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👉 This week will be a shorter newsletter as I’ve been spending the majority of my time putting the finishing touches on the course I’m developing about AI for small businesses. So instead of the usual format, this week I’m just going to highlight some of the AI news that recently caught my eye.
🗣️ Big tech’s recent AI announcements:
The end of September saw an abundance of announcements related to AI, including from some of the bigger tech names you likely use on a regular basis both personally and for your business.
Here is a summary of the recent announcements from Microsoft and Meta:
Microsoft launched Copilot:
Microsoft says Copilot is “your everyday AI companion” and will enhance productivity and provide assistance across many of its top products including Windows, Paint, Photos, Bing and Edge. (To be honest, I didn’t know people still used Paint but with the revival of Bing, I suppose these new AI developments could breathe some new life into Paint as well.)
The release said Copilot combines the info from the internet, your work data and user activity to deliver personalized assistance.
It will also be used to improve the shopping experience with Bing and Edge, so when you are looking for a product it will ask additional questions to give you tailored product recommendations.
Bing will also support the latest DALL.E 3 model (for image generation) and it will be integrating with Microsoft Designer for easier editing of generated images.
Meta is launching the following:
AI image editing features for Instagram, and you will also be able to create and co-create images with other people.
An AI studio for businesses and creators
Meta AI, an advanced conversational assistant, is being introduced in beta on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram (US only). It will provide real-time information and generate “photorealistic images from your text prompts in seconds”.
Additional AI chatbot assistants including those “played” by some well-known names including Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, and Naomi Osaka. They will each focus on a specific topic - for example, you’ll be able to have a conversation about sports with NFL great Tom Brady. Here is a teaser video he posted about it on Instagram.
One of the coolest things Meta is releasing is a new generation of RayBan smart glasses that will allow you to take photos and videos, live stream, etc. and the glasses will also have Meta AI built in so you can engage with AI while you are wearing them. At the recent Meta Connect event, Mark Zuckerberg gave the example of someone wearing the glasses while outside BBQing and asking AI how long they should cook the meat for. Here is a CNET video recap - you can see the glasses in action at the 7:40 mark.
In closing:
AI is evolving at a rapid rate and these are just some of the many AI announcements that made headlines recently.
The good news: More and more companies are implementing AI features. And it’s not just the big guys listed above - I would imagine that nearly every service provider, whether they’re B2B or B2C, is trying to figure out how to incorporate AI into what they do. So this will benefit a lot of business owners because, instead of having to seek out AI products to use, AI is increasingly going to become something you see incorporated into the various services you are already using (I’ll talk more about this in next week’s newsletter).
The bad news: It’s hard to stay on top of everything related to learning about and implementing AI since you’re likely spending the majority of your waking hours trying to run your business.
And this is exactly why I started this newsletter! We’re living in a unique time when it comes to AI, and we’re still in the early stages of seeing just what it's capable of. I’m excited that it can be used in various ways to make life easier for small business owners and, as a small business consultant, I’m going to do whatever I can to make your life easier when it comes to learning how AI can be used for business.
If there is something specific you want to learn about, let me know!
⏩ In next week’s newsletter:
More on using AI in your existing services
👋 Who am I and why am I writing this newsletter?
My name is Melissa Hopper and I’m a small business consultant and entrepreneur. I’m not an AI expert but rather an AI enthusiast who became curious about how AI could help me in my business and help my clients in their businesses.
I decided to start this newsletter to share what I’m learning and what my clients are learning about how AI can help small businesses. To learn more about what I do, click here.
🙏 Thank you
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⚠️ Please be aware that AI service providers continuously update their programs and services. As a result, some of the information discussed in this newsletter may have changed by the time you read it.
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