent billions pushing AI forward, competing in everything from chatbots to search, but now they’re sharing some of the same server space.

By spreading out its cloud partners, OpenAI avoids getting too tied to just one provider. More options equals better deals and first dibs on cutting-edge processors.

OpenAI made artificial intelligence mainstream with the release of ChatGPT in 2022. AI and machine learning were around well before then, but ChatGPT's emergence marked a turning point. Soon after, AI would become everywhere — on our phones, in our favorite apps, and part of our most-used services.

Whenever something new pops up, like ChatGPT, it takes a while for researchers to learn its true effects on our minds and daily lives. That process is only beginning, but an early study from MIT's Media Lab highlights some concerning trends regarding AI usage. It hasn't been peer-reviewed yet and has a small scope, including 54 participants aged 18 to 39 years old from the Boston region.

The results found that people regularly using ChatGPT to write essays had the lowest brain engagement of the groups studied and "consistently underperformed" at all levels compared to the other groups, which used either Google Search or only their own brains to write essays. The study demonstrates "the pressing matter of a likely decrease in learning skills" resulting from LLM use, per the report.

If you use AI tools, that probably sounds scary. You might be wondering whether using generative AI and large language models (LLMs) regularly puts your critical thinking skills at risk. While there's reason for concern, using AI for the right things probably won't be as dangerous to your mind as you might think.

What the MIT study found

First, it's important to understand the scope of the study and what its results actually mean. The team of researchers at MIT wanted to figure out how using AI to write an essay affected participants' learning and brain function. The study contained three groups: a brain-only group, an LLM group, and a search engine group.

The participants were asked to write three essays, one per session while remaining in their group. Those who were in the brain-only group could not use any external tools to write their essays in any of the sessions, for example. Then, in the fourth and final session, LLM users were asked to use only their brains to write an essay, and brain-only users were permitted to use LLMs — 18 participants took part in this final test.

All the while, researchers measured brain activity across 32 regions using an electroencephalogram (EEG), a device that records electrical signals firing in the brain. The tests aimed to record not only how cognitive function behaved during essay writing while using brain-only, LLMs, or search engines but also how it changed following prolonged LLM usage.

Aside from measuring brain activity with EEGs, the researchers conducted interviews with participants after each session. They also used human teachers to score essays while having an "AI judge" evaluate the works.

The results painted a clear picture: brain activity and engagement decreased with the amount of external tools needed. The study found that the brain-only group had the strongest level of brain connectivity, with the search engine group displaying intermediate levels and the LLM group performing the weakest.

When the LLM users were asked to use only their brains to write the final essay, the participants "showed weaker neural connectivity and under-engagement of alpha and beta networks." In contrast, brain-only groups who were then permitted to use an LLM for the final essay "demonstrated higher memory recall, and re‑engagement of widespread occipito-parietal and prefrontal nodes."

In layman's terms, those who used an LLM to write the essays produced lower-quality work, couldn't recall what they had submitted, and had lower brain engagement. Additionally, those who had relied on LLMs before being asked to only use their brains performed worse than the brain-only group.

"The use of LLM had a measurable impact on participants, and while the benefits were initially apparent, as we demonstrated over the course of 4 months, the LLM group's participants performed worse than their counterparts in the Brain-only group at all levels: neural, linguistic, scoring," the study found.

What does this mean for you, an AI user?

The study's results are yet to be peer-reviewed, but let's face it, they aren't exactly surprising. Like any other muscle, your brain needs to be used regularly to stay in shape. If you stop using your brain to write essays, reports, emails, or text messages often, those skills will start to deteriorate.

People who often vouch for AI in learning and work environments often compare chatbots and LLMs to a calculator. When the calculator first became prolific, teachers wanted it banned. Now, calculators are allowed to be used in educational settings and are a vital part of our everyday lives — they're on our phones, computers, and even smartwatches.

I do think generative AI is like a calculator, but maybe not in the way its advocates think. As a writer, I haven't used complex math regularly since my early college days, when I was getting my required math courses out of the way. Since then, a calculator has been my best friend, and guess what? I'm not as good at mental math as I was before.

Similarly, I haven't regularly handwritten words in years — I'm an all-digital person now and have been for some time. When I get handed a form at the doctor's office, my penmanship isn't nearly as good as it once was, and I get hand cramps pretty quickly. All that is to say, the MIT study's findings are really just reinforcing common sense. If you create a dependency on artificial intelligence and stop using a particular skill, you will absolutely lose it.

To me, that's not as scary as it might sound. It all depends on how you incorporate AI into your daily life. Want to use generative AI to make a wallpaper or a cool image to share with your friends? Want Gemini to replace Google Assistant as your voice-based helper on an Android phone? Need it to analyze long documents? I don't think any of these use cases present a significant risk of harming your cognitive abilities.

When you use AI to do something you can do yourself, you're at risk of losing those skills. If you use ChatGPT to write all your emails, documents, and reports, there is a good chance your skills will start to fade away — that's essentially what the MIT study found.

But that's not how I use artificial intelligence, and I don't think that's how most people use it, either. I use AI to do things I couldn't possibly do, and that's why it's helpful. That includes analyzing and summarizing documents that are thousands of pages long or generating an image that I couldn't create because I'm no artist. In those instances, AI is expanding your capabilities, not replacing them.

If you look at AI as a way to elevate your possibilities rather than replace the things you'd rather not do, you probably don't need to change your AI usage habits. However, if you want to use AI to eliminate certain parts of your workflow, think about whether you're willing to lose those skills in the process.

OpenAI caught the tech world by surprise, including stalwarts like Apple and Google. However, those two brands responded to ChatGPT’s success in completely different ways. While the former is still trying to find its footing, Google recovered nicely, and Gemini is arguably a better chatbot for most people than ChatGPT in 2025.

If you’re still using ChatGPT, I don’t blame you. Google’s start in the AI race with Bard wasn’t the best, but it has come a long way in the Gemini era. OpenAI’s 12-hour ChatGPT outage could serve as the perfect reason to give a competitor another shot, like Gemini.

I have access to ChatGPT, Apple Intelligence, Perplexity, and more on my suite of devices, but Gemini is the only AI client I need. In fact, I haven’t used ChatGPT in two years, and these three features help explain why.

Fine-tuned models tailed to specific purposes

The wide variety of models and tools available under the Gemini umbrella is a huge reason why I stick to Google AI’s suite. There are just a few main types of Gemini models, including Gemini Nano, Gemini Flash, and Gemini Pro. It gets more nuanced than that in the nitty-gritty, when you consider offshoots like Gemini Personalization, but those three handle most of your AI needs.

Gemini Nano handles on-device mobile AI tasks, Gemini Flash takes care of simple, everyday requests, and Gemini Pro is for advanced, specialized needs. They’re not just competitors to the latest ChatGPT models; they’re winners. Google currently holds the top two spots on LMArena’s leaderboard, and they’re both preview versions of Gemini 2.5 Pro. The Gemini 2.5 Pro preview model is also the champion on LMArena’s WebDev leaderboard, too.

OpenAI’s models tie for second place on the LMArena leaderboard, but can’t be found until seventh place on the WebDev rankings. The days of OpenAI models being the industry leader in every category are over, as Gemini models will beat ChatGPT models in many major benchmarks. There’s a model for every use case, whether you need an efficient model for on-device processing, a lightweight model to reduce token (cost) usage, a thinking model that shows its work, or a specialized model for specific use cases.

If the expansive set of stock offerings isn’t enough, you can build Gems, which are custom AI chatbots similar to OpenAI’s custom GPTs.

Integration with Android and ChromeOS

For most people, knowing which AI model ranks higher on uber-specific benchmarks is inconsequential for their daily needs. That’s why Gemini’s integration with popular mobile operating systems is its true differentiator. With the Gemini app, you can use the service on a variety of platforms, including iOS and iPadOS. However, things really get good if you happen to use an Android phone, tablet, or a ChromeOS laptop.

Gemini is replacing the Google Assistant, so the AI helper is only a button press or a voice command away at any time on the majority of Android phones. With Gemini Live, you can speak to the AI model in natural language and even share your screen or camera feed to add context. It’s not that ChatGPT can’t do these same things; it’s that they’re packaged in a much more convenient way with Gemini.

The easy access makes Gemini a more helpful companion for solving real-world problems. I use Gemini Live to help figure out why my plants aren’t looking right, or what I can substitute for an ingredient in a recipe. And since Gemini tends to do a better job at providing online sources for its answers, I can quickly fact-check it in a way that I can’t while using ChatGPT.

Integration is Gemini’s calling card, and it’s only going to get better at it. Gemini is coming to Android Auto and Wear OS watches soon, so it’ll be even easier to access the AI features.

