AI that fits your day.

Instagram has launched Effect Builder, a tool that uses AI to create custom filters for Stories posts. Users can describe an idea in a prompt, attach style reference images, upload their own photos to preview the result and request changes in follow-up messages. The tool can also rewrite the prompt with more detail, according to The Verge.

The feature is available in the United States to residents over 18. Filters can be submitted to Instagram directly through Effect Builder, but they must pass a safety review before becoming available to other people. Instagram says that, after approval, an effect will appear in Stories for anyone to use and will include a link to the creator’s profile.

Sources: The Verge

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Medium launched TK, a web writing app that integrates an AI assistant into the editor. Users can call the tool by typing “@TK” and ask for help answering questions, retrieving saved passages, organizing ideas and suggesting prompts. Medium says TK also offers editorial and headline feedback, as well as tools to match drafts to the style guide of publications on the platform.

The launch comes amid debate over AI use in literature and journalism. Medium says the technology can amplify human intelligence, while acknowledging the risk of low-quality content and confusion between human-written and AI-generated text. To improve transparency, TK lets authors publish notes about how the tool was used, including prompts and source material. The app also has a social layer for sharing drafts and receiving feedback; a desktop version is planned.

Sources: TechCrunch

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Stephen Zhu, DiDi’s senior vice president, told Tecnoblog that the company recorded an “insignificant” number of rides requested by external artificial intelligence agents, such as those in ChatGPT or Claude. He questioned what additional value those agents provide, since customers are accustomed to using DiDi’s app — 99 in Brazil. The previous week, Uber had said that only four rides had been requested in this way.

DiDi has its own travel assistant, XiaoDi, which accepts voice or text commands and selects from 90 different service options. According to Zhu, it already handles requests such as a car that can accommodate a dog, but the company does not classify those rides as requests made by external AI agents. DiDi operates in 15 countries and says it has more than 749 million annual active users worldwide.

Sources: Tecnoblog

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According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as reported by The Verge, CEO John Ternus is pressuring Craig Federighi to accelerate Siri’s AI roadmap and build an agent that can compete with OpenAI’s Dots and Meta’s Muse. Apple is preparing an update that would give the assistant more detailed control over its own apps, such as cropping and rotating images in Photos and organizing Safari tabs; those features are expected in iOS 27.3.

Integration with third-party apps is expected later, in the spring, enabling actions such as placing orders through Grubhub or booking restaurants through OpenTable. Gurman also says Apple wants Siri to track goals and carry out multistep tasks without the user initiating every step—an evolution that could arrive as early as next year.

Sources: The Verge

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NYT Cooking has added an iOS-only beta AI feature for subscribers that lets users request ingredient substitutions, quantity adjustments, measurement conversions, and changes for different equipment or dietary needs. The tool creates a new version without altering the original recipe and visibly highlights its changes; requests considered unsuitable may receive a refusal and a more appropriate suggestion. The Verge found that the assistant was also trained on user comments and offered practical substitutions, although it nearly suggested using half the required butter in a cake.

WIRED likewise found the feature surprisingly effective in testing, but reported a negative user reaction: after four days and 172 almost exclusively critical comments on a post about the feature, commenting was turned off. The magazine said the system adapted recipes to available ingredients and equipment and redirected highly unsuitable requests to more appropriate recipes.

Sources: The Verge, Wired

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Apps for family caregivers offer features such as medication reminders, calendars, to-do lists, wellness journals and shared medical information. Caring Village includes an AI assistant called Julia; Mejo consolidates medical history into a one-page summary and is exploring AI to suggest questions for medical appointments. Briggzy is in testing, with its creator planning a broader launch in 2027, while Citizen Health, launched in 2024, collects medical records in a secure portal. Wired cites AARP’s estimate that 63 million Americans cared for adults or children with a medical condition or disability in 2025, for up to 27 hours a week on average. The magazine says the tools may reduce the organizational burden, but the caregiver crisis—linked to poor health, financial strain and isolation—remains unresolved.

Sources: Wired

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An OpenAI analysis of messages from individual ChatGPT accounts indicates a shift in how the service is used in Spain: information searches grew from 19% to more than 25% of activity, while writing fell from about 35% at the start of the series, in July 2024, to roughly 18%. The practical guidance category also increased, from 25% to 30%.

