#product-launch

xAI is pushing Grok from chat into app and automation building. The beta combines Plan Mode, Imagine media generation, and a CLI for automations, and the launch post drew more than 53 million views.

At Google I/O 2026 on May 19, Google unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash—which outperforms Gemini 3.1 Pro across all benchmarks at 4× the speed and half the API cost—alongside Gemini Spark, a 24/7 personal AI agent that works in the background and can be reached directly via Gmail. Spark enters beta for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US starting the week of May 26.

OpenAI launched a personal finance preview for ChatGPT Pro users in the US on May 15, powered by Plaid to connect over 12,000 financial institutions. Users get a live dashboard of spending, investments, and subscriptions analyzed by GPT-5.5.

Anthropic and KPMG announced a global strategic alliance on May 19, embedding Claude into KPMG's Digital Gateway platform for all 276,000 employees, with priority rollout in tax, private equity, and cybersecurity workflows.

Google unveiled Gemini Spark, a 24/7 personal AI agent running on Google Cloud VMs, and announced the biggest Search overhaul in 25 years with AI agents as the new default for over 1 billion AI Mode users.

Google launched Gemini 3.5 Flash at I/O 2026 on May 19, making it generally available the same day. It outperforms Gemini 3.1 Pro on coding and agentic benchmarks while running 4x faster at 40% lower cost.

Google unveiled two types of Gemini-powered smart glasses at I/O 2026: audio glasses that deliver spoken AI assistance and display glasses that overlay information in your field of view. Launching this fall in partnership with Samsung, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker.

Google announced the $100/month AI Ultra subscription at I/O 2026, featuring Gemini Spark—a 24/7 AI agent that navigates apps and executes tasks autonomously. The plan includes 5x higher usage limits, 20TB cloud storage, and YouTube Premium. The former top-tier plan dropped from $250 to $200.

Google revealed Gemini Omni at I/O 2026—a "world model" that processes text, audio, images, and video together to simulate physical environments. Unlike Sora or Runway, it lets users edit footage through natural language and maintains scene consistency across modifications. It replaces Veo in the Gemini app immediately.

OpenAI launched Codex in the ChatGPT iOS and Android app, turning phones into a remote control for Codex sessions running on a desktop or devbox. The preview rolls out across all plans including Free, with 4 million weekly Codex users.

Google DeepMind's Genie world model now connects to Street View, letting users simulate real-world locations as interactive 360-degree environments. The integration also helps Waymo train on rare driving scenarios.

Google unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash at I/O 2026, combining frontier performance with agentic capabilities. The new Managed Agents API provisions a full sandboxed agent environment with a single API call.