Works in tandem with Google Search and Google Workspace

OpenAI has the major advantage of a Microsoft partnership, so Copilot and ChatGPT integration with Microsoft 365 services will be better if you happen to use them. However, Google’s free and accessible model for Google Workspace has helped many people ditch Microsoft 365 (formerly Office) for good. If that sounds like you, you’ll be happy to know that Gemini is deeply integrated with Workspace to help you get productivity tasks done.

Gemini’s presence in Workspace apps goes so deep it’s impossible to cover them all at once. It makes three main types of appearances in the Workspace suite: powering individual features, as standalone apps, and as a chatbot sidebar.

For instance, Workspace apps like Google Vids (an AI-powered presentation generator) and NotebookLM (an AI-powered notebook) are new apps with Gemini AI at their core. Legacy apps like Google Docs or Google Slides have a Gemini sidebar for quick help with tasks such as summarization or generation. They also have individual AI-powered features, like contextual smart replies in Gmail, which leverage Google AI behind the scenes.

That sounds like a lot, but it means that Gemini will meet you where you are. With ChatGPT, you’re likely to switch between windows and apps while copying and pasting in order to complete your tasks. Whether it’s on your Android phone with Gemini Live or on the Gmail site with a Gemini sidebar, Google’s AI will be in more places than ChatGPT ever could be.

The reason why novelty AI devices like the Humane AI Pin or Rabbit R1 failed is that people didn’t want to have to switch devices to access AI. With Gemini, you not only don’t have to switch devices, you don’t even have to change apps.

Best of all, it’s free and easy to use

To top it all off, you can do more for free with Gemini than with ChatGPT. Remember those industry-leading Gemini models I mentioned earlier? They’re available more or less for free. Gemini Live with video streaming and screen sharing? Also free. Yes, there are Gemini Pro and Ultra subscriptions with plenty more features, but the vast majority of tools you’ll need on a daily basis don’t cost a dime. Some don’t even require a Google account.

With all that in mind, I’m happily a Gemini user, and I don’t see any reason to use ChatGPT in 2025.

What you need to know

• ChatGPT's chief said in open court that OpenAI would be interested in buying Google Chrome if the opportunity presents itself.
• Nick Turley added that he is deeply worried that OpenAI is facing a lot of difficulties integrating itself into Android smartphones.
• If OpenAI buys Chrome, it could “have the ability to introduce users to what an AI-first experience looks like.”

OpenAI would be willing to buy Google's Chrome browser if a court orders its buyout, said Nick Turley, OpenAI's ChatGPT chief, on Tuesday. Turley was asked to testify by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of Google's antitrust trial that is expected to go on for the next three weeks (as reported by Bloomberg).

“Yes, we would, as would many other parties,” Turley said when he was asked if the company would be interested in buying Chrome.

The judge presiding over this case, Amit Mehta, determined last year that Google is violating antitrust laws by monopolizing the search market.

As a part of the remedy to even out the playing field for other competitors in the market, the DOJ has proposed that Google sell off its web browser, and maybe even Android. The DOJ argues that splitting up these key assets is the only way to fix the problem of Google's monopoly.

Users should be able to choose, ChatGPT says

Bloomberg reports that Turley stated that having Chrome more integrated into OpenAI would enhance the product in many ways. “You could offer a really incredible experience," he said. OpenAI could “have the ability to introduce users into what an AI-first experience looks like.”

Turley even stated that despite being Apple's first choice of AI, OpenAI is facing a lot of difficulties when it comes to getting its foot in the door with Android smartphones, considering Google's Gemini resides in most of these phones.

Speaking of difficulty, ChatGPT's chief stated that they're worried OpenAI might be shut out by tech giants like Google, which rule the market. "We have powerful competitors who control the access points for how people discover products, including our product. People discover via a browser or an app store,” he said.

On the flip side, Google disagrees and argues that Google Search and its products have been the obvious first choice for many users, and forcing users to use alternative browsers or search engines could make it tough for them to reach Google's services.

Google's defence

Earlier today, Google's VP confirmed that the company has been paying Samsung to preinstall Gemini on its devices. This payment contract is set for two years and provides fixed monthly payments that began in January 2024. Defending itself, Google's VP said other companies like Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI have all approached Samsung with "competitive offers" to make their AI a default on its devices.

Google said it has amended the above contract with Samsung to allow it to offer other AI apps within its devices if it chooses to do so.

That said, Google makes the most money YoY only from Search and other advertising (in Q3 2024, it reached $49.39 billion) and it would make things extremely challenging for potential buyers. That said, if Google is pushed by the judge to do so, then it would bring about a significant shift in the way we interact with Google and its products. It remains to be seen how things will play out in the next three weeks.

What you need to know

• OpenAI just launched Deep Research for ChatGPT, a fast AI tool that cranks out detailed research reports in minutes instead of hours.
• Deep Research mimics a human analyst, scouring and blending online sources for well-rounded reports.
• It’s available for ChatGPT Pro users at $200 a month, with a limit of 100 queries per month.

OpenAI has unveiled a new AI agent for ChatGPT that cranks out detailed research reports in no time. Think of it as your fast pass to pro-level insights, removing the need to wait around for ages to get the info you need.

OpenAI’s Deep Research is designed to take on tough research tasks by diving into multi-step investigations across the web. It slashes the time needed for deep research, pulling off in minutes what used to take hours of manual work (via Android Authority).

Mimicking the careful process of a human analyst, it scours, sorts, and blends tons of online sources to spit out detailed, well-rounded reports, according to OpenAI's announcement.

Once you give Deep Research a solid prompt and iron out a few quick details, it gets to work on its own, crunching data behind the scenes. While it might take anywhere from five to 30 minutes to finish, OpenAI says this smart system can smash through hours of human research in just a fraction of the time.

With rivals, especially Chinese companies like DeepSeek, heating up the race, OpenAI’s launch of Deep Research is a big leap forward in building smarter, more independent AI tools.

Built on OpenAI’s upcoming o3 model, Deep Research is designed for professionals who need solid, in-depth insights. Whether you're in finance, science, policy, or engineering, this tool helps tackle heavy research with accuracy and reliability.

This AI agent works on its own, mapping out and executing multi-step research while staying flexible enough to backtrack and adapt to real-time info when needed.

Rather than solely producing text, this AI lays out its whole research process in a sidebar—citations, methodology, and all—so you see exactly how it got there.

Deep Research looks ready to shake up knowledge work, bringing big benefits to its users. The features it offers seem pretty similar to Google Gemini's Deep Research too.

Google rolled out its own version last year for subscribers, aiming to cut research time down to minutes instead of hours. OpenAI's Deep Research seems to be chasing the same goal.

Deep Research is currently available on the web for ChatGPT Pro subscribers, costing $200 a month, with a cap of 100 queries per month.

What you need to know

• OpenAI's ChatGPT is rolling out a beta for a new feature dubbed "Scheduled Tasks."
• These Tasks let users tell the AI what they need to stay reminded about or for news of a particular subject.
• ChatGPT's Scheduled Tasks are rolling out for Plus, Pro, and Team users on Android, iOS, the web, and MacOS.
• OpenAI recently debuted ChatGPT Search, which is yet another area the company has moved in on that reminds you of Google.

OpenAI is bringing a new feature to its ChatGPT beta testers that might aid them with daily tasks.

Recently, the company detailed the start of its "Scheduled Tasks" beta for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users (via Gizchina). The changelog states that users can utilize Scheduled Tasks to create "automated prompts" that ChatGPT will run at your specified time and date. The feature is reportedly available after tapping your profile icon and navigating to "Tasks."

From there, users can create a title and an appropriate schedule. However, the most important aspect of this is the "instructions" box.

This box is where users can ask ChatGPT to remind them about something that needs to be done or to scour the internet for information and news. The post gives the following example: "Can you give me a briefing on AI news each afternoon?"

As the beta begins, OpenAI is already detailing the limitations of its AI-based Tasks feature. It states that, due to its utilization of GPT-4o, ChatGPT can handle 10 tasks at a time. Moreover, Tasks does not support voice chats, file uploads, or GPTs.

Some additional details regarding Tasks include the tester's ability to "edit" and "pause" them. Additionally, users can open Tasks up to notifications via the web. The company states that users will likely have to grant the AI the appropriate permissions before it can alert you once a Task is ready.

Speaking of notifications, ChatGPT's Scheduled Tasks are available for testers via mobile (Android/iOS), the web, and MacOS. Users with the Windows app will have to wait until later in Q1.

Users with ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team should begin noticing Scheduled Tasks appear with the "beta" tag.

We've heard of Tasks from Google before and it seems that OpenAI's ChatGPT is moving in (once again) on the former's territory. More importantly, OpenAI moved in on a major part of what Google is known for in October as it debuted ChatGPT Search. At its core, this AI-powered search engine lets users conversate with the AI for "quick, relevant information." OpenAI also highlighted its work with news and data providers to ensure that the information users see is up-to-date.

Elsewhere, ChatGPT Search prominently features "Sources" for users interested in fact-checking the AI's online work.

