In this newsletter:

• ChatGPT's free model gets better at shopping and reading user intent
• Google upgrades Gemini in Chrome to understand what you're viewing
• ByteDance launches AI video model with longer, cheaper 4K videos

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

🛍️ ChatGPT's Free Model Gets Sharper at Shopping and Reading User Intent

OpenAI rolled out an update to GPT-5.5 Instant, the model that powers free ChatGPT by default, improving how well it understands what you're really asking for and how it handles shopping and local recommendations.

What's new:

• Rolling out now to paid subscribers first, then free users
• Better at picking up on the actual intent behind your question, not just the literal words
• Handles multiple requirements in one request without dropping any of them
• Adapts when you push back, clarify, or add new requirements mid-conversation instead of repeating the same answer
• Uses your location better to surface relevant nearby businesses and products
• Combines product suggestions, business details, and images into one cohesive answer instead of a robotic list
• Conversational tone is described as warmer and less templated

Background:

• GPT-5.5 Instant first launched roughly two months ago to replace an older model that was struggling in independent rankings
• That earlier version focused on cutting down false information, reducing made-up claims by over half compared to its predecessor on medical, legal, and financial questions
• It also introduced a "memory sources" feature showing which past chats or files shaped an answer, which created friction for businesses whose own internal record-keeping didn't match what the model reported using
• This update doesn't touch memory sources directly; it focuses on how well the model reads intent and follows complicated requests

Why it matters:

This is the version of ChatGPT that most people actually use every day, since it's the free default, so small improvements here affect far more people than any flashy new flagship release.

The bigger story is that OpenAI seems to be prioritizing whether the model actually understands what you want over chasing benchmark scores, which is the kind of unglamorous improvement that rarely makes headlines but quietly changes how useful the tool feels day to day.

👀 Read more about GPT-5.5 Instant upgrades!

🖥️ Google Upgrades Gemini in Chrome to Understand Whatever You're Viewing

Google added a "Select from screen" tool to Gemini in Chrome that lets you highlight any text or image on a webpage and send it straight to Gemini, instead of typing out what you want help with.

What's new:

• Rolling out now as part of Chrome 149, a browser restart may be needed for it to appear
• Found inside the Gemini in Chrome "+" menu
• Works like a built-in screenshot tool: select text or an image on the page, and it's automatically attached to your Gemini question
• No need to describe what's on screen, just point to it directly

Also announced the same day:

• Developers can now access computer use capabilities directly through Gemini 3.5 Flash
• Let's AI agents see, reason, and take actions across browsers, mobile apps, and desktop environments without a separate model
• Google says this helps with longer, multi-step tasks like software testing and enterprise workflows

Why it matters:

This isn't really about the screenshot tool itself - it's a sign of where Google is taking Gemini next. Instead of a chatbot that only knows what you type, Gemini is becoming something that understands the context of what you're already doing and helps without needing everything spelled out. That's a meaningful shift from "answer my question" to "understand what I'm trying to do."

👀 Read more about Gemini Chrome AI updates!

🎬 ByteDance Launches AI Video Model That Creates Longer, Cheaper 4K Videos

ByteDance unveiled Seedance 2.5, its newest AI video generator, letting users attach up to 50 reference images, videos, or audio files to guide the final result.

What's new:

• Revealed at a conference in Beijing, set to be released in China next month
• No release window announced yet for other countries
• Generates 30-second, 4K videos from a single prompt
• Accepts up to 50 reference files (images, videos, or audio), up from 12 in the previous version
• More references give you tighter control over how the final video turns out

Context:

• ByteDance previously held a majority stake in TikTok
• Seedance 2.0's US release was delayed earlier this year after Hollywood pushed back over concerns that the model was trained on copyrighted material
• ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment

Why it matters:

The jump from 12 to 50 reference files matters more than the 4K resolution bump, because it's the difference between describing a scene in words and actually showing the AI your exact characters, lighting, and mood to recreate.

But ByteDance is walking back into the same room that got Seedance 2.0 delayed in the US: if version 2.5 is good enough to notice, Hollywood will ask the same questions about what it was trained on, and ByteDance hasn't said anything yet that suggests they have a better answer this time.