The report classifies anonymized messages into seven categories, including writing, information searches, practical guidance and technical help. According to Xataka, the analysis covers Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts, not corporate accounts; an automated system classifies the messages, and OpenAI includes only countries with at least 1,000 effective messages in the quarter.

Sources: Xataka

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Meta is rolling out Spaces to all Muse users. The feature lets people describe an idea so the assistant can create a customized experience, such as a shopping hub, school dashboard, music tracker, trivia game, wedding planner, or project board. Spaces can be rearranged in the app, receive notes and edits, and include items users mark as complete.

According to Meta, connections to apps including Gmail, Google Calendar, OpenTable, and Notion allow prices, dates, and other information to update in the background. The company also announced Active Memory and Active Focus for Muse and the Meta AI chatbot. Meta is exploring ways to let people share and collaborate in Spaces; according to TechCrunch, Mark Zuckerberg said Muse agents had 10 million users in the U.S. and Canada during the October earnings call.

Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch

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Amazon has begun offering select customers in the U.S. a feature that lets them chat with Alexa by text to search for products, receive recommendations, add items to their cart, and make purchases. Users can also send a photo to find similar products; Amazon says Alexa may take personal preferences into account, track prices, and notify users when deals are available. The feature appears on phones as a contact named “Amazon Alexa” and can also help manage lists and track orders.

The company says initial access will come through an invitation sent to a small group of customers, with an expansion to “millions more customers” in the coming weeks. Those who do not receive an invitation can join a waitlist, according to TechCrunch.

Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch

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Tau Robotics offers a cleaning service in San Francisco using humanoid robots remotely piloted by people who monitor camera feeds from the robots’ heads and wrists. According to MIT Technology Review, the company charged $30 for an hourlong cleaning when the service was booked; it now charges $60 for a weekly cleaning with two robots or $100 for a one-time visit.

The robots collect task data to train more autonomous systems. Activities such as making beds and folding laundry often require a pilot to guide the movements; according to cofounder Cornelia Weinzierl, the robots can already vacuum and mop without human help. The article describes machines that are physically capable but slow, and compares their current operation to radio-controlled cars.

Sources: MIT Technology Review

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Airbnb announced plans to launch its AI travel agent in the first half of 2027. The company says the tool will help users explore options, compare accommodations, make decisions with their travel companions, and take action directly on the platform, as well as change reservations, resolve payment issues, request refunds, rebook, and get 24-hour safety support.

Rather than operating as a traditional chatbot, the agent will use an interface designed specifically for travel, combining maps, photos, comparisons, calendars, and itineraries in real time. Airbnb says its experience connecting hosts and guests and its direct role in reservations will help distinguish the product; over time, it is also expected to cover services and experiences in addition to homes and hotels.

Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge

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Perplexity launched Teammates, always-on AI agents designed for work. They can take on different roles simultaneously within a workspace, using projects, skills, and memory already available in Perplexity’s tools. The feature integrates with Perplexity Computer, which can deploy agents on a device to complete tasks, but Perplexity says Teammates extend the system by enabling collaboration and ongoing, large-scale work.

Users can track each agent’s progress in separate threads in the Perplexity app and interact with them through Slack. The feature requires the Max plan, which costs $200 per month. CEO Aravind Srinivas said on X that the company envisions organizations eventually having hundreds of Teammates working for each person.

Sources: The Verge

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Meta says Muse now supports real-time voice and video calls with a customizable animated avatar. The feature is available in the US on mobile, the web, and Mac, according to TechCrunch; the avatar can change appearance and displays expressions and gestures matched to the conversation’s tone. Muse hears the user but does not see them. Meta introduced the technology as Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice.

The Verge tested the feature in the iOS app and reported quick responses, with occasional pauses while the agent looked up information. The company says conversations will soon come to its AI glasses and Muse Charm device, and will also be part of the Tamagotchi-like wearable Meta plans to launch before the end of the year.

Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch

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An article published by MIT Technology Review Brasil argues that adopting AI in the legal sector should not merely speed up existing tasks. It proposes applying reverse engineering to processes—taking steps apart, questioning them, discarding, redistributing and reassembling them—to eliminate unnecessary work and focus lawyers on real deviations, risks and negotiations. In a confidentiality-agreement workflow, for example, a clear playbook, standardized templates and AI operating within parameters set by the legal department could reduce a process described in the text as having twelve steps to just a few.

