As the tech sector continues to weather economic headwinds, Apple has reportedly decided to slow down its hiring efforts and postpone handing out promotions and bonuses to existing staff.

The world’s most valuable company is also reportedly keeping a close eye on travel spending and office attendance, as part of an effort to be more “prudent and thoughtful on spending”.

Unlike Meta, which has just announced 10,000 more job cuts, these actions have been taken to reduce how many workers the company let go. However, as demands for certain Apple products slump, it’s uncertain whether Apple will be able to avoid layoffs further down the line.

Apple Extends Hiring Freeze and Delays Payouts For Existing Staff

Apple has announced a series of cost-cutting measures to remain economically viable, as tech stocks continue to tumble and the industry deals with one of its biggest downturns in years.

According to sources in Bloomberg, one of Apple’s major belt-tightening measures involves extending its hiring freeze, which was first implemented back in 2022. This temporary pause on recruiting will now apply to other areas of the company and will suspend hiring for new roles as well as keep vacancies open when workers choose to leave.

Aside from hiring adjournments, Apple is also postponing handing out gratuity to its existing employees. Specifically, the iPhone manufacturer has decided to push back issuing bonuses and promotions from April to October in most corporate divisions, changing it from a bi-annual to an annual practice.

“We’re being very prudent and thoughtful on spending, and we continue to be very deliberate when it comes to hiring.” – Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO

As part of Apple’s CEO Tim Cooks’ vision to be more prudent and thoughtful when it comes to spending, he’s also requiring the company’s senior vice president to sign off on all travel budgets and is doubling down on the company’s three-day-a-week mandate by scrutinizing office attendance.

But changes aren’t just affecting current and prospective staff members. In January of this year, Tim Cook himself requested a pay cut of 40% this year, reducing his annual total compensation to $49 million.

How Long Can Apple Avoid Making Cuts?

As the tech industry continues to be squeezed by escalating inflation rates and the aftermath of the pandemic boom, major firms – from Google to Amazon – have been forced to axe headcounts to remain buoyant.

Yet, as layoffs in the sector exceed 130,000 so far Apple has been able to curb the trend, in part due to its ability to successfully drive up efficiency and productivity and in part due to its profitable business model, which has allowed it to secure a smartphone market share of 48%.

However, even as Apple’s net worth exceeds an eye-watering $3 trillion, solidifying its position as the world’s most valuable company, it may not be able to avoid layoffs forever.

According to Fortune, despite relatively healthy forecasts, Apple’s revenue declined by 5% over the holiday quarter as demands for Macs and wearable devices wave. As a result, Apple decided was forced to cut a large number of contractors last month, marking its second round of layoffs of temporary staff in less than a year.

By cutting back costs where possible, there’s no debate that Apple is making a noble effort to retain its permanent staff. However, as the company continues to contend with the same roadblocks as the rest of the industry, there’s no guarantee on how long this will last.

The winter of layoffs continues, as Meta announces another round of layoffs that will see 10,000 jobs cut from the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, 2023 is the “year of efficiency” for Meta. So far, that has meant scrapping ideas and firing employees at a staggering rate, echoing mass layoffs at other major tech companies.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like these cuts are going to stop anytime soon, either, with the tech CEO noting that these kinds of economic turmoil could “continue for many years.”

More Layoffs at Meta Confirmed

According to a blog post from the company, Meta is announcing that it will be cutting more jobs from its workforce. It follows rumors from last week that layoffs were incoming for Meta employees.

“Overall, we expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t yet hired.” – Mark Zuckerberg

As for what these layoffs will look like for the Meta staff, Zuckerberg explained in detail exactly what everyone should expect from the news.

“Here’s the timeline you should expect: over the next couple of months, org leaders will announce restructuring plans focused on flattening our orgs, canceling lower priority projects, and reducing our hiring rates.” – Mark Zuckerberg

On top of all that, Zuckerberg noted that Meta would be reducing its recruiting team substantially, considering their necessity is limited given the lack of new positions on the horizon.

