In this newsletter:

• Claude Excel/PowerPoint upgrade adds shared context and workflow automation
• ChatGPT launches interactive visuals for real-time math and science learning
• Google Maps gets conversational search and 3D navigation powered by Gemini

Plus, you’ll find new AI tools and this week’s top AI news headlines!

📊 Claude for Excel and PowerPoint Gets Smarter With Cross-App Memory and One-Click Workflows

Anthropic upgraded Claude for Excel and PowerPoint to share full conversation context across all open files, letting Claude move between spreadsheets and slides without re-explaining at each step.

What's new:

• Available now for all Mac and Windows users on paid plans in beta
• Claude reads cell values, writes formulas, merges data sets, and edits slides while carrying on conversations across open Excel and PowerPoint files
• Financial analysts can pull comparable company financials, build a trading comps table in Excel, drop a valuation summary into a pitch deck, and draft an email to the MD without switching tabs
• Skills feature turns complete workflows into one-click actions
• Preloaded starter skills for Excel cover auditing models for formula errors, building LBO/DCF/3-statement model templates, running comparable company analyses, and cleaning messy spreadsheet data
• Preloaded starter skills for PowerPoint cover building competitive landscape decks, updating existing decks with new information, and reviewing investment banking decks for consistency
• Skills set up in the Claude desktop or web app work inside add-ins automatically, the same as MCP connectors
• Instructions handle persistent app-level preferences like number formatting, bullet length, and flagging hardcoded assumptions

Deployment options:

• Access via the Claude account or route traffic through the existing LLM gateway
• Now available on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Vertex AI, and Microsoft Foundry
• Claude powers Agent Mode natively inside Excel for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers

Why it matters:

Anthropic is solving the context-switching problem that reduces productivity in financial analysis and presentation, where analysts waste time re-explaining the same dataset as they move between Excel calculations and PowerPoint slides.

By making workflows repeatable through skills and eliminating the need to re-explain context, Claude is positioning itself as the AI layer that connects Microsoft Office apps rather than just living inside them - directly competing with Microsoft's own Copilot while also partnering with it.

👀 Read more about Claude Excel and PowerPoint skills upgrade!

🧮 ChatGPT Launches Interactive Visuals For Real-Time Math And Science Learning

OpenAI introduced dynamic visual explanations in ChatGPT, allowing users to adjust variables and watch formulas update in real time rather than reading static diagrams.

What's new:

• Available now for all logged-in ChatGPT users
• Covers over 70 math and science topics, including Pythagorean theorem, lens equation, area of a circle, binomial square, Charles' law, compound interest, Coulomb's law, exponential decay, Hooke's law, kinetic energy, linear equations, Ohm's law
• Users can adjust numbers and variables and see changes reflected immediately
• Pythagorean theorem example: adjust triangle side lengths and watch the hypotenuse update in real time
• Ask questions like "What is a lens equation?" or "How can I find the area of a circle?" and get an interactive module to manipulate
• OpenAI plans to expand to more interactive topics later

Context:

• More than 140 million people use ChatGPT weekly for help with math and science
• Joins other ChatGPT educational tools like study mode (step-by-step problem guidance) and QuizGPT (flashcards and quizzes)
• Google's Gemini launched similar interactive diagrams and visuals in November

Why it matters:

ChatGPT is shifting from delivering answers to hands-on learning, prompting students to engage with underlying concepts rather than merely copying explanations. The move addresses criticism that AI tools promote passive learning.

However, whether interactive learning actually improves retention over static diagrams remains an open question - especially as educators worry students will rely on AI to understand concepts they should be working through manually.

👀 Read more about ChatGPT interactive visuals upgrades!

🗺️ Google Maps Gets Conversational Search and 3D Navigation Powered by Gemini

Google Maps introduced Ask Maps for conversational search and Immersive Navigation with vivid 3D visuals, marking the biggest navigation update in over a decade.

