The demands of regulated industries helped this startup raise $8M for its conversational AI approach

As conversational AI begins to take over the world, chatbots are being given a new lease on life. However, there are clear hazards on the road ahead. Parcel delivery giant DPD recently had to disable part of its online support chatbot after it swore at a customer. A user managed to convince the cha

Google’s new Gemini-powered conversational tool helps advertisers quickly build Search campaigns

Google announced today that Gemini, its family of multimodal large language models, now powers the conversational experience within the Google Ads platform. With this new update, it will be easier for advertisers to quickly build and scale Search ad campaigns. The conversational experience is desig

Google Chrome gains AI features, including a writing helper, theme creator, and tab organizer

Google’s Chrome web browser is getting an infusion of AI technology in the latest release. The company announced today it’s soon adding a trio of new AI-powered features to Chrome for Mac and Windows, including a way to smartly organize your tabs, customize your theme, and get help when

Turn headwinds into opportunity in 2024

The founders I work with know I think about John Coltrane a lot. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how he transformed jazz with a harmonic progression known as “Coltrane changes.” Popularized on his 1960 album “Giant Steps,” Coltrane changes are characterized by rapid a

The two faces of AI

W elcome to the technewss Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It's inspired by the daily technewss+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. We all make mistakes. But sometimes we forget that technology does, too — especially when it

This Week in AI: OpenAI finds a partner in higher ed

"">Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here's a handy roundup of recent stories in the world of machine learning, along with notable research and experiments we didn't cover on their own. This week in AI, OpenAI signed up its

The rabbit r1 will use Perplexity AI’s tech to answer your queries

One of the standout gadgets of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the rabbit r1, will use Perplexity AI’s tech to answer user queries, both companies said in an announcement. Perplexity noted that the first 100,000 r1 buyers will get one year of Perplexity Pro for free. We

OpenAI signs up its first higher education customer, Arizona State

OpenAI has its first higher education customer: Arizona State University (ASU). Today, ASU announced that it’s collaborating with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT, OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot, to the university’s researchers, staff and faculty. Starting in February, ASU wl

Microsoft makes its AI-powered reading tutor free

Microsoft today made Reading Coach, its AI-powered tool that provides learners with personalized reading practice, available at no cost to anyone with a Microsoft account. As of this morning, Reading Coach is accessible on the web in preview — a Windows app is forthcoming. And soon (in late s

Can Recraft’s foundational model for graphic design swerve the AI controversy?

Controversy continues to surround the world of AI-generated imagery, and even as AI-generated images used in elections became a source of concern this week at the World Economic Forum, startups continue to plow the new furrow of AI tools for creators. The latest is Recraft, an AI graphic design ge

Android Auto is getting new AI-powered features, including suggested replies and actions

As Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S24 line today, Google announced a series of new AI features that are launching for Android Auto, which is the secondary interface that brings the look and functions of a smartphone, like navigation and messaging, to your vehicle’s infotainment screen. Googl

Google introduces ‘Circle to Search,’ a new way to search from anywhere on Android using gestures

Alongside Samsung’s launch event today, Google announced a new way to search on Android phones dubbed “Circle to Search.” The feature will allow users to search from anywhere on their phone by using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping. The addition, Google

Google adds AI-powered overviews for multisearch in Lens

In addition to a new gesture-powered search feature for Android devices, Google today also introduced an AI-powered addition to its visual search capabilities in Google Lens. Starting today, users will be able to point their camera or upload a photo or screenshot to Lens, then ask a question about

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 will feature Google Gemini-powered AI features

Gemini, Google’s cutting-edge generative AI model family, is coming to Samsung’s new flagship smartphone — the Galaxy S24. Google and Samsung made the announcement to coincide with the Galaxy S24’s unveiling this afternoon. On Galaxy S24 phones, Gemini — specifically G