Meta’s “Year of Efficiency”

When Meta laid off 11,000 employees in November, Mark Zuckerberg also announced that 2023 would be the “year of efficiency” noting that the company would aim to “flatten” the organization in service of a better company.

Zuckerberg continued with this lexicon, using the word “efficiency” or “efficient” approximately 20 times in his blog post about the layoffs.

“As I’ve talked about efficiency this year, I’ve said that part of our work will involve removing jobs — and that will be in service of both building a leaner, more technical company and improving our business performance to enable our long-term vision.” – Mark Zuckerberg

The year of efficiency has been a notable departure from just 18 months ago, when the controversial CEO announced that the company would be changing its name to Meta in hopes of ushering in the metaverse, a virtual world where people could interact like the real world.

Now, though, the recession has made this pipe dream that much more unlikely, particularly considering Meta has lost almost $14 billion in the process. Suffice to say, these layoffs and cost cutting measures are likely just the start of some serious restructuring over at Meta.

Tech giant Meta, which already has a portfolio that includes some of the world’s most popular social media platforms, is reportedly working on a new, decentralized social app with the codename “P92”. 

Although the plans are vague at the moment – the project seems to be much closer to the ideation phase than completion – reports suggest that users would be expected to log into the new platform with their Instagram account credentials.  

With decentralized social media platforms like Mastodon already up and running, Facebook’s userbase declining for the first time in its history last year and industry stalwarts like Twitter floundering under chaotic management, it feels like there’s never been a better time to make a move like this.

Meta’s New Platform: What We Know

The news that Meta has started a new project – codename P92 – was first reported by the financial news site MoneyControl this week.  

“We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests” a spokesperson told the publication. 

The project is being headed up by Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, and will require your existing login credentials for the image-sharing platform when you sign-up.

A source close to the project also told MoneyControl that “the plan as of now is that the MVP (minimum viable product) will definitely allow our users to broadcast posts to people on other servers”, but admitted the company is yet to decide whether to allow users “to follow and view the content of people on other servers.”

ActivityPub: the Future of Social Media?

Meta’s new app is going to make use of ActivityPub, a decentralized social networking protocol that powers Mastodon.

The once-small-scale platform was flooded with new sign-ups after Elon Musk’s chaotic acquisition of Twitter, and now has around 1.8 million active users.

Other websites exploring how they can use the ActivityPub Protocol include Flicker, Tumblr, and Flipboard.

It’s not the only protocol being used for the purpose of decentralization, however. The Matrix protocol, for instance, is utilized by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s new app BlueSky and open source communications platform Rocket.chat. 

Meta: Twitter’s Newest Competitor?

With the tumult at Twitter unlikely to die down any time soon, Meta may see this as an opportunity to capitalize on the desire for a new social media platform with similar functionality. 

It’s likely too risky to try and build this into existing Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook in its entirety, so a brand-new, text-based content app seems like a logical step. 

With Twitter alternatives like Mastodon still in their infancy and Facebook experiencing a user decline for the first time in the company’s almost 20-year history, the fact this “secret” project has suddenly become public at this time could be pre-meditated.

Regardless of how it got to press, we may look back at this news as one of the first real indications of a quantifiable paradigm shift away from traditional social media apps and towards decentralized social media platforms.

Google One is adding a new cyber surveillance feature that will allow users to monitor the dark web to see if their personal details have been included in a data breach.

The new feature, launched this week, will roll out to all Google One subscribers in the US, at no extra cost, as part of Google’s virtual personal network —VPN by Google One.

Google One VPN launched in late 2020, but was restricted to US subscribers on Android, with a minimum of 2TB storage. As of today, the virtual private network will be available to all Google One subscribers – plus five other people on your Google One plan, in 22 countries on Android, iOS, Windows and Mac.

What Is Google One VPN?

Google One VPN, known as ‘VPN by Google One’ is Google’s first virtual private network – a security measure designed to hide a user’s IP address, to prevent websites from collecting their data, tracking their location and monitoring their internet activity.

