Welcome to Thursday’s Newsletter

In today’s scoop 🍨 

• 📱 Google's New AI Can See, Hear, and... Shop For You?

• 💬 AI Chatbots Are Sliding into OnlyFans DMs

• 🎄 Day 5 of 12 Days of OpenAI: Apple X OpenAI

• 🔧 3 Trending AI Tools

📱 Google's New AI Can See, Hear, and... Shop For You?

If having an AI assistant handle your emails felt futuristic, buckle up – Google just dropped Gemini 2.0, and it's basically trying to become your digital clone. The tech giant's latest AI model isn't just smarter; it's learning to be your personal intern for, well, everything.

🔍 The Headline Features:

• 🏞️ Native image generation and audio output (finally catching up to its competitors)

• 🗺️ Can use Google Search and Maps on its own

• 🗣️ Speaks multiple languages and understands mixed-language conversations

• 🧠 Boasts a massive 1M token context window (translation: it can remember way more of your conversation)

📚 Deep Research: The most immediately useful feature might be Deep Research, Google's new tool for Gemini Advanced subscribers. Think of it as your personal research assistant on steroids. It creates a multi-step research plan, dives deep into topics across the web, and delivers comprehensive, easy-to-read reports with all sources linked. What might take you hours of tab-juggling and note-taking, Deep Research can handle in minutes. Perfect for students pulling all-nighters or entrepreneurs stalking their competition (legally, of course).

But the real showstopper? Google's rolling out three experimental AI "agents" that feel straight out of a sci-fi movie: 🎬

🌟 Project Astra: Your universal AI assistant that can identify artwork, understand multiple languages, and remember conversations for up to 10 minutes.

🏃‍♂️ Project Mariner: An experimental Chrome extension that can actually navigate websites and complete tasks for you (with supervision, of course – we're not ready for Skynet yet).

👨‍💻 Jules: A coding companion that can tackle GitHub issues and write code while you supervise.

⚠️ Before you get too excited, most of these fancy features are still in testing mode. While Gemini 2.0 Flash is available now for all Gemini users and developers, the AI agents are limited to "trusted testers" and Deep Research is exclusive to Gemini Advanced subscribers only.

Google's making it clear they're all-in on "agentic AI" – systems that can actually do things in the real world, not just chat about them. Whether that excites or terrifies you probably depends on how many times you've watched The Terminator.

Just remember: for now, these AI agents still need human supervision. So your job is safe... probably. 😉

💬 AI Chatbots Are Sliding into OnlyFans DMs

Ever wonder how adult content creators manage to keep up with thousands of DMs? 📱 Turns out, they've got some digital help – and we're not talking about your average autocomplete.

The adult entertainment industry is diving headfirst into AI chatbots, with companies like ChatPersona and FlirtFlow leading the charge. These AI assistants are replacing traditional "chatters" – human workers (often from countries like the Philippines and India) who were previously paid about $3/hour to impersonate creators in DM conversations.

📊 By the numbers:

• 📈 ChatPersona has attracted 6,000+ customers since launch

• 💰 OnlyFans creators make 50%+ of their revenue from chat interactions

• 💵 The platform reported nearly $1.3B in revenue in 2023

• 💭 Some creators handle hundreds of simultaneous conversations

Here's the catch: OnlyFans explicitly prohibits AI chatbots. But companies have found a creative workaround – having humans hit "send" on AI-generated messages. It's like having a wingman who's really good at small talk but needs you to press "send" for legal reasons.🤔

The tech is getting surprisingly sophisticated. These companies have trained the bots to start with casual conversation ("How's your dog? Why do you hate your boss?") before moving to more... business-oriented discussions. Some creators claim the AI is actually better at flirting than humans – which says something either about the AI or about humans.

This isn't just another "AI replaces workers" story tucked away in an adult corner of the internet. It's a sneak peek at how AI is reshaping interactions everywhere. So while your bank's chatbot is still struggling to tell you your balance, these companies are already pushing the boundaries of what AI chats can do. 💻

But here's where it gets murky: When users are spending thousands seeking digital connections with what they believe are real people, we're way past innovative customer service. It's starting to look more like AI-powered exploitation of human loneliness. 😬

🎄 Day 5 of 12 Days of OpenAI: Apple x OpenAI

In what sounds like the greatest power duo since avocado met toast, Apple and OpenAI just mixed their signature flavors. As part of iOS 18.2, ChatGPT is now integrated directly into Siri, giving Apple's occasionally frustrating assistant a major brain boost 🧠 

The timing couldn't be more dramatic – the announcement came during Day 5 of 12 Days of OpenAI product launches, and was briefly interrupted by a global ChatGPT outage that affected 75% of users 😅

🎁 What's in the AI stocking:

• 🗣️ ChatGPT can now handle tasks through Siri voice commands, writing tools, and camera features

• 💸 Basic features are free, but premium capabilities require a subscription

• 📱 The feature is limited to iPhone 15 Pro models and newer devices

Why it matters: This isn't just another tech partnership – it's Apple acknowledging they need help in the AI race. Despite being worth $3 trillion, Apple's been watching from the sidelines as Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude have been pushing AI boundaries. Instead of building their own AI from scratch, Apple's taking the "if you can't beat 'em, integrate 'em" approach.

For OpenAI, this is like getting a golden ticket to Wonka's factory 🎫 – instant access to over a billion iPhone users. They're not getting any upfront cash from Apple, but the distribution potential alone is worth its weight in silicon.

The real kicker? In the emerging AI platform wars, Apple isn't trying to be a player – it's positioning itself as the battlefield. As one tech analyst put it, sometimes being the platform that hosts the best services is more valuable than trying to build everything yourself.

Turns out even Apple knows when to say "Hey Siri, call for backup." 📞

🔧3 Trending AI Tools

• 🧠 Zoom AI Companion - AI Companion enhances your meetings and workflows with intelligent summaries, smart suggestions, and automated assistance, seamlessly integrated into the Zoom platform

• 🗣️ Shortcut - Get instant answers, transform your ideas into solutions, and draft messages, emails, or documents in seconds—all by speaking out loud.

• 🔍 Remention - Monitors billions of online conversations and finds the best places to mention your product.

Thank you for reading!

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Until tomorrow—stay curious! 👋