What makes this feel like Google is that ChatGPT Search's responses are designed to be quick and succinct. Kind of like Google's AI Overviews.

What you need to know

• OpenAI announced the arrival of ChatGPT Search on mobile and desktop for free tier users.
• The post also states that it will display important links before ChatGPT Search's compiled information to aid those who've set it as their default engine.
• Additional features like Maps in the ChatGPT app and "Advanced Voice" search were also teased.
• OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search for Plus and Teams users late in October as it looked to take on Google.

OpenAI expands its recently revealed search engine to more users and highlights upcoming features.

On X, OpenAI posted a thread that initially announced the arrival of its ChatGPT Search engine for "all Free users" today (Dec 18). The post highlights that users on its free tier can utilize ChatGPT Search "globally" on their mobile and desktop devices. However, it seems that you are required to sign in before you're able to utilize it.

OpenAI's announcement continues by detailing three new features inbound, such as what happens if it's your default search engine. Users can do this by clicking the "DE" button at the top right of ChatGPT Search. Moreover, the company is shifting how it displays relevant links to accompany this. Now, after typing your query into your address bar, ChatGPT Search will display links ahead (above) of the "relevant information" found during its lookup.

OpenAI states this should help users navigate the web quickly to find what they need. Users can continue looking through relevant links by tapping the arrow icon in the results to produce a side panel.

Additionally, OpenAI states an arrow placed near the engine's offered links will produce a sidebar. This panel will contain an extensive list of extra, relevant links to your query in a neater space. The company states these small changes are the result of feedback from its Plus users shortly after ChatGPT Search launched.

Elsewhere, the thread detailed an upcoming feature called "Advanced Voice" for ChatGPT on mobile. Users will soon find a new "wave" icon when entering the app and opening its text field. Tapping that will surface ChatGPT's AI, which will await your prompt. In the demo, ChatGPT delivers its results vocally; however, there is a chance to offer a follow-up question to the AI afterward.

The company states Advanced Voice will arrive in the ChatGPT app "over the next week."

The final update concerns a map integration with the AI on mobile. OpenAI says users can "search for and chat" about locations.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search late in October, which brought it into contention with Google's version. The company stated the purpose of its search engine is to give users "better answers" quickly. The AI backing this feature is said to understand a person's natural and conversational speech. Moreover, it will consider the "full context" of your query before delivering its results.

There is also a convenient button to access the AI's sources so users can fact-check what they've been given.

While ChatGPT Search takes the fight to Google, it is reminiscent of the latter's AI Overviews.

What you need to know

• Google CEO Sundar Pichai disputed claims that top AI developers are struggling to innovate on next-generation models.
• Pichai had strong words for a key competitor, Microsoft, challenging the Redmond firm to a side-by-side test "any day, any time."
• The executive also criticized Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, saying "they're using someone else's models."

Google released its next-generation set of artificial intelligence models, Gemini 2.0, today alongside glimpses of longer-term AI projects. But even before the company's ambitious announcements, Google's leader expressed confidence in its AI developments. At the now-concluded Dealbook Summit, hosted by the New York Times, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had strong words for his company's competitors, and separately, those critical of AI's future (via Windows Central).

Pichai, who has led Google through a challenging period that included massive layoffs and a shift toward AI, is still confident there is more progress to be made.

"When you start out quickly scaling up, you can throw more compute and you can make a lot of progress, but you definitely are going to need deeper breakthroughs as we go to the next stage," Pichai said at the Dealbook Summit. "So you can perceive it as there's a wall, or there's some small barriers."

The chief executive appears to be in agreement with other industry leaders, such as OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, that AI models aren't hitting a so-called wall. In other words, some skeptics believe that AI development will grind to a halt following significant advancements in 2023 and 2024.

"I don't subscribe to the wall notion," Pichai said.

However, that doesn't mean the top boss at Google doesn't expect there to be a slowdown as AI development progresses. "I think the progress is going to get harder when I look at '25," the Google CEO explained. "The low-hanging fruit is gone. The hill is steeper."

Google is competing with a few notable competitors as it searches for AI breakthroughs, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft. Pichai called out one competitor, Microsoft, specifically when Andrew Ross Sorkin revisited Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's negative comments toward Google from earlier this year.

"I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft's own models and our models any day, any time," Pichai quipped. "They're using someone else's models."

Pichai is referring to Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar investment in OpenAI, which gives it access to the newest GPT models that power Microsoft Copilot. Google, meanwhile, uses its in-house Gemini models for its AI services.

Now, the chief executives at both Google and Microsoft have thrown a bit of shade at one another in 2024. As the AI race heats up, this friendly feud will be yet another storyline to watch.

What you need to know

• OpenAI debuted a new feature called ChatGPT Search to take on Google.
• ChatGPT Search lets users engage in conversation with its AI to find quick, relevant information for their query.
• The feature also displays a "Sources" button so users can fact-check the AI or learn more about a subject.
• OpenAI states this is rolling out to Plus, Team, and SearchGPT waitlist users first before hitting free users "over the coming months."

OpenAI's take on search is here as ChatGPT begins rolling it out today (Oct 31) for Plus, Team, and SearchGPT waitlist users first.

Per a blog post, OpenAI states users can find Search available via ChatGPT's web and mobile apps. When opening the app, users will find the standard "Message ChatGPT" text box with a new globe icon for Search. OpenAI states the AI will decide to scour the web "based on what you've asked;" however, the new button is there to force the model into an online search.

The backbone of this new ChatGPT Search feature is the company's interest in delivering "better answers" quickly.

The post states users can type to ChatGPT using "natural and conversational" speech. After asking a question, the AI will respond with information sourced from other websites. OpenAI highlights its partnership with news and data providers to ensure ChatGPT's answers include "up-to-date information."

ChatGPT Search also piggybacks off partner-provided data and information via third-party search engines and a "fine-tuned" variant of GPT-4o.

OpenAI states its ChatGPT Search offers a button at the bottom of its response labeled "Sources." Initially, the pill-shaped icon will display a few icons from the sources it grabbed its information. Clicking on this button will produce a sidebar with the website names and article titles.

Users can click on these to learn more — and to fact-check the AI model.

Additionally, OpenAI states users can ask follow-up questions after ChatGPT delivers a response. The post claims the AI will take the "full context" of what you said to search for a "better answer."

ChatGPT Search will arrive for Enterprise and Edu users "in the next few weeks." Finally, free users are set to pick it up "over the coming months."

We've been expecting OpenAI's take on search with ChatGPT ever since it was rumored earlier this year. Those rumors were based on a discovery within OpenAI's certificate logs and comments by its CEO, Sam Altman. The company's head was on a podcast and reportedly discussed AI alongside search.

One thing for sure is that ChatGPT Search will sit opposite Google's AI model Gemini and its AI Overviews in Search. Google's AI Overviews are closer to what OpenAI has done with ChatGPT Search. The company launched its quick, bite-sized boxes of information in Search during I/O 2024 in May. Google has upgraded its AI Overviews with backlinking to fact-check the AI's responses and a more "organized" view.

OpenAI has done something nobody would have expected: it slowed down the process of giving you an answer in the hopes that it gets it right.

The new OpenAI o1-preview models are designed for what OpenAI calls hard problems — complex tasks in subjects like science, coding, and math. These new models are released through the ChatGPT service along with access through OpenAI's API and are still in development, but this is a promising idea.

I love the idea that one of the companies that made AI so bad is actually doing something to improve it. People think of AI as some sort of scientific mystery but at its core, it is the same as any other complex computer software. There is no magic; a computer program accepts input and sends output based on the way the software is written.

It seems like magic to us because we're used to seeing software output in a different way. When it acts human-like, it seems strange and futuristic, and that's really cool. Everyone wants to be Tony Stark and have conversations with their computer.

Unfortunately, the rush to release the cool type of AI that seems conversational has highlighted how bad it can be. Some companies call it a hallucination (not the fun kind, unfortunately), but no matter what label is placed on it, the answers we get from AI are often hilariously wrong or even wrong in a more concerning way.

OpenAI says that its GPT-4 model was only able to get 13% of the International Mathematics Olympiad exam questions correct. That's probably better than most people would score but a computer should be able to score more accurately when it comes to mathematics. The new OpenAI o1-preview was able to get 83% of the questions correct. That is a dramatic leap and highlights the effectiveness of the new models.

Thankfully, OpenAI is true to its name and has shared how these models "think." In an article about the reasoning capabilities of the new model, you can scroll to the "Chain-of-Thought" section to see a glimpse into the process. I found the Safety section particularly interesting as the model has used some safety rails to make sure it's not telling you how to make homemade arsenic like the GPT-4 model will (don't try to make homemade arsenic). This will lead to defeating the current tricks used to get conversational AI models to break their own rules once they are complete.

