OpenAI is readying ChatGPT Business, a new subscription tier “for professionals who need more control over their data as well as enterprises seeking to manage their end users.” Pricing plans have yet to be disclosed for ChatGPT Business, which will be rolling out in the coming months, but OpenAI said it will adhere to the company’s API’s data usage policies, which means that by default end users’ data would not be used to train its models. The business plan was mentioned as part of an announcement disclosing that all ChatGPT users now have the ability to turn off their chat history. Continue reading OpenAI Previews ChatGPT Business, Unveils Privacy Controls

Auto-GPT, an open source app that uses OpenAI’s text-generating models, is currently generating a great deal of social media attention. The program can act somewhat autonomously in that it creates its own feedback loop, asking itself a series of questions to help build a more nuanced and complete response to a text prompt. In short, something that would take a user multiple prompts to produce the desired information using ChatGPT could be accomplished using a single request of Auto-GPT, which could independently explore a subject before spitting back a comprehensive response. Continue reading Auto-GPT Generates Social Sizzle, Ushers in Era of AI Agents

More than 3 million users are now using the $3.99-per-month Snapchat+ subscription service that launched last June. The premium offering got a boost when the company added early access to its AI chatbot, called My AI. Snap will soon make My AI available free to Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users, the company announced Wednesday at its annual partner summit in Santa Monica, California. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told attendees the company is targeting 10 million users as a “medium-term goal” for Snapchat+, which in addition to the U.S. is available in the UK, Germany and United Arab Emirates. Continue reading ‘My AI’ Will Be Free for All as Snapchat+ Hits 3M Paying Subs

Netflix followed its triumphant Q4 with mixed results for Q1, the first quarter under new co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. The period ending March 31 produced profit of $1.31 billion, down 18 percent year over year. Revenue was up 3.6 percent to $8.16 billion from $7.87 billion in Q1 2022. Paid sharing was launched in four countries in Q1, but the company delayed the broader rollout that was to come with a global crackdown on password piggy-backers, which was originally scheduled for Q1. The wider initiative, which includes the U.S., is now set for Q2. In addition, Netflix announced it would shutter its DVD rent-by-mail program. Continue reading Netflix Delays Password-Sharing Fees, Cancels DVD Rentals

Having survived global theater closures due to COVID-19, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a change in ownership, MoviePass is back. Informally known as MoviePass 2.0, the company has launched a website for MoviePass Beta that says it is “launching to the public summer 2023.” The resurrection of MoviePass appears well-timed to take advantage of pent-up demand for the moviegoing experience. An August 2022 waitlist, opened for only five days, experienced volume sufficient to crash the server. Prospective subscribers are told to sign up for email advisories of further availability. Continue reading MoviePass Beta Preps for Summer Launch with Limited Tests

Peacock struck a deal with Meta Platforms that will allow its subscribers to view movies, TV shows and sports in virtual reality on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. That includes MLB and NFL games, “all in VR on your own giant, personal screen.” VR will be available to all Peacock subscribers, starting with the ad-subsidized $4.99 per month Premium tier, but those who sign-up with a qualifying Quest 2 or Quest Pro before April 11, 2024 will be eligible to receive Peacock Premium for 12 months at no additional cost. Those who had qualifying Meta headsets registered on or before April 11, 2023 will be eligible for three free months of Peacock Premium. Continue reading Peacock Now Streaming VR Content on Meta Quest Headsets

Twitter appears to be angling for a slice of the newsletter market, with tweets of up to 10,000 words now available to Twitter Blue subscribers in the U.S. That’s more than double the 4,000-character limit paid accounts were extended in February. Those using the platform’s free tier are still allowed only 280-character tweets. The lengthy posts are intended to help users monetize through subscriptions, which can be priced at $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 per month. In addition to the character cap increase, Twitter Blue subscribers will also gain access to support for bold and italics text formatting. Continue reading Twitter Pushes Subscriptions and Increases Its Character Cap

