The AI vibe is shifting. Hype cycles are fading. Reality is setting in.

New models? Slightly better, not groundbreaking.
Reasoning, planning, reliability—still weak spots.

But that’s good news.

Smart teams aren’t chasing AGI. They’re building for what works now—with constraints, guardrails, hybrid systems.

The age of demos is over. Welcome to the era of useful AI.

And here’s what has happened this week.

📈 How are companies using AI?

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➜ CEOs Now Take Calls From Their Digital Twins. Klarna just launched a hotline that connects clients and journalists to an AI avatar of their CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski. It handles calls in real time, mimicking his tone, voice, and corporate messaging—raising the bar for brand-controlled communication.
Finextra

➜ Spend Smarter, Not Harder. Starling Bank’s new “Spending Intelligence” chatbot is live, offering UK customers personalized financial advice based on spending patterns. It’s being positioned as the first AI of its kind in British banking, nudging users to save and spend smarter.
This is Money

➜ 100,000 Strong. Barclays is deploying Microsoft Copilot to 100,000 employees, integrating GenAI into everyday workflows. It’s one of the largest financial sector rollouts to date, signaling just how seriously institutions are taking productivity-focused AI.
Computer Weekly

➜ Streaming Gets Predictive. HBO Max is using AI to serve up short video previews tailored to your interests. The goal is to reduce the time users spend browsing and get them watching faster—AI as the new trailer editor.
The Wrap

➜ Influencers You Can’t Tell Are Fake. TikTok is now testing AI-generated ads that mimic real creators. These synthetic influencers use scripts and facial movements that are nearly indistinguishable from actual humans—blurring the line between UGC and marketing.
Marketing Tech News

💡 What are the nerds up to?

➜ Search With a Selfie. Google’s Gemini now supports video uploads, allowing users to ask questions about footage or get summaries of content. It’s a leap forward in making AI multimodal on mobile—and a glimpse at the future of search.
The Verge

➜ Creative Suite Goes Pocket-Sized. Adobe’s Firefly generative AI tools have arrived on mobile. Users can now create AI-powered images and text effects directly from their phones, bringing Photoshop-like capabilities to your fingertips.
PCMag

➜ Your Next Lawyer Might Be an LLM. Crosby, backed by Sequoia, launched an AI-native law firm that uses agents to handle tasks like contract review and compliance. The goal isn’t just cost savings—it’s legal services that scale on demand.
TechCrunch

➜ AI That Knows When You're Not Working. A new agent is making waves on X for its ability to detect when employees are slacking based on keyboard usage and Slack activity. Surveillance tech or productivity coach? The debate’s already raging.
BizToc

➜ Image Editing, Rewritten. Higgsfield just dropped Canvas, a generative editing tool that lets users swap any object in an image with just two clicks—without breaking layout, lighting, or style. It’s Photoshop, minus the pain (and Adobe).
X

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