Overall, the industry needed this. My colleague and Android Central managing editor Derrek Lee pointed out that it's interesting that when we want information instantly, OpenAI is willing to slow things down a bit, letting AI "think" to provide us with better answers. He's absolutely right. This feels like a case of a tech company doing the right thing even if the results aren't optimal. 

I don't think this will have any effect overnight, and I'm not convinced there is a purely altruistic goal at work. OpenAI wants its new LLM to be better at the tasks the current model does poorly. A side effect is a safer and better conversational AI that gets it right more often. I'll take that trade, and I'll expect Google to do something similar to show that it also understands that AI needs to get better.

AI isn't going away until someone dreams up something newer and more profitable. Companies might as well work on making it as great as it can be.

What you need to know

• OpenAI took to X to announce that it will delay the launch of the advanced Voice Mode, which was slated for release this spring. 
• The company is testing the new voice model on a small group of people for feedback and learning before rolling it out to all Plus users.
• If all goes as anticipated, the other Plus users will get access to the advanced voice model in the fall. 

OpenAI quickly tweeted on Tuesday (June 26) that it will be holding off on launching the advanced Voice Mode that was demoed last month. It planned to roll out this feature widely in the software's spring update; however, it looks like people who were looking to experiment with it need to wait a bit more.

The new voice assistant is said to have "human-like" conversations that users can interrupt, emoting and bringing life-like interactions like laughter, sarcasm, and humor that come as a relief from the usual robotic prompts we expect from an assistant. However, despite promising a quick rollout to subscribed users, OpenAI has now announced a delay in releasing the upgraded "Voice Mode" (via Android Police).

While it continues to test this new voice mode, the company says it will be giving access to it to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, and some of them have already received an update on their phones. One such user who got access took to X to share an invite she received. The invite stated, "advanced voice is in limited Alpha, it may make mistakes, and access (to it)  is subject to change."

OpenAI stated that its systems will use the audio and video content that the user shares via Chat GPT to train the model better. Users can also opt out of sharing their data and training the model by hitting " improve the model for everyone" in settings.

The user also posted a tweet with the new voice of "Sky" that appears to be different from the one we heard at the Chat GPT- 4o announcement. Initially, users on social media pointed out the similarities between the voice of the assistant and Scarlett Johansson, the award-winning actress. However, OpenAI denied that Sky's voice was based on Johansson and even released a blog post explaining how the voices were chosen. The actress countered those claims with a statement about how OpenAI approached her about officially voicing GPT-4o, which she declined, and then the company quickly removed the Sky voice option from its platform.

The new voice has a more "cheery tone," the user states, as the voice model describes the weather in San Francisco. Other users on the same tweet thread seemed unhappy with the new voice. One user said, "It's horrifying; someone help it," while others were particularly "cringed" by it, listen in below.

OpenAI added in its tweet, that based on the feedback they recieved from this small group of testers, they will be planning to roll out the model to Plus users in the fall. 

"Exact timelines depend on meeting our high safety and reliability bar. We are also working on rolling out the new video and screen sharing capabilities we demoed separately, and will keep you posted on that timeline."

So Apple finally caved to the Artificial Intelligence craze and has added it to all the things. I think the company did a good job with it, too, finding ways to build in useful features and present them in a way that makes it sound like you'll love them instead of talking about it with technobabble that leaves people more confused than ever.

One of the things you'll be able to do if you are one of the 8% of iPhone users with the right phone is query OpenAI's ChatGPT service through Siri. It was expected, but that's so unlike Apple. I never expected it to be that integrated.

I'm not saying anything Apple has to offer is good or bad, and since I don't use an iPhone, it doesn't affect me personally. Early excitement about the announcements tells me that most of us see it as a good thing, so that's a win. These companies are supposed to work hard for our money.

Likewise, leaning on ChatGPT and, later, other AI-focused companies like Google isn't a bad thing either. I'm merely surprised that it's done in a way that makes it feel like part of iOS.

There are a few negatives to consider. Apple has to rely on another company to meet its standards for user privacy and diligence to protect the data once it gets sent off. They threw out fancy ways of saying the company does the same things others do, knowing that journalists would quote them instead of asking questions—it's called encryption in transit, and it is an industry standard—and that's great. It's how user data is supposed to be protected.

Still, embedding their small-scale agent on the device and then calling on third parties is not the same as doing it all in-house. Apple has to depend on others to do the right thing, and Apple never does that.

The companies will. When you're someone like OpenAI, you can't afford to play too loose with user data because the internet will call you on it. Using a third party over an in-house solution will be fine, and we've seen Microsoft do it with no real issues. OpenAI or Google or any other AI company isn't going to do anything Apple wouldn't approve of and I'm not implying it. If anything, Apple just gambled and waited too long, and this is how it has to fix it.

Apple knew it had to eventually build out user-facing AI on the iPhone. Not doing so when every competitor offers it makes Apple look lazy, and the reality-distortion field can't work forever. What it didn't do was work on its own generative AI platform.

Did it need to? No, not really. Apple is a different company than Google; outsourcing is easy, cost-efficient, and works well. Ask Microsoft. Apple made the right choice and focused on tools that will mostly work, be easy to implement, and make users happy.

The next logical step would be building out a full-scale generative AI solution as a follow-up. Apple could do this; the company can easily attract the right talent to develop the next Google Gemini or ChatGPT and can afford the infrastructure to power it. People would use it, too—even people without an iPhone. The question is, will they?

Sending calls out to a third party through the operating system isn't the same as bundling in the YouTube app. It leaves an impression that OpenAI is somehow more capable than Apple because Apple is willing to include ChatGPT as part of Siri. Like custom colors for icons, we would have never seen this when Steve Jobs was at the helm.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Neither; it's just a thing. Maybe we should get used to it, and Apple will become more like other tech companies, little-by-little. Or maybe this is an emergency solution while Apple builds the next breakthrough AI platform.

This has done one thing: It has made people who were not interested in Apple's previous phones curious. An iPhone seems like a great product, but it isn't for me. I don't like Apple's way of doing things. But I'm interested in seeing how all the new features work. That means what Apple is doing is good for business and good for the industry as a whole.

Maybe moving on from the Steve Jobs era is an equally good thing for Apple.

What you need to know

• Scarlett Johansson says she was approached by OpenAI last year about using her voice for a ChatGPT voice assistant. 
• Though Johansson did not agree to the proposition, OpenAI shipped its GPT-4o model with a voice called “Sky” that sounds quite similar to Johansson‘s. 
• After legal pressure, OpenAI removed Sky from GPT-4o, and said that the voice was not based on Johansson‘s. 
• Still, in trying to use a friendly and welcoming voice to make AI feel more comforting, OpenAI ended up doing the opposite. 

OpenAI made waves last week when it announced GPT-4o, a multimodal AI model that may be the most advanced and futuristic one we’ve seen to date. It sounds like a human, can interact with users via vision and audio, and is knowledgeable. OpenAI ended up beating Google to the punch, and GPT-4o seems more advanced than Project Astra, which Google previewed at Google I/O 2024.

But one of the voices OpenAI chose for GPT-4o has been drawing attention online for all the wrong reasons. First, some users on social media pointed out they thought the voice “Sky” was overly flirty and sultry to the point it was unsettling. Then, people started noticing the similarities between the voice of Sky and that of Scarlett Johansson, the award-winning actress. Now, it appears that may have been intentional.

To be clear, OpenAI denies that the voice of Sky was based on Johansson and even released a blog post explaining how the voices were chosen. However, Johansson put out a scathing statement telling the story of how OpenAI approached her about officially voicing GPT-4o, which she declined. After facing legal pressure from Johansson’s lawyers, the company removed the Sky voice option from GPT-4o. 

As distressing as this situation is, it’s almost ironic. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman told Johansson that her voice, being the official voice of ChatGPT, would be more comforting to users. And yet, by releasing a voice so similar to Johansson‘s without her permission, Altman and OpenAI ended up perfectly encapsulating everything that makes people uncomfortable about AI. 

Did OpenAI steal Scarlett Johansson‘s voice?

Though OpenAI says that it sought out professional voice actors for GPT-4o and did not seek someone who sounded like Johansson specifically, the evidence might tell a different story. It starts in September 2023, according to Johansson, when OpenAI’s Altman reached out about hiring her as a voice actor for ChatGPT. 

“He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and Al,” she said in a statement to NPR’s Bobby Allyn. “He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.”

Johansson eventually decided not to go forward with voicing GPT-4o. However, it’s easy to hear her resemblance in the Sky voice that ended up being demoed and shipped with the AI model. To say that Johansson was displeased with the result would be an understatement. 

“We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice— Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,“ OpenAI said in a blog post. 

The whole reason that OpenAI wanted a voice like Johansson’s, as Altman is said to have told her, is to make AI more comforting. People may be more scared about AI than they are excited about it. Especially those in creative industries are finding that AI is being used to automate writing, visual art, music, and other mediums. This isn’t something unique to OpenAI — Apple recently came under fire and apologized for an advertisement that literally saw instruments being crushed into pieces and replaced with an iPad. 