Gen Z creators keen to monetize content are increasingly turning to Fanfix, which has amassed about 10 million users — among them 3,000 creators — since its August 2021 launch. Active creators are said to average about $70,000 per year, and the platform itself reportedly commanded an eight-figure purchase price by beauty accelerator SuperOrdinary in June 2022. Fanfix requires 10,000 followers to start an account, which means creators will have to cultivate a base elsewhere before applying to join. All content is paywalled, with account holders choosing their own rates, between $5 and $50 per month. Continue reading Gen Z Creators Find New Revenue Opportunities with Fanfix

YouTube Premium is upping is value proposition, adding new features including an enhanced bitrate for web and iOS, SharePlay so Apple users can watch together on FaceTime, and the ability to manage queues using mobile devices. The broader functionality is designed to impress upon potential subscribers that the $12 per month service offers more than ad-free viewing. YouTube says it now has 80 million Premium members “and trialers” taking advantage of a “more immersive YouTube experience.” In the coming weeks, enriched 1080p HD video will be available for Premium accounts first on iOS and then on the web. Continue reading YouTube Premium Adds Value to Platform with New Features

Popular social platform Snapchat is improving its AI chatbot as part of a larger set of updates (that includes an age filter and parental insights) and recently launched premium features (such as generative AI profiles backgrounds). The chatbot, My AI, was launched in February for Snapchat+ subscribers. Snap says it has since received feedback of inappropriate responses from My AI, which was built using OpenAI’s GPT technology, but claims the problems have been due in large part to users trying to “trick the chatbot into providing responses that do not conform to our guidelines.” The new tools are designed to keep My AI’s responses in check. Continue reading Snapchat Adds Safety Moderation Tools to Improve Chatbot

Substack, the web-based publishing and discovery platform, has opened an investment round to its writers and potentially other retail investors. Founded in 2017, the company has already raised more than $85 million, most recently from venture firm Andreessen Horowitz and entrepreneur Audrey Gelman. But last year, in a rough economic climate, it reportedly came up dry and is now asking the many writers who rely on it to put skin in the game. Based on early response, Wednesday’s announced goal of $2 million was upped to $5 million the next day. Continue reading Substack ‘Community Round’ Outperforms Its Funding Goal

On the heels of its success debuting the new Bing AI search engine, Microsoft has revamped Teams, promising twice the performance using half the memory resources and allowing users to appear as 3D avatars in video meetings. Teams now features AI and the interface has been redesigned. For now, the new Teams is available only to those who opt-in to a public preview for Windows users, though Microsoft plans to make it more widely available (including on Apple devices) later this  year. In January, Microsoft reported Teams had 280 million monthly active users, up from 250 million in July 2021. Continue reading Microsoft Upgrades Teams with Avatars, AI, Improved Speed

New York-based Runway is releasing its Gen 2 system, which generates video clips of up to a few seconds from text or image-based user prompts. The company, which specializes in artificial intelligence-enhanced film and editing tools, has opened a waitlist for the new product that will be accessed through a private Discord channel by an audience grown over time. Last year, Meta Platforms and Google both previewed text-to-video software in the research stage, but neither detailed plans to make their platforms public. Bloomberg called Runway’s limited launch “the most high-profile instance of such text-to-video generation outside of a lab.” Continue reading Runway Opens Waitlist for Its Gen 2 Text-to-Video AI System

The waitlist has officially opened for Meta Verified checkmarks on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. The blue checkmarks, which cost $12 per month on the web and $15 for mobile apps, were first introduced in Australia and New Zealand last month. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram’s Meta channel Friday that in addition to a badge, Meta Verified offers “proactive impersonation protection and direct access to customer support.” To be verified, users must be at least 18 years old, agree to two-factor authentication and provide a government-issued photo ID. Continue reading Facebook and Instagram Users Can Sign Up for Meta Verified

Netflix is ramping up its game plans, with 40 new titles in the pipeline for release in 2023. In total, the company has 16 games being developed internally, and 70 underway with outside partners. These range from casual challenges to triple A adventures, according to Netflix, which says its goal is a broad portfolio “because we believe everyone can find joy in games if they discover the one that is right for them.” Netflix has brought 55 titles to market since its first releases in late 2021, making them available as part of its monthly streaming subscription fee. Continue reading Netflix Expands Games Push, Announces New Titles for 2023