Before yesterday’s announcement, Google VPN was only available on Google One Premium 2TB plans, at an annual cost of $99.99. As of today, the VPN will be available on all Google One plans with 100GB Basic, from $1.99 per month.

With data breaches on the rise, and the VPN market becoming heavily competitive, Google needed to expand its offering in order to capitalize on the grow in demand. With 90% of businesses concerned about cyber security resilience, dark web surveillance may be the feature Google One users need to feel better protected.

How Does Google One’s VPN Dark Web Report Feature Work?

The Google One VPN dark web report is a new feature  that will allow all eligible users to scan the dark web for personal details to check if their information has been included in a data breach. The feature works by searching for personal details online like social security numbers, name, address, email and phone numbers – and notifying the user if their details have been found.

Online identity fraud due to information stolen through data breaches is an increasing problem that affects millions of people every year. A lot of this stolen info can be found on the dark web, a hard-to-reach part of the internet that requires a specialized browser to access and isn’t indexed by search engines.

According to Google, when users first enable the dark web report, they’ll be required to select and provide the information that they’d like to monitor on their your ‘monitoring profile’. If any information is found on the dark web, the user will be notified and given guidance on how to respond and best protect their information.

In addition to flagging dark web personal information, the report will also show related information that could be found in data breaches. While some users may be wary, Google assures that all information entered into the monitoring profile will be handled according to Google’s privacy policy, giving users the ability to delete or stop monitoring the information on their profile at any time.

Is Google One VPN Worth It?

If you’re a Google One subscriber in the US, the upgraded VPN will be a welcome addition to your toolkit – but as far as VPN’s go, Google One is about as trustworthy as any other VPN on the market. That said, with the VPN now available with plans from $1.99 per month, it will be certainly be one of the cheapest VPNs.

There are plenty of VPN options out there. The safest, according to our research, is NordVPN, but you can see how it compares to other top providers in our guide to the most secure VPNs in 2023 to make your own decision.

TikTok recently announced that it will be launching a new “Series” feature that will allow select creators to place exclusive videos behind a paywall for viewers to purchase.

The content can be bought through in-video links or through a creator’s profile, and with TikTokers being able to keep 100% of their earnings (after fees), it’s bound to provide lucrative opportunities to those creating content on the app.

If you’re interested in using TikTok’s new feature, this guide breaks down everything you need to know about Series, including how it works, its benefits, and its eligibility criteria.

TikTok Launches New Series Feature

If you’re currently capitalizing on TikTok’s profit-making potential, you’re in luck — it’s just become easier than ever to make money on the app.

This Tuesday, the short-form video app announced it would be rolling out a new Series feature that allows creators to post collections of up to 80 videos behind a paywall.

Each video is able to run for up to 20 minutes, bypassing the app’s current 10-minute video limit, and making it easier for creators to post a range of in-depth content from longer-form cooking demos to beauty tutorials.

“Developed with our community’s love of sharing authentic stories, expertise and experiences in mind, Series enables eligible creators to post Collections of premium content behind a paywall.” – Recent blog post from TikTok

Creators are able to place their own price on the paywall (as long as it’s somewhere between $0.99 and $189.99) and for a limited time, they will receive 100% of the money earned, after platform and processing fees and subtracted.

Through TikTok’s current Creator Fund, creators are currently only able to make around $0.02 to $0.04 for every 1,000 views they receive on the app. But now, the app’s new premium-style tier makes it possible for businesses and influencers to generate a more stable income from the app.

Who is eligible for TikTok Series?

At the current time, it’s unclear which content creators will be able to take part in TikTok Series. The app announced that applications to join the feature will be rolled out in the following months, so we recommend following TikTok’s newsroom to stay up to date.

TikTok Also Tries to Tackle Doom Scrolling for Minors

As the competition between major social media platforms heats up, and concerns over data handling privacy mount, Series isn’t the only feature TikTok has released in recent months.