By using her likeness in a GPT-4o voice without her permission — whether intentionally or unintentionally — OpenAI ended up validating the discomfort associated with AI that it was desperately trying to address. Creatives, from actors and actresses to writers and photographers, are worried about being replaced by AI. The idea that OpenAI could have mimicked Johansson‘s voice for GPT-4o is exactly the kind of thing that worries and alarms people in creative industries. 

“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” Johansson wrote, explaining that she asked OpenAI to show how it developed the Sky voice. “In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity.”

We shouldn’t want AI to sound this human

Aside from the unsettling idea that a company could rip off an actress‘ voice after disagreeing with a deal, there are other reasons why we don’t want AI voices to sound like Sky. All of OpenAI’s GPT-4o voices, and especially Sky, sound very human-like. This is a problem, because there is a high level of trust and familiarity people have with human voices. When you talk to a voice assistant like Siri or Alexa, it’s clear that you’re talking to — for lack of a better word — a robot. After having a conversation with GPT-4o, that level of clarity won’t always be in the back of your mind. 

Right now, AI models have a problem, and it’s that they confidently state their answers as fact even when they are blatantly wrong. People still end up believing AI responses as true despite the array of warnings that come along with them. As voices for AI models become more human-sounding, this problem will only get worse. It’ll be easy for the average user of an AI tool to believe what is being said thanks to the welcoming human voice it uses. 

In trying to make people more comfortable with the future of AI, OpenAI ended up making it feel more dystopian. We shouldn’t want AI to sound as human as GPT-4o, and there are plenty of reasons why. It could foster an unwarranted level of trust between users and AI models, as well as put creatives like Johansson In a precarious position.

What you need to know

• One day before Google I/O 2024, OpenAI debuted a new AI model known as GPT-4o.
• The "o" in GPT-4o stands for "omni," referencing the model's multimodal interaction capabilities. 
• GPT-4o appears to bring the multimodal, vision-based functionality touted by companies like Humane and Rabbit to virtually any device.
• OpenAI's latest model has the potential to displace a handful of products and services, from the Humane AI Pin to the Google Assistant to Duolingo.

This is a big week for artificial intelligence, as OpenAI held an event on Monday, May 13, and Google I/O 2024 is taking place on May 14 and 15 as well. Although reports that OpenAI might be prepping a search competitor didn't pan out, OpenAI did launch GPT-4o on Monday. The latest AI model from OpenAI is multimodal and can process combinations of vision, text, and voice input. Though it's still early, quick tests and demos of the GPT-4o model have left both users and AI researchers impressed.

Certain characteristics of GPT-4o make it more likely to displace existing products and services than any other form of AI we've seen to date. The support for combinations of vision, text, and voice input takes the novelty factor away from hardware devices like the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. Response times that are claimed to be as quick as a human when using voice have the potential to make Google Assistant look outdated. Finally, rich translation and learning features could make apps like Duolingo redundant. 

We fully expect Google to counter OpenAI's GPT-4o at I/O 2024, and who knows, Google might debut an offering that's as good or better than GPT-4o. Regardless, it's time for the rest of the tech industry to start worrying about OpenAI. Up until now, there were a handful of glaring flaws with ChatGPT and GPT-4 that made it fairly easy to dismiss. Some of these still exist, but OpenAI is crossing many off the list. 

Mobile AI is coming fast, and soon, features that were once exclusive to specialized hardware and software will be available right on your smartphone. That has massive implications for the tech industry, and it could displace more than just the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1.

GPT-4o could rival Google Assistant, but Google has something up its sleeve

Google has been slowly trying to move away from the Google Assistant on its own, preferring instead to use an AI-based voice assistant like Gemini. However, with GPT-4o, Google might not have that luxury. By all accounts, GPT-4o is the most powerful AI interface we've seen at the consumer level to date. It can answer questions about your surroundings with vision, talk to you with audio, and respond to text. 

The slow response times of AI-based voice assistants appear to be a thing of the past with the release of GPT-4o. OpenAI says that the model can deliver responses to questions asked with voice in as few as 232 milliseconds. The average response time is 320 milliseconds, according to OpenAI. The kicker? That's about the same amount of time it would take a human to come up with a response in a real-world conversation. 

To be fair, we won't get to see GPT-4o using voice and video in ChatGPT for real-world tests for a few weeks. However, OpenAI's demos for the feature were impressive. If real-world performance is even close to what OpenAI has demonstrated, it could be far better than Google Assistant today. 

At the time of writing, Google showed off a similar multimodal AI tool in a teaser for I/O 2024, but that was pre-recorded. We won't know for sure what Google might have up its sleeve until the keynote happens. 

Still, it feels like OpenAI and ChatGPT are once again a few steps ahead of Google. The company scheduled its event for GPT-4o one day before Google I/O 2024, and that wasn't by accident. Now, the pressure is on Google to give us a reason why we shouldn't use ChatGPT instead of Gemini and Google Assistant.

OpenAI exposes dedicated AI hardware yet again

Of course, GPT-4o is also bad news for the creators of dedicated AI hardware devices. All the features that were deemed exclusive to new hardware, like the Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI Pin, will eventually be available straight on your phone through ChatGPT. The exception to this is Rabbit's Large Action Model (LAM), but until the Rabbit R1 can reliably and quickly perform actions using the LAM, it's hardly relevant. Instead of paying $200 for the Rabbit R1 or $700 for the Humane AI Pin (plus $24/month), you can get the same functionality for free on your phone. 

A product design lead for Humane said on Monday that all internal AI pins were already running GPT-4o. However, that brings a whole new suite of issues. If the entire AI Pin software framework could be shifted to a new AI model in just a few hours, that would suggest it is heavily reliant on OpenAI software. In other words, today's developments give serious weight to the claims that the Humane AI Pin is essentially using a "wrapper" for ChatGPT. 

So, if you can get the functionality of a new AI hardware product on your phone, why wouldn't you? And if these companies are just retooling OpenAI's models, why not go straight to the source? The release of GPT-4o puts AI hardware companies — that were already in danger — in more peril. 

No one is safe as OpenAI plows through AI development

Really, no one is safe from being displaced by OpenAI's dominance. The perfect example of this is Duolingo, which saw its stock drop by over seven percent almost immediately following OpenAI's event Monday. GPT-4o has impressive translation and learning capabilities, which appear to have spooked investors. When you think of OpenAI's competitors, Duolingo probably isn't the first to come to mind, and yet it was seriously affected by the GPT-4o announcement. 

It goes to show that OpenAI can displace anyone, and no hardware or software product is safe. Who knows, the Google Assistant could be next. It's now up to Google to show us why it's still a force to be reckoned with in AI at I/O 2024.

What you need to know

• Rumors are intensifying about OpenAI potentially launching a competitor to Google Search. 
• A new report now says OpenAI plans to debut a Google Search rival early next week.
• The timing of OpenAI's rumored launch would edge out Google's own developer conference, Google I/O 2024, which starts Tuesday. 

The markets for search and artificial intelligence are colliding, with the major players in both markets trying to enhance AI with web results and vice versa. Google has the Search Generative Experience (SGE), which uses AI to summarize web results in digestible blocks. Now, it looks like OpenAI is ready to launch a Google Search competitor, according to a Reuters report. The company will reportedly debut a search engine rival on Monday, May 13 — exactly one day before Google I/O 2024.

OpenAI has ChatGPT, a leading AI chatbot that uses the company's GPT-3.5 and GPT -4 models. However, ChatGPT seems to be falling behind in providing web results. Alternative chatbots, like Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot, are better at sourcing information with real-time web results. This is likely an area where OpenAI hopes to improve with its to-be-announced Google Search competitor. 

According to the report, this search engine alternative is still largely based on ChatGPT. When it is released, the OpenAI search product will be able to find and source timely web results in response to user queries. Sources and citations are important for any chatbot that uses LLMs because they tend to "hallucinate" or essentially makeup information. With this new search product, OpenAI will make it easier for ChatGPT users to check the accuracy of its responses.

Right now, it's unclear whether this offering will be available for free, be ad-supported, or be locked behind OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus subscription. ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month and includes some exclusive features, like expanded rate limits and priority access to OpenAI's best LLMs. 

Based on this report, OpenAI's search competitor sounds very similar to Google's own Search Generative Experience. SGE is rolling out more widely of late, and it summarizes web results into a quick AI-generated summary. Like OpenAI's rumored search product, SGE also provides sources for its responses.

OpenAI's announcement of its Google Search competitor, if it indeed comes Monday, would not be scheduled by accident. That's exactly one day before Google kicks off its Google I/O 2024 developer conference, and AI will surely be a focus at the company's event. OpenAI appears to be trying to beat Google to the punch in developing the next AI-based search features. 

