🗞️In this edition

• Sora 2 arrives with new social platform

• Workflow Wednesday #39 ‘Smart Automation’

• Playground brings AI-powered app building to phones

• In other AI news –

  • Microsoft tests Copilot avatars with human-like expressions

  • Amazon launches new Echo lineup powered by Alexa+

  • Meta acquires Rivos to strengthen in-house AI chip efforts

  • 4 must-try AI tools

OpenAI launches Sora 2 with TikTok-style AI video platform

♨️News –  OpenAI has introduced Sora 2, its new audio and video generator, along with a social app also called Sora. The app, available on iOS in the U.S. and Canada, lets users create AI-generated clips of themselves and friends and share them in a feed similar to TikTok.

👨‍💻Fast facts – 

• Sora 2 produces more realistic videos by better following the laws of physics.

• A “cameos” feature allows users to place their likeness into generated videos after a one-time identity check.

• Users can share likeness permissions with friends, enabling collaborative clips.

• The app is invite-only at launch, while ChatGPT Pro subscribers can access Sora 2 Pro without an invite.

• OpenAI says the app will be free to use, with charges only during peak demand.

🤓Open Tools POV – This move puts OpenAI in direct competition with platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. The challenge will be whether its safeguards are strong enough to prevent misuse of people’s likenesses.

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This Week in Workflow Wednesday #39: Smart Automation

Smart Automation in Action: Lead Generation That Verifies Itself with Hunter.io

Step 1: Automate Lead Discovery

Objective: Use Hunter.io’s AI-powered Domain Search to automatically uncover decision-makers.

1. Sign Up for Hunter.io

• Create a free account (25 searches/month).

• If you need more volume, the premium plan is affordable at $34/month.

2. Use “Domain Search”

• Type in a company’s website (e.g., stripe.com).

Hunter automatically pulls all …we break it all down in this week’s issue, along with 2 other AI workflows.

Nothing’s new AI tool brings vibe coding to smartphone apps

☕News –  Nothing has introduced Playground, a new AI tool that lets users build apps by typing out simple text prompts. For now, it only supports small widgets such as a flight tracker or meeting reminder, but the company sees it as the start of a bigger shift in how smartphone software is created.

👨‍💻Fast facts – 

• Playground apps run inside Nothing’s Essential Apps platform.

• Users can create widgets from scratch or adapt existing ones.

• Technical users have the option to edit the code for more control.

• Full-screen apps are not yet supported due to technical limits.

• The launch follows Nothing’s $200 million funding round led by Tiger Global.

🤓Open Tools POV – Nothing is trying to carve out a space where AI-driven app creation becomes mainstream. Its challenge will be proving that “vibe coding” can stay secure while drawing enough developers and users to make the ecosystem work. 

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📢 What else is happening?

• Microsoft is giving Copilot AI faces you can chat with // Copilot Portraits provides 40 stylized human avatars that make expressions during voice conversations

• Amazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its AI, Alexa+ // To showcase the AI’s capabilities, Amazon is releasing four new Echo devices with improved processing power and memory: the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11

• Meta Is Said to Acquire Chips Startup Rivos to Push AI Effort // Meta is acquiring Rivos to bolster its internal semiconductor development and control more of its infrastructure for artificial intelligence work 

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. Chaindesk - A no-code platform that allows users to create custom AI chatbots trained on their own data

2. Iconik AI - A tool that helps users generate stunning app icons for Android, iOS, and web apps without any design skills

3. Fill3d - A virtual staging tool that brings your empty room to life with photorealistic furniture

4. Jason AI - A tool for automating B2B conversations and bookings