Need to Know News - September 18th, 2024
In this week's Need to Know News edition...Silicon Valley titans are going all in on AI agents...Snapchat announces new AI features...one Hollywood studio goes against the grain and embraces AI...plus, a whole lot more!
AI In Action
Copilot Pages is Microsoft’s New Collaborative AI Playground for Businesses
Microsoft is shaking up the world of collaborative work with its new Copilot Pages feature. This innovative canvas harnesses the power of AI to create a dynamic, interactive workspace. With Copilot Pages, teams can work together in real-time, leveraging Microsoft's Copilot chatbot to pull in data and responses from various sources. The result? Editable pages that evolve as the team collaborates.
Jared Spataro, Microsoft's VP of AI at Work, calls it a game-changer. "It's an entirely new work pattern," he says, "multiplayer, human to AI to human collaboration." The feature, which starts rolling out to Microsoft 365 Copilot customers today, is part of a broader AI push. This includes Copilot agents that automate tasks and act as virtual colleagues, as well as AI enhancements across popular Office apps.
HubSpot Rolls Out AI-Powered Marketing Tools
HubSpot is making waves in the marketing world with the launch of "Breeze" - a suite of AI-powered tools designed to streamline marketing, sales, and customer service. Breeze includes three main components: a personalized AI assistant called Copilot, workflow-automating Agents, and data-enriching Intelligence.
Karen Ng, HubSpot's VP of Product, emphasizes the importance of human oversight in the AI content generation process. "We definitely think a lot about the data sources…and then also understand your business," she says. While Breeze aims to boost efficiency, Ng acknowledges that "we really do need eyes on it still."
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Snap is Redesigning Snapchat and Adding New AI Powers
Snapchat is getting a major facelift, and AI is at the heart of it. The popular messaging app is introducing a slew of new AI-powered features, starting with "My Selfie" for Snapchat+ subscribers. This tool lets users remix their selfies with AI, creating imaginative poses and situations.
Snap is also revamping the app's design to make it more user-friendly. They're combining chats and Stories into a single view, and the Snap Map is moving to the "chat" tab. Spotlight and Stories will merge into a "Watch" feed that recommends content using algorithms.
Air Force’s ChatGPT-like AI Pilot Draws 80K Users in Initial Months
The Air Force and Space Force are embracing the power of AI. In a new pilot program, they've launched NIPRGPT, a ChatGPT-like tool that's already attracted over 80,000 users in just a few months. Airmen and guardians from various fields are using it for everything from content creation to coding.
But here's what's really interesting: most users aren't just asking simple questions. They're using a framework called RAG to tailor the tool to their specific roles. As Alexis Bonnell, AFRL's CIO, puts it, "people can now be more positively entrepreneurial."
Salesforce’s Agentic AI Platform 'Agentforce' is Set to Transform Business Automation
Powered by advanced AI, these autonomous agents can handle a wide range of tasks, from customer support to complex workflows. The secret sauce? Atlas, a sophisticated reasoning and learning engine that continuously adapts to each company's unique needs.
Agentforce taps into Salesforce's massive customer database, allowing agents to deliver highly personalized support. Early adopters like Wiley and OpenTable are already seeing impressive results - faster case resolution, reduced handling times.
Oracle Launches Over 50 AI Agents for Business Use
These intelligent assistants can handle everything from shift scheduling to supply chain insights, contract approvals to sales communications. It's a sign that generative AI is growing up, moving beyond simple chatbots to become true work partners.
At the Frontier of AI
Microsoft, BlackRock to launch $30 billion fund for AI infrastructure
Their goal is to invest in the infrastructure needed to fuel the AI revolution. We're talking specialized data centers and energy projects to power the most advanced AI models. Withh debt financing, this partnership could mobilize up to a staggering $100 billion in total investment. MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed firm, will be a key player as a general partner. And Nvidia, the AI chip expert, is bringing its technical know-how to the table. Most of the investments will be right here in the US, with the rest in partner countries.
AI Digital Employees: 11x Raises $24M to Automate Sales and Marketing Operations
Led by Benchmark, with a star-studded lineup of investors, the round will fuel 11x's mission to create autonomous digital workers. Think AI-powered sales reps and phone agents, handling tasks at lightning speed and massive scale.
11x's Head of Growth says, "Since Salesforce was invented in 1999, the accumulation of specialized GTM software in teams has led to fragmented systems and bloated operational costs." By targeting hiring budgets instead of SaaS spend, 11x is betting big on the future of work - one where digital employees are the norm, not the exception.
Study Finds 7 in 10 Organizations Now Use Marketing Technologies and AI
The Chief Marketing Officer Survey by Duke University has revealed that a staggering 75% of organizations are now embracing marketing technologies, or "martech." Despite this widespread adoption, companies are only utilizing about 56% of the tools they've invested in, indicating significant untapped potential.
The real game-changer is generative AI. While it currently only accounts for 7% of marketing activities, its impact is already significant, with a 5% boost in sales productivity, a 6% jump in customer satisfaction, and a 7% slash in marketing overhead costs.
Lionsgate Inks Deal With AI Firm to Mine Its Massive Film and TV Library
Entertainment giant Lionsgate is teaming up with AI research firm Runway to harness the power of artificial intelligence. Runway will train an exclusive AI model on Lionsgate's vast library of films and TV shows, giving the studio a cutting-edge tool to enhance its creative process.
The partnership aims to help Lionsgate's filmmakers and talent augment their work, while also exploring cost-effective content creation opportunities. As Michael Burns, Lionsgate's vice chair, said "We view AI as a great tool for augmenting, enhancing and supplementing our current operations."
The move comes amidst growing interest in AI across Hollywood, even as the industry grapples with concerns over jobs, likeness rights, and legal implications.
For Runway, it's a chance to showcase how AI can be a transformative medium for artistic expression. As CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela says, "The best stories are yet to be told."
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