What you need to know

• Evidence in OpenAI's SSL certificate logs suggests that the company is developing a ChatGPT-based search engine to rival Google.
• The logs show that the company has a new "search.chatgpt.com" domain under its belt, further indicating such development.
• OpenAI has continued to encroach on Google's space by attempting to plug ChatGPT into Android as a new default assistant option alongside a widget.

Rumors swirl about OpenAI potentially developing a ChatGPT-based search engine to take on Google.

Evidence of a possible ChatGPT Search stems from Ashutosh Shrivastava on X, who posted a photo of OpenAI's SSL certificate logs (via Search Engine Roundtable). The logs show that the company has a new "search.chatgpt.com" domain listed.

So, this alone seems to suggest that OpenAI is currently developing a search engine that would piggyback off the capabilities of its ChatGPT software.

The user on X added that OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman recently discussed AI and search in a podcast.

Another user on X, Apples_Jimmy, added to the initial discovery by speculating we could be on the cusp of OpenAI's search reveal. It's currently purported that the company could unveil ChatGPT's Search engine on May 9.

Google has continued to focus strongly on AI in Search, especially since welcoming Liz Reid as the service's new lead. Reid expressed a strong interest in funneling even more "SGE" and AI overviews into Search. The latter recently rolled out for the general public shortly after her new position took place in March.

Aside from these brief glimpses at OpenAI's potential development of a ChatGPT-based search engine, its features are still unknown.

However, the company is on a trend of encroaching on Google's space, such as with on-device AI assistance. It was spotted back in January that OpenAI was working on a way to add its AI bot into Android so users could make its version the default over Assistant (or, rather, Gemini). Since then, a new Android ChatGPT widget has been spotted, giving users easy access to its services.

The widget shows options for easy messaging with the bot, the ability to submit photos to it for information, and voice capabilities. It's not unlikely that a ChatGPT-based search engine would have these features, but more concrete ones during actual queries remain to be seen.

What you need to know

• OpenAI states it is starting a test this week, which will introduce "Memory" to a "small portion" of its free and Plus ChatGPT users.
• Memory will let ChatGPT remember what users have talked about across their devices so they won't have to reiterate the same details.
• OpenAI is also introducing several security and privacy settings to help users stay in control of what is saved.

OpenAI announced that it's testing a form of "memory" for its AI chatbot, ChatGPT.

As detailed in a blog post, the purpose of "memory" in ChatGPT is to help the AI remember conversations you've had across multiple devices. OpenAI states users can specifically ask the AI to remember a certain thing or "let it pick up details itself." For security's sake, OpenAI states it shifts the bot away from remembering sensitive pieces of information, like those involving your health. 

The company adds that the more users interact with ChatGPT, the more they'll notice its memory improve, and certain details won't have to be repeated.

Here are a couple of examples of what ChatGPT can remember through memory:

• You mention that you have a toddler and that she loves jellyfish. When you ask ChatGPT to help create her birthday card, it suggests a jellyfish wearing a party hat. 
• You’ve told ChatGPT you own a neighborhood coffee shop. When brainstorming messaging for a social post celebrating a new location, ChatGPT knows where to start. 

If you're not interested in ChatGPT remembering certain things, OpenAI states users can launch a "temporary chat" with the AI. According to its support page, what you've discussed in a temporary chat won't be saved in your history either. However, OpenAI will keep a copy of it for 30 days for "safety purposes." The company also claims it will not use your temporary discussions to train the chatbot.

Users can get started by tapping the version of ChatGPT you're using and then selecting "temporary chat."

Additionally, OpenAI is bringing additional security and safety tools for users interested in using "memory." Users can turn the feature off completely by heading into your Settings > Personalization > Memory. But, users can clean up what ChatGPT remembers within the "Manage Memory" page of your Personalization settings.

From there, users will find a full list of what the bot remembers, as well as a nifty trash can icon to make it forget.

OpenAI states it uses what users talk to ChatGPT about to train the AI — including your memories. Users can opt out of this within their "Data Controls."

The company is bringing its memory feature to Team and Enterprise customers, as well. This will occur during OpenAI's "wider rollout" of the feature and it's stated to help remember your tone, voice, formatting preferences, preferred coding languages, and more.

Meanwhile, OpenAI's other GPTs, like Books GPT, will gain this feature, too. The company states the feature can assist the AI in offering the correct recommendations for your reading tastes. Memory for other GPTs will arrive during its "wider rollout."

As previously stated, ChatGPT's memory feature is arriving in test form. A "small portion" of ChatGPT free and Plus users will begin noticing it as we finish the week.

What you need to know

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wants to start making custom artificial intelligence chips.
• Last Friday, Altman toured a Samsung fabrication plant in a move that broke tradition and was surrounded by secrecy.
• It is also rumored that Altman toured SK hynix, which is one of Asia's largest memory manufacturers.

In the months since Sam Altman was reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, he has not been shy about his curiosity and interest in making custom artificial intelligence processors. Industry leaders such as Intel, AMD, Apple, and Qualcomm have all added neural processing units to their chipsets, equipping them to handle AI tasks. 

Now, Altman may be looking to join in on the AI processor race. The OpenAI CEO toured Samsung and SK hynix last week in South Korea, according to The Korea Times and ET News reports.

The two South Korean newspapers say that Altman arrived in the country last Friday. Then, the executive traveled to a Samsung Electronics factory in Pyeongtaek. Here, Altman reportedly spoke to Kye Hyun Kyun, the CEO of Samsung Device Solutions. Altman also received a tour of Samsung's production lines, per the reports.

The trip was surrounded in secrecy and appears to be a rare move by Samsung. The company does not often give tours of its production lines to outsiders, according to The Korea Times. 

Memory chips were a focus of Altman's trip, and it's not hard to see why. Advanced AI processes have large memory requirements, so having speedy and high-capacity RAM is paramount. That's why Altman allegedly visited SK hynix after touring the Samsung plant, as the former company is one of Asia's largest memory manufacturers.

There are also rumblings about Altman working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is the world's largest chip fabricator. TSMC also has some of the most advanced foundry processes available today. In conjunction with Apple, it manufactured the A17 Pro chip — the first of its kind to be made using the 3nm process node.

Separately, reports have suggested that Altman could work with foreign investors to start his own chipmaking company. There is a lot that is unclear at this time, however.

It's not immediately apparent what Altman and OpenAI plan to do with AI chips. Hardware devices for AI are rising, with devices like Humane's AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 nearing release. Smartphones are also getting supercharged with AI, such as the Google Pixel 8 series and the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

Altman and OpenAI could be exploring a device of their own, planning to outsource chips to another OEM, or continuing its relationship with Microsoft — its largest investor. Whatever ends up happening, Altman's supposed visit to South Korean chipmakers shows how serious he and the company are about processor fabrication. 

What you need to know

• OpenAI's latest beta update for its ChatGPT app on Android delivers a new Assistant shortcut for the Quick Settings panel.
• Users can tap this shortcut anywhere on their device to begin interacting with the AI chatbot.
• Evidence previously discovered shows OpenAI is working on a way for users to set ChatGPT as their Android phone's default assistant.

Android beta testers for OpenAI's ChatGPT have gained a new function that provides more convenient access to the bot.

According to Mishaal Rahman on X, the latest ChatGPT app beta update lets users add a shortcut to their device's Quick Settings panel. Upon tapping, Rahman states you'll see the chatbot's Assistant overlay on the bottom of your display. The AI appears to require a brief moment to "connect" before it is attentive and ready for your query.

ChatGPT will then attempt to respond to your question, but users can interrupt the AI mid-sentence if needed. More importantly, Rahman adds this shortcut to enable users to interact with the AI chatbot no matter what app they're in.

Despite the appearance of the shortcut, the beta doesn't seem to let users set ChatGPT as their default helper on an Android phone. This feature was previously teased, however, it looks like development is still ongoing.

ChatGPT's Android beta update should become available as the day progresses. However, if you're not enrolled as a tester, you can do so from the app's page on the Play Store.

Earlier in January, it was discovered within the code that OpenAI was working on ways for users to set ChatGPT as their default "assistant." The function couldn't be enabled but its details showed users could use their voice to speak to the AI anywhere on their phone. It was also theorized that users could use their voice to trigger the AI assistant alongside other means such as long-pressing their power button.

This would likely aid users as ChatGPT's current voice controls don't allow functionality outside its confines.

OpenAI launched the official ChatGPT app for Android in July 2023 after it first rolled out for iOS devices. Users were treated to the latest AI upgrades such as OpenAI's GPT-4 language model and tools for creative inspiration, professional input, and "instant answers."

What you need to know

• ChatGPT could become a default voice assistant on Android in the future, which would make it easier to access.
• Code spotted in new versions of the ChatGPT app suggests OpenAI is working on adding the feature.
• If ChatGPT could become the default assistant, users could trigger it on Android with their voice and other ways, from any application.

