News Roundup: Top 5 News of the Week – From TikTok’s Ban to New AI Tools from Google and OpenAI
Key Takeaways
- TikTok has been effectively banned in the US. Users are no longer able to access the app.
- Google has become the first company to be investigated under the UK's DMCC Act for abuse of its dominant position.
- Google Gemini will now be available to all users for free.
- Microsoft has launched Copilot Chat for businesses to automate all mundane, repetitive tasks.
- OpenAI adds a Task' reminder feature on ChatGPT.
Missed out on the important headlines of the week? Don't worry we got you covered. Here's a quick roundup of the 5 most important headlines from this week.
TikTok Goes Offline for US UsersTikTok goes offline for US users at around 10:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. Users trying to access the app are shown this message:
A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned."
Trump is yet to take office hence it is currently not in his power to halt the ban. Trump, who previously supported the ban as a president, has openly said that he wants to save the app. In June, he even posted a TikTok video of his own, confirming his stance.
So, it is very likely that once he takes office, TikTok might see some relief, a 90-day extension perhaps.
Several lawmakers had urged Biden to delay the ban. But in that case, he needs to prove to Congress that the parties involved in purchasing the company have made significant progress towards that deal. And as we know, Bytedance has been adamantly against the sale up until now so procuring such documents will be impossible.
Now, the reason we say ByteDance has been against sale up until now" brings us to the second possibility. China and ByteDance, after being against selling TikTok for the entire year, might be contemplating selling at least a part of the US version to Elon Musk.
There hasn't been any official confirmation of the news so far but there are obvious reasons to believe it. It's a win-win deal for both.
TikTok will be able to keep its valuable US market by handing over the reins to someone who is closely connected to Trump, a TikTok supporter. While Elon Musk who identifies himself as a defender of free speech will get to strengthen his position by saving a company whose ban has sparked massive protests for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights.
Google Becomes the First Company to Be Investigated Under UK's New Antitrust LawGoogle is being investigated by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) under their newly launched Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC). This law aims to prevent any company from gaining an unfair competitive advantage in digital industries. The law officially went into effect on January 1, 2025.
The current investigation against Google is focused on its search services. It will seek to determine whether Google has strategic market status" (SMS). In case it does, several changes will be imposed on how the company runs business in the country.
Note: SMS refers to those companies that have a turnover of more than 1 billion in the UK or more than 25 billion annually globally.
Google's dominant position in the country has become a matter of concern for the authorities. More than 90% of all general queries in the UK are directed through Google. Similarly, its advertising tool is used by more than 200,000 advertisers in the country.
Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, feels that there should be a level playing field for everyone in the industry to foster economic growth. Hence, big companies like Google need to be under check.
Google has addressed the news and said it has no issue with the investigation. It's more than happy to comply with the authorities and see what changes are to be made.
We look forward to engaging constructively and laying out how our services benefit UK consumers and businesses, as well as the trade-offs inherent in any new regulation" the statement read.
Read More: Google Has Illegal Monopoly over Internet Search, US Judge Rules
Google Gemini Is Now Available for Free on Google Workspace SuiteYou can now access Google Gemini from all the Workspace Suite apps such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Meet for free.
Up until now, access to Gemini through these apps was restricted to subscribers of Google One AI Premium, which is priced at $19.99/month. But now, anyone can reap the benefits of AI for free.
While this is great news, you should also note that Google simultaneously increased the price of all Workspace suite plans by around $2. For instance, the starter plan went from $12 to $14.
Now the question is whether Gemini is worth the extra $2. The answer is a loud YES!
- For example, when you integrate Gemini with Gmail, it can summarize long emails so that you don't have to go through the trouble of reading them. It can also offer you suggestions on how to write a response to that email.
- On Docs, Gemini can give you tips on how to improve your writing.
- OMeet, Gemini can help you auto-translate the speech, take notes, and improve how you appear on the screen by fixing lighting issues.
On Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out an interesting new feature called Copilot Chat that lets you create AI agents to take over daily mundane tasks. This feature is integrated with Microsoft 365, allowing businesses to automate multiple types of tasks.
Here's how these agents can automate all mundane, repetitive tasks.
- You can make it double up as a customer service agent, handling your customer queries while you are away.
- You can also make it to do market research, prepare for meetings, write documents, analyze Excel data, summarize documents, and improve PowerPoint slides. `
- For added security, Copilot Chat can also be integrated with the Copilot Control System which will allow the business to manage access and usage of their AI bots.
The service is free for now and can easily be created through natural languages like English and Mandarin. However, some features like creating PowerPoint slides and transcribing Teams calls require an additional $30 Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
Why Is Microsoft Launching a Free Copilot Chat?The company has invested a lot in its AI venture but there have been concerns about the rate of adoption. Hence, Microsoft is trying to push its uptake by offering it for free. Whether the service will remain free in the future or not remains a question.
OpenAI's New Task" Feature Lets You Schedule WorkOpenAI has rolled out an interesting new feature called Tasks" for ChatGPT that will allow users to schedule tasks like reminders, updates, and alerts. Scheduling the task is pretty easy - just use simple natural language and enter a command like you'll enter a search query.
For example, you can say Please remind me to cancel my Netflix subscription this Sunday". That's it, your job is done. ChatGPT will remind you to cancel your subscription on time.
Not just one-off reminders - you can also schedule repeated reminders to be sent every day. Once done, ChatGPT will automatically keep doing it unless you ask it to stop.
This comes after OpenAI launched a Search feature to compete with Google. Another interesting feature is that based on the interaction you are having with the bot, it might suggest some task automation. It's up to you whether you want to accept these suggestions or not.
The Tasks" feature is currently in beta mode and is slowly being rolled out to paid subscribers which includes users on the Plus, Team, and Pro plans. By the end of the year, it might also be extended to free users.
For those who are eligible to use this feature, you need to select GPT-4o with scheduled tasks" when you are picking the model. You can set up tasks through any platform, but they can only be managed and modified through the web version.
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