👀 Read more about ByteDance Seedance 2.5 launch!

My Latest LinkedIn & X/Twitter Posts:

• 9 tips for writing expert-level ChatGPT prompts (view post)
• 8 ChatGPT prompts for decision making and strategic thinking (view post)
• Step-by-step guide for using Perplexity AI (view post)
• 10-step roadmap to build AI agents from idea to evaluation (view post)
• ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Grok vs Gemini, when to use each AI (view post)

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New AI Tools to Boost Your Productivity:

• ​Ally: Automates browsing, research, analysis, and reporting.
• ​FontDance: Creates custom fonts from your handwriting.
• ​Teno: Creates image and video ads from a chat.
• ​Soku: Automates ad campaigns, SEO, and social media marketing.
• ​Lynx: Automates tasks and workflows with AI agents.
• ​Storebird: Answers customer questions for WooCommerce stores.
• ​Pikvee: Creates images from prompts and reference photos.
• ​Mara: Writes and optimizes marketing emails.
• ​SeaVidGen: Turns images into animated videos.
• ​Scrivy: Helps authors optimize and market books on Amazon.
• ​AnswerScout: Tracks and improves your brand's visibility in AI search.
• ​Vivify: Generates images from text and images.
• ​FreeSong: Generates songs from text prompts.
• ​Flaq: Turns images into videos with audio.
• ​Grasppy: Turns AI chats into structured workflows.
• ​GrowCreator: Analyzes short-form videos to improve performance.

This Week's Top AI News Headlines:

• Perplexity Launches Computer for Counsel, an AI Legal Assistant that Automates Research, Document Review, and Legal Workflows for Law Firms (View Article)
• Meta Stops Using Employee Data to Train AI Models After Internal Privacy Concerns Prompt Policy Reversal (View Article)
• Mistral AI Launches OCR 4, an AI Model that Converts Complex Documents, PDFs, and Images into Structured, Searchable Text (View Article)
• Getty Images Partners with OpenAI to Display Licensed Editorial Photography in ChatGPT With Attribution and Publisher Links (View Article)
• Sakana AI Launches Fugu, an Open AI Model Designed to Continuously Learn, Adapt, and Improve through Ongoing Training After Deployment (View Article)
• Anthropic Brings the Full Claude Desktop Experience to AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Foundry for Enterprise AI Deployments (View Article)
• Adobe Acquires Topaz Labs, the AI Image and Video Enhancement Software Company, to Strengthen Creative Editing Tools Across its Apps (View Article)
• Google Continues Losing Top AI Researchers to Rivals as Competition for Elite Talent Intensifies Across the AI Industry (View Article)
• Facebook Launches AI Companion App to Help Content Creators Brainstorm Ideas, Plan Posts, and Manage their Creative Workflows (View Article)
• Figma Expands AI-Powered App Builder with Code Layers, Animation Support, and New Features for Designing Interactive Applications (View Article)
• Anthropic Introduces Claude Tag, a Slack Integration that Lets Teams Summon Claude AI into Conversations to Answer Questions and Complete Tasks (View Article)
• Superhuman Acquires GPTZero, the AI Content Detection Platform, to Add AI Writing Verification and Trust Features to its Email App (View Article)
• Nearly 400 Local Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft, Alleging Their AI Models Used Copyrighted News Articles without Permission (View Article)
• AI Researchers Find that Using Two Independent AI “Supervisors” Instead of One Can Significantly Improve AI Safety and Reduce Mistakes (View Article)
• Ford Says Overreliance on AI and Automation is Contributing to Declining Vehicle Quality and More Manufacturing Mistakes (View Article)
• AI Boom Has Yet to Reduce Software Engineering Jobs as New Data Shows Developers Remain Among the Most Resilient Workers (View Article)
• Companies Introduce AI Spending Controls as Employees Burn Through Budgets Using AI Tools for Routine Workplace Tasks (View Article)
• People Inc. CEO Warns Company May Take Legal Action Against Google Over AI Crawlers Accessing Website Content without Permission (View Article)

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Have a wonderful week!

Andrew Bolis