The article stresses that putting AI at the center of operations does not mean transferring legal judgment, professional responsibility or the trusted relationship with clients to the technology. Citing the Statute of Advocacy (Law No. 8.906/1994), it also highlights the indispensability of lawyers, the protection of their data and communications, technical independence and the ethical risk of signing a machine-generated document without critical review.

Sources: MIT Technology Review Brasil

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Anthropic has begun rolling out Personal Finance in beta in the United States for Claude subscribers on the Pro, Max, and Ultra plans. The tool connects bank and card accounts through Plaid and answers questions about balances, transactions, bills, and potential savings, while categorizing spending and flagging possible duplicate charges, unexpected fees, and rising bills. Anthropic says access is read-only: Claude cannot move, manage, or invest the money, and is not designed to provide investment advice. The company says the tool can see the bank’s name, account name and type, the last four digits, balances, credit limits, and up to two years of transaction history. Anthropic also says conversations in the Personal Finance hub are not used to train its models. The Verge notes that Plaid keeps Claude from seeing banking passwords. Xataka warns that data may remain in conversations, artifacts, and shared links until manually deleted, even after an account is disconnected.

Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge, Xataka

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Grimes will appear in Gods Don't Give Gifts, an AI-generated sci-fi film produced by the studio Fable. The Verge reports that the singer will lend her likeness and vocal performance to the movie, which releases on December 4th and is billed as “the first AI film to come to theaters.” It is directed by Jack London, better known online as Gossip Goblin.

The film is an anthology set in a future where bodies are disposable and consciousness has been commoditized. In a press release, Fable said that using both an artist’s likeness and spoken vocal performance could become more common in AI-made animated films. The project is a test of the commercial potential of such productions at a time when, The Verge notes, no film has yet demonstrated AI as an essential storytelling tool.

Sources: The Verge

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Aina announced a smart ring designed to control AI agents and other applications. The device has a screen, joystick, microphone, and speaker; it can show confirmations, accept voice commands, take notes, control music and devices such as Apple TV, and handle phone calls. It connects to Macs and iPhones and can suggest actions based on data such as location, calendar, and email, including requesting an Uber or notifying someone about a meeting delay. The company calls these prompts “Aina Cues” and says users will be able to create their own commands in natural language.

Preorders start at an early-bird price of $399 before the price rises to $499. Aina plans to begin shipping in January 2027. TechCrunch reported that some of the software and features are still being developed; the outlet also reported that the startup raised $5.5 million in July.

Sources: Wired, TechCrunch

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Box presented Box Content Retrieval, a feature that builds Nvidia’s Nemotron embedding system into the core of its product. The company says the technology can make queries faster, more accurate and less expensive by using metadata to return only the most relevant document chunks to agents, rather than having them read entire files.

Kari Briski, Nvidia’s vice president of generative AI software, told TechCrunch that she expects queries to be four times faster, with 20% fewer errors and 90% fewer tokens used. Box expects to make the feature available early next year to all Enterprise Advance customers. The system combines Nemotron’s open-weight models with Box’s existing metadata and permission controls; Box cites lawyers as one possible beneficiary, since the tool could make it easier to find related clauses and precedents even when wording varies.

Sources: TechCrunch

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Uber said on an earnings call that third-party AI agents booked only four rides during its busiest week in October, the week of Halloween. On Uber Eats, agents placed around 500 orders, compared with approximately 320 million combined rides and orders across the platform and its delivery service, the company said.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described adoption as “very, very early and very limited,” but said Uber hopes to see more traction and is open to working with AI companies. He also said booking a ride in the app takes an average of 50 seconds, while reordering food takes 90 seconds, potentially limiting the time-saving benefit of agents. Uber is also developing its own tools, including Uber Eats’ Cart Assistant.

Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge

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AT&T has integrated its Connected Life home security system with Gemini for Home. The company says the product is the first home security system to integrate with Google Home Premium, allowing the AI to describe events captured by cameras, search recordings with natural-language questions and provide daily summaries of activity inside and outside the home. The features are available only with AT&T’s $29.99-per-month professional Connected Life monitoring plan. AT&T has also added the ability to automatically arm or disarm the system based on the user’s proximity to the home. Connected Life launched in partnership with Google and Abode and now uses Google’s Home APIs for AI-powered features.

Sources: The Verge

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