Just last week, the Chinese-based company decided to impose a 60-minute time limit for minors using the platform to assuage concerns over its addictive behavior. The warning represents a major turning point for the app, which has previously been accused of not taking the mental health of its users seriously.

However, since the safeguard is able to be bypassed by teens that want to continue scrolling, it has received backlash from psychologists like Jelena Kecmanovic who told the media outlet NPR the new measure is “not enough.”

TikTok has also recently launched a security measure called “Project Clover” to quell concerns that users and state officials have over its data-sharing practices with China.

But with a user base that’s currently sitting over 1 billion, one thing is for certain. No matter how much hot water TikTok gets into, nothing will stop creators and users from flocking to the app in droves.

Amazon has won a proposed class action lawsuit raised by almost 7,000 workers that claim the company should have reimbursed them for the cost of working remotely during Covid-19.

The US District Judge said the case was lost because the main plaintiff, David Williams, failed to prove that Amazon had a policy that didn’t allow expenses like internet and cell phone to be covered.

With thousands of Amazon staffers recently expressing disdain about the company’s return-to-office mandate, it’s not the first time that the company and its workers have come to blows over remote work. Here’s what we know so far.

Amazon Workers Attempt to Claim Back WFH Expenses

As discontent among Amazon’s workforce brews, almost 7,000 workers tried and failed to claim back home office expenses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The main plaintiff, David Williams, first sued Amazon in 2021 for failing to reimburse him and his fellow employees for costs associated with hybrid working —  like internet, personal phone use, and other services — despite this going against state laws. Williams then added class-action claims last year, after receiving backing from almost 7,000 of his co-workers.

The case was denied by US District Judge, Vincent Chhabria, as Williams wasn’t able to provide evidence that Amazon has a policy that prevented staff members from being compensated.

Chharbria also said that more than 600 of the proposed class members were reimbursed, an average of $66.49 by Amazon, while some received full compensation.

However, even though William’s case was blocked this time, his motion was denied without prejudice. This means that he’ll be able to file a renewed motion against the ecommerce company in the future.

Amazon Workers Are Striking Back

While William’s case hasn’t yet been met with success, the number of workers involved reveals how widespread discontent is about Amazon’s failure to reimburse a greater amount of WFH costs. But insufficient compensation isn’t the only thing its workforce are up in arms about.

After allowing its employees to work remotely since the start of the pandemic, Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, recently called for workers to return to the office, for at least three days a week from May 1.

In response, around 5,000 Amazonians have signed a petition calling for Jassy’s new mandate to be scrapped. Jaded workers also formed a breakaway Slack channel called “Remote Advocacy” to discuss the benefits of remote work as well as concerns regarding the CEO’s new policy.

However, despite widespread appeals from his workforce, Andy Jassy is still calling for a hybrid return to the office to improve collaboration opportunities and to make it easier to learn in person.

And as the company still reels from the biggest round of layoffs made in its 28-year history, it’s likely that driving up productivity by any means it thinks is necessary will continue to be a top priority going forward. It remains to be seen if refilling the office, with disgruntled workers, will achieve that aim.

The software company Atlassian has decided to cut 500 workers — equating to 5% of its workforce — as the firm funnels more resources into growth divisions like cloud computing.

The Trello and Jira owner broke the news to affected workers by email, just four months after Atlassian pledged to ramp up its hiring efforts last November.

However, with the company’s headcount more than tripling since 2019, it’s no surprise that the company has decided to follow in the footsteps of other tech firms that have made recent layoffs like Meta, Citigroup, and Wix.

Atlassian Lays Off 500 Workers to “Rebalance Priorities”

As the tech sector continues to contend with Covid-induced overhiring efforts and a bleak economic outlook, Atlassian has decided to cut 5% of its workforce.

The company’s co-founders and joint CEOs, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, informed workers about this decision by email, explaining that the cuts were about rebalancing the team to “better position Atlassian for the long term”.