Ask Maps features:

• Rolling out now in the US and India on Android and iOS, desktop coming soon
• Answers complex real-world questions conversationally, like "My phone is dying — where can I charge it without waiting in a long line for coffee?" or "Is there a public tennis court with lights on that I can play at tonight?"
• Trip planning example: "I'm headed to Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Coral Dunes — any recommended stops along the way?" returns clear directions, ETAs, and insider tips from real people
• Analyzes information from over 300 million places, including reviews from 500 million contributors
• Personalized based on places you've searched or saved in Maps
• Knows your preferences, like vegan restaurants, when suggesting meetup spots
• Book restaurant reservations, save places to list, share with friends, and get directions directly from results

Immersive Navigation features:

• Rolling out today across the US, expanding over the coming months to iOS, Android, CarPlay, Android Auto, and cars with Google built-in
• Vivid 3D view reflecting buildings, overpasses, and the terrain around you
• Highlights lanes, crosswalks, traffic lights, and stop signs to help with turns and merges
• Gemini models analyze Street View and aerial photos for an accurate view of landmarks and medians
• Broader view of the route with smart zooms and transparent buildings to prepare for tricky turns and lane changes well in advance
• Natural voice guidance like "Go past this exit and take the next one for Illinois 43 South"
• Shows tradeoffs for alternate routes, like a longer trip with less traffic or a faster one with tolls
• Real-time disruption alerts for road construction and crashes from 10 million daily driver contributions
• Maps incorporates 5 million traffic updates every second
• Preview destination with Street View imagery, parking recommendations, building entrance highlight, nearby parking, and which side of the street to be on

Why it matters:

Google is turning Maps from a navigation tool into a conversational AI assistant that answers questions no traditional map could handle, directly competing with ChatGPT and Perplexity for local search queries.

The 3D navigation upgrade addresses the gap between digital maps and the complexity of real-world driving, using Gemini to bridge what users see on screen with what's in front of them on the road.

👀 Read more about Google Maps upgrades!

My Latest LinkedIn & X/Twitter Posts:

• How to build AI agents in n8n with a single prompt (view post)
• How to pick the right AI tool for different tasks (view post)
• Top 11 free AI tools from Google to enhance productivity (view post)
• 15 ChatGPT prompts for high-level research (view post)
• 5 proven ChatGPT prompts frameworks (view post)
• How to create controllable AI video scenes (view post)

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New AI Tools to Boost Your Productivity:

• ​Hedy: Real-time AI meeting assistant.
• ​VidFlux: Generates videos from text prompts.
• ​The Librarian: Organizes and retrieves knowledge across your apps.
• ​Title.video: Generates click-optimized YouTube titles from a video link.
• ​ProfessionalHeadshot: Generates professional headshots from selfies.
• ​Miniloop: Builds AI agents to automate business workflows.
• ​TitleGen: Generate high-CTR YouTube titles in seconds.
• ​Humanize AI Text: Rewrites AI-generated text to sound human.
• ​Gistilo: Summarizes YouTube videos into key points.
• ​Glindra: Generates AI product photos and marketing visuals.
• ​Vidocu: Converts documents and scripts into videos.
• ​OpenClaw: Open-source AI agent that automates computer tasks.
• ​BestPhoto: AI photo and video studio.
• ​Perplexity Computer: An AI assistant that performs tasks directly on your computer.
• ​Clico: AI writing assistant that works in every text box.

This Week's Top AI News Headlines:

• Spotify Adds Feature to Edit Your “Taste Profile,” Letting Users Remove Songs and Artists to Improve Personalized Recommendations (View Article)
• Peacock, NBCUniversal’s Streaming Service, Expands into AI-Driven Video, Mobile-First Live Sports, and Gaming Experiences (View Article)
• Facebook Marketplace Lets Meta AI Automatically Respond to Buyer Messages to Help Sellers Manage Inquiries and Product Questions (View Article)
• Writer Sues Grammarly Alleging the AI Writing Company Used Her Books and Other Authors’ Work to Train Editing Tools Without Consent (View Article)
• Amazon Adds Adults-Only Alexa Personality that can Curse While Blocking Explicit NSFW Content in the Voice Assistant (View Article)
• Google Uses AI Trained on Historical News Reports and Weather Data to Predict Flash Floods Before They Occur (View Article)
• Ford Introduces AI Assistant for Fleet Vehicles that Alerts Managers if Drivers Fail to Wear Seatbelts (View Article)
• Lovable, an AI App-Building Startup, Says it Added $100 Million in Revenue in a Single Month With Just 146 Employees (View Article)
• WordPress Launches My WordPress net, a Browser-Based Private Workspace that Lets Developers Build and Test Sites Without Local Setup (View Article)
• How Google Gemini Screen Automation Lets Your AI Assistant Read Your Phone Screen and Complete Tasks Across Apps (View Article)

Work With Me:

• Paid Partnerships: I’ll promote your product on my LinkedIn, X/Twitter or newsletter. Fill out form to get more info.
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Have a wonderful week!

Andrew Bolis