It took OpenAI quite a while to release a ChatGPT mobile app for iOS and Android, and both versions were highly anticipated. Although the ChatGPT app became the fastest-growing app of all time last year, it's not the quickest way to get an answer to every question. Using a voice assistant, like the Google Assistant, is still faster in many cases. 

But according to code found in the newest version of the ChatGPT app, spotted by Android Authority, that might not be the case for much longer. Android researcher Mishaal Rahman found an activity named com.openai.voice.assistant.AssistantActivity, although it is not currently enabled. As the name suggests, it's referencing a ChatGPT mode that would enable it to work as a voice assistant system-wide. 

Rahman was able to enable the activity in version 1.2023.352 of the ChatGPT app. After launching the voice assistant activity, a ChatGPT process shows above the Android Home Screen. This suggests that, unlike current ChatGPT voice control, you will be able to use a ChatGPT voice assistant from any part of Android.

Essentially, this would put the ChatGPT voice assistant on par with Google Assistant. The app currently doesn't have all the necessary code requirements to be set as a default voice assistant in Android, even if you manually enable the activity. However, the incomplete code strings strongly imply that it's a feature that OpenAI is actively developing.

Given how influential artificial intelligence was last year and user demand, there's incentive for OpenAI to roll out support for ChatGPT as a default assistant. The company's moves might also set up a race between Google and OpenAI to create the first AI-powered voice assistant for Android. Google says that Google Assistant with Bard is coming, but we don't exactly know when. 

If OpenAI could beat Google to market with a ChatGPT voice assistant for Android, it would be a serious win for the company. Microsoft could also make some noise, as it just released a Microsoft Copilot app for Android. That's significant because it's the easiest way to access OpenAI's GPT-4 model for free on an Android phone. 

It's unclear when ChatGPT could debut as an Android default voice assistant. However, the feature would certainly give users more choice over what AI-enabled voice assistant can be quickly triggered on their great Android phones.

Do you remember what was happening a year ago? I sure didn't. But here's a quick refresher: NASA had just launched Artemis 1 from the Kennedy Space Center, Elon decided it was a good time to listen to the masses and reinstated former President Trump's Twitter account, and the Galaxy S23 had just passed through the FCC. Oh, and OpenAI launched its first public-facing chatbot, named ChatGPT.

Since the launch of Chat GPT, it's been an absolute whirlwind, and I feel pretty confident stating the obvious: The tech world might not ever be the same again.

Disclaimer: Images used in this piece were generated using custom prompts through Dall-E within ChatGPT. 

What's happened in the past year?

As I'm writing this, it's been 365 days since ChatGPT was launched, with OpenAI stating that it's "trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response." At first, it seemed that ChatGPT was just another cool-looking online tool that you might mess around with, but probably not. Hell, I didn't even hear about it until a week or two later, when it just happened to catch a ride with Artemis 1.

Things were relatively quiet, and there wasn't much in the way of improvements that were made to ChatGPT until February 2023. Not only did OpenAI announce ChatGPT Plus, with plans starting at $20 per month, but less than one week later, Microsoft put Google on notice. With an announcement, Microsoft confirmed that it would be implementing OpenAI's GPT-4 model into Bing. This created an all-new experience that we hadn't yet seen, as Microsoft then released a new version of Edge featuring "Bing Chat" in the browser.

On the Microsoft front, the company has continued to work on improving the experience, while eventually also updating ChatGPT with the ability to "Browse with Bing." After seeing success with the Bing Chat integration, Microsoft somewhat rebranded Bing Chat and has made it a built-in tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11, dubbed CoPilot. There's a good chance you already have access; just press the WIN + C keys and see what happens.

Although OpenAI and ChatGPT made talks about AI chatbots "the norm," it's important to remember that OpenAI is a relatively new player in the game. Google has been widely recognized as an industry leader in the AI space and published its first blog post on the topic back in June 2012.

When it came to giving the public access to its various AI features, this was primarily done through apps and services, along with being part of the reason why Pixel phones take some of the best pictures. Google seemed content to go the "slow and steady" route with AI until ChatGPT reached a fever pitch. The day before Microsoft announced its GPT integration with Bing Chat, Google Bard was announced.

In the days following, reports surfaced claiming that Google employees were critical of CEO Sundar Pichai. This included supposed memes that revealed employees felt it was "rushed, botched, and un-Googley." Google has continued to press forward, trying to craft Bard to be as useful as possible, as evidenced by the announcement of Bard Extensions.

It's easy to get caught up in the whole "ChatGPT vs. Bard" comparison, even though it feels as if GPT has an insurmountable lead. In reality, it's ChatGPT versus the world, as competition has sprung like leaks on an old, rickety boat.

Meta has a Large Language Model (LLM) of its own, named Llama, and the company even went so far as to announce that Llama 2 would be open-sourced. Seriously, you can just enter your name, email, and a company name and download the Llama 2 model for yourself.

Surprisingly, neither Meta nor Google are actually OpenAI's biggest competition, as that comes in the form of Anthropic. The company was only just founded in 2021, but the real kick in the knee is that its founding members are also "former senior members of OpenAI." It raised $124 million in May 2021, raised an additional $850 million in a Series B in April 2022, and released its first ChatGPT competitor,  Claude, in March of this year.

If you need any indication as to how fast this technology is evolving, Claude 2 broke cover in July 2023, while Claude 2.1 was just introduced on November 21. If Microsoft is the "big brother" for OpenAI, then Amazon is the same for Anthropic. On September 25, Anthropic announced that "Amazon will invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic." This came just days after Amazon took to the stage to introduce an improved and enhanced version of Alexa, "enabled by generative AI," at its Fall 2023 product launch event.

The point of this long-winded yet brief walk down memory lane is just to show that we're only scratching the surface of what's to come. I haven't even touched on how machine learning (ML) and LLMs can be used to generate not only images but also videos, all with a single prompt. Let alone the fact that we're seeing more ChatGPT competitors and clones appear on what feels like a daily basis.

Oh, right, then there's the whole "CEO fired, goes to Microsoft, then gets rehired" saga.

A tectonic shift in the AI landscape

No matter what side of the line you stand on, there's no denying that OpenAI blew the doors and roof off of the whole "Skynet is here" sentiment. It's also wild to see how much money is being invested while layoffs continue to affect the tech industry in the worst ways.

However, that hasn't stopped things from developing at a pace far more rapid than I ever expected it to. No, ChatGPT and LLMs haven't taken my job yet, but with Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), it feels like it's on the horizon. If you need any proof of it being a possibility, just take a look at what recently happened with Sports Illustrated.

There have been countless lawsuits and complaints that ChatGPT and Dall-E plagiarized or stole work from artists, writers, and others. We're still waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to AI regulation, even after Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, asked for exactly that during a congressional hearing.

I'm probably being more than a bit naive when I write this, but it feels like we're living through another "iPhone" moment. It's been a long time since anything captured my attention, quite like the way the OpenAI coup vs. Sam Altman debacle played out. Thankfully, I just had to follow along, with Alex Heath of The Verge and Kara Swisher providing the most accurate and up-to-date updates as they were available. It felt like I was tracking a hurricane, and in some ways, I was.

The entire world has changed, for better and for worse, since ChatGPT debuted and was made free to use for the public. It's even easier now than it was a year ago, to actually use it thanks to the release of the iOS and Android apps earlier this year.

Not only can you use plugins to have ChatGPT do a lot of different things beyond what's already possible, but as OpenAI's inner circle was imploding, the company introduced "GPTs." These are described as "custom versions of ChatGPT that combine instructions, extra knowledge, and any combination of skills." What makes these so exciting and enticing?

Well, it's right in the body of the announcement:

"Anyone can easily build their own GPT—no coding is required. You can make them for yourself, just for your company's internal use, or for everyone. Creating one is as easy as starting a conversation, giving it instructions and extra knowledge, and picking what it can do, like searching the web, making images or analyzing data."

If that isn't enough excitement for you, then how about being able to create your own custom GPT that interacts with more than 6,000 different apps? With AI Actions by Zapier, that's exactly what you can do. It's something that's on my ever-growing "things to tinker with" list, and I'm hoping to get time to mess with it sooner rather than later. But this is about as close as it gets to being able to replace Assistant, Alexa, or Siri with ChatGPT.

What does the future hold?

Speaking of replacing Assistant, Google isn't just holding steady with its current implementation of Bard. None of these AI-forward companies are. Back in October, Google announced Assistant with Bard, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen. Yeah, I'm hoping it will make Assistant more useful, but even with blinders on, I'm excited about the short-term plans.

If you have Bard, I urge you to play around with Extensions. It lets you interact with all of your Google services, so you can have Bard give you a digest of your email Inbox or add items to a specific list in Google Keep. You can even ask Bard specific questions about a YouTube video and get relevant answers.

I want all of this and more from Google Assistant, but in a way that works and doesn't make me repeat myself 10 times just to get the right response. I'm also tired of needing to open a Chrome tab on my phone every time I want to use Bard. Microsoft already implemented Bing Chat and CoPilot into SwiftKey, while the official ChatGPT app was the "Google Play Users' Choice app of the year." You know that has to burn a little bit.

As I've covered, Google isn't the only company that the AI craze has influenced. The Humane AI Pin is one of the wackiest products to be announced in recent memory, as it projects a laser ink display into the palm of your hand and then uses hand gestures and motions for interaction. There's also a hands-free aspect and even a built-in camera so you can capture your surroundings without fumbling with your phone.

Even Apple has been recently rumored to be getting in on the "fun," as Bloomberg reports that there's an "Apple GPT" in the works. I can't see Apple introducing a revamped Siri experience powered by generative AI next year, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. 

Despite being around since 2011, Siri still feels extremely barebones and has been relegated to the pits of despair in favor of pretty much anything else. It also helps that ChatGPT integrates with Apple Shortcuts, and I can even activate it with the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.

To answer the question posed, I have no clue what the next year might look like. I didn't expect us to end up where we are today, and in fact, I actually expected ChatGPT to have taken over the world, just in different ways.

Without a doubt, and whether it's for better or worse, ChatGPT has changed the game. Or maybe it just started playing its own game, and we've all just been along for the ride.

What you need to know

• OpenAI is rolling out "ChatGPT with Voice" for all free users through its mobile app after previously only available for paying subscribers.
• The AI's voice commands leverage OpenAI's work in text-to-speech technology and also its work with Whipser's voice recognition software.
• Following OpenAI's CEO problems, Sam Altman and its president, Greg Brockman, have returned to the company with a new board in tow.

OpenAI is rolling out a feature for all users that was previously restricted to its paying subscriber base.

The AI company posted on X (formerly Twitter) that "ChatGPT with Voice" is now arriving for all free users (via The Verge). The post adds users can hop into the app and tap the headphones icon to begin voicing their queries to ChatGPT. If interested, there's an option to select your preferred AI voice, as well.

Much like when it first launched, ChatGPT with Voice leverages OpenAI's work with its text-to-speech model, creating a "human-like" audio experience from text. The company states its work with Whisper brings its open-source speech recognition software into play to transcribe a user's spoken words into reviewable text.

OpenAI's example on X shows how one could use its AI chatbot to ask a question that heavily relies on mathematics. In the example, the user asks, "How many 16-inch pizzas should I order for 778 people?" The answer given is 195 pies, but interestingly, 778 is the number of people OpenAI has on its payroll, as noted by The Verge.

OpenAI, most notably its board, was in quite a conflict with its employees as it fired its CEO, Sam Altman, which resulted in its president, Greg Brockman, quitting. According to reports, the board fired Altman because "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board."

Furthermore, after word reached its employees, it felt like a mass exodus was approaching as they called for the removal of the board.

However, it would appear as though things have worked out for the CEO and president of OpenAI, as both have now returned to the company. The post states Altman has returned to his previous role but with a new initial board consisting of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.

Update (Nov 20, 3:30 pm ET): Most OpenAI employees have now signed a document calling for the OpenAI board to resign and the remainder of the employees to join the new AI division Microsoft is starting with Altman and Brockman. Multiple sources also say that Altman and Brockman may return to OpenAI if the board resigns, putting plans in limbo.

As the story continues to develop, we'll continue to update this news piece with the latest relevant information. The original story continues as follows:

What you need to know

• OpenAI ex-CEO Sam Altman and ex-president Greg Brockman were just hired by Microsoft after dismissal from OpenAI over the weekend.
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the two will lead a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft.
• Rumors say many other OpenAI employees could head to Microsoft after the move.
• OpenAI runs ChatGPT, which powers Bing Chat, Google's biggest AI competition.

After a weekend of turmoil, Microsoft just scooped up OpenAI's ex-CEO Sam Altman, and the company's ex-president, Greg Brockman. Altman and Brockman will go on to lead a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft, signaling the company's interest in further investing in AI development from internal teams.

Altman was fired by the OpenAI board of trustees on Friday because "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board," according to The Verge. The sudden move caused OpenAI President, Greg Brockman, to quit after hearing the news.

Sources say that some OpenAI members tried to hire Altman back but the Board quickly hired Emmett Shear, ex-CEO of Twitch, instead. Microsoft is currently the largest shareholder in OpenAI, investing over $13 billion in the company since 2019, according to Time, and it seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was more than a little concerned at the news given the lightning-fast hiring of Altman and Brockman overnight.

OpenAI's ChatGPT tech currently powers Bing Chat, and it's entirely possible that Microsoft will attempt to develop something in-house so it's not as reliant on third-party turmoil in the future.

Microsoft famously pushed Google to more publicly focus on AI earlier this year when it released Bing Chat. Google went on to launch Google Bard and formed a combined AI team called DeepMind that focuses on rapid-fire AI development and implementation into new and existing products.

We reached out to Google for comment on the news but they didn't respond in time for publishing. It's not entirely clear how this move could affect Google in the short term but there's little doubt that Microsoft's investment into AI will continue to challenge Google's stance as the industry's AI leader.

What you need to know

• OpenAI's customizable GPTs allow users to create tailored chatbots without coding, share them, and use them for various tasks.
• Users control their data, with chats kept private and the option to choose data sent to third-party APIs, while a new review system is put in place to prevent harmful GPTs from being shared.
• OpenAI is launching a GPT store later this month where users can find and download GPTs from verified creators, who in turn will be able to earn money based on how many people use their GPTs.
• Initially available to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers, OpenAI intends to expand GPT access to more users soon.

OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT's full potential today, introducing GPTs that let anyone create their customized chatbots and publish them soon on the GPT Store, with the potential to earn some cash.

These custom GPTs require no coding expertise, OpenAI assures users in its announcement. You can train your own custom ChatGPT bot just by chatting with it and setting parameters to shape its purpose and how it works. Plus, you can enhance it with extra skills like image creation or web searching.

OpenAI's personalized ChatGPT bots can help you with both personal and professional tasks. Imagine your GPT learning board game rules or whipping up cool sticker designs—the possibilities are as diverse as your imagination.

Starting later this month, you can browse and access these AI agents from the GPT Store. However, only verified creators can submit their bots to ensure a trusted and secure experience for everyone.

While the store's specifics are a bit mysterious, creators will be rewarded based on their GPTs' usage. For now, only ChatGPT Plus subscribers and OpenAI enterprise customers can access GPTs, allowing them to create internal GPTs for their teams, but that will change in the future. "We plan to offer GPTs to more users soon," OpenAI says.

Top-performing bots will also shine on leaderboards, and OpenAI will showcase other notable creations. You'll be able to search for GPTs of various sorts, from education and productivity to pure entertainment. In the meantime, you can still share your GPTs publicly for free until the store's launch.

OpenAI assures that you have full control over your data. Your chats remain private and are not shared with the GPT creator. Plus, if a GPT uses third-party APIs, you can select what data gets sent. Plus, OpenAI is rolling out a new review system to keep harmful GPTs at bay.

What you need to know

• Android owners can start installing ChatGPT on their devices beginning next week.
• With over half a million installs on iOS, the ability to get installed on Android will likely boost the number.
• The primary features during rollout include Instant answers, Tailored advice, Creative Inspiration, and more.

After debuting to iOS in May, the standalone ChatGPT app is all set to land on Android devices next week, OpenAI announced. During the launch of the iOS app, ChatGPT stated, "P.S. Android users, you're next! ChatGPT will be coming to your devices soon."

And as promised, in a recent tweet, OpenAI has announced ChatGPT is rolling out to Android users next week and is currently available on Google Play Store for pre-registration. Although the app is free, pre-registered users can have their ChatGPT app automatically installed as soon as it goes live on the app store. So, in the case of the U.S. market, it is likely to go live next week same as the iOS app.

ChatGPT's Google Play Store listing hints that the app is coming soon in some regions like India despite being available for pre-register. The other countries are also to get the app as early as possible.

The app description on the Play Store indicates besides being free, it syncs your history across devices and receives the newest model improvements made by OpenAI. The primary features when ChatGPT rolls out for Android devices include Instant answers, Tailored advice, Creative Inspiration, Professional input, and Learning opportunities.

According to TechCrunch, half a million iPhone users have installed the standalone ChatGPT within a week of its launch. We expect the same, if not more, installs happening with the launch through Google Play Store. Until now, Android users could use ChatGPT through a browser or Microsoft's Bing app (which is based on ChatGPT-4). Yet, having a standalone app would be beneficial for users.

In other news, with the increase in AI technologies across tech giants, OpenAI has announced that it is coordinating with the White House to have effective AI governance in the U.S. and worldwide. OpenAI, alongside Google, Meta, Amazon, Anthropic, Inflection, and Microsoft, committed to following "responsible practices in the development of artificial intelligence" and met the Biden-Harris Administration at the White House on July 21.

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