“We have made the difficult decision to rebalance our team to better position Atlassian for the long term” – Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, Co-Founders and CEOs of Atlassian

“A month back we reorganized our company to better reflect operating in a changing and difficult macroeconomic environment” the CEOs write in their blog post, before adding “while it helped us streamline work, we need to go further in rebalancing the skills we require to run faster at our company priorities”.

The company also points out that these layoffs are not a reflection of Atlassian’s financial performance, before listing their various growth opportunities including cloud migrations, and IT service management.

Atlassian also noted that they will be providing a number of benefits to axed employees including a global separation package, six months of healthcare benefits, and Visa support to those in need.

Big Tech’s Layoffs Continue

Unfortunately, as dismissals in the tech sector exceed 100,000 this year alone, Atlassian isn’t the only software company that’s been forced to make difficult decisions.

As tech firms deal with overhiring efforts throughout the pandemic and a turbulent economic outlook driven by rising inflation rates and wavering consumer demand, some of the biggest names in the industry are making radical cuts to their headcount.

Microsoft has sent a staggering 10,000 staffers packing, in one of “the most challenging” times of the company, Meta is considering making a second round of layoffs and similar actions have been made by a slew of companies like Spotify, PayPal, and Wix.

Despite these sweeping layoffs, the tech industry is still showing healthy signs of growth. However, as corporate trust in tech erodes, and fresh talent continues to be deterred from applying for jobs in the field, it’s uncertain how long this expansion will last.

Cash registers and other point-of-sale (POS) systems aren’t going to be around forever, as Wix has announced that it now supports Tap to Pay functionality on iPhones.

Contactless payments become quite popular during the pandemic, with everyday people wary about touching surfaces and generally exposing themselves to germs. However, with vaccines in circulation and business mostly back to normal, many have realized the value of contactless payment, whether you’re dodging a deadly virus or not.

Fortunately, businesses in the US have finally taken notice, with software providers and store owners alike providing tools to make contactless payments easier than ever.

Wix Announces Tap to Pay on iPhone

Announced in a press release this week, Wix announced a partnership with Stripe, the financial service firm that also launched Tap to Pay on Android a few weeks ago. The partnership would bring Tap to Pay functionality on iPhones for Wix users.

This would allow Wix merchants to “accept secure, contactless payments directly from their iPhones, without needing additional hardware.”

“We’re constantly evolving our solutions to help users efficiently grow both their online and offline sales. Tap to Pay on iPhone offers merchants a reliable and secure payment option to increase customer touchpoints and deliver new in-person experiences, ultimately optimizing their multichannel strategy and increasing the monetization of their offline sales.” – Amit Sagiv and Volodymyr Tsukur, Co-Heads of Wix Payments.

The functionality will be compatible with all contactless debit and credit cards, as well as Apple Pay and other contactless online payment service. You can access this new feature through the Wix Owners app, the designated app for Wix merchants.

Is Wix Good for Business?

We’ve done a lot of research when it comes to which business software is best for your business, particularly website builders like Wix. From feature catalogs to pricing pages, we’ve gone through the details with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that you make the right decision.

That said, we can confidently say that Wix is an excellent choice when it comes to business website builders. With a massive selection of features, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and all the help and support you could need to get through as a beginner, our research found that Wix is the best website builder for small businesses.

That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best option for your business. Luckily, we’re here to help, thanks to our thoroughly researched website builder quiz that can help you find the right website builder based on a few short questions.

Another tech firm is jumping on the AI bandwagon, with Salesforce announcing that it would incorporate its own iteration of ChatGPT into its customer relationship management (CRM) software.

The business world is abuzz with talk of artificial intelligence, due to the popularity of ChatGPT, a generative AI platform from OpenAI that is surprisingly adept at creating written content.

As the most popular CRM in the world, it’s safe to assume that this kind of tech would benefit Salesforce users, which is why the company has announced plans to launch its own iteration of the tool.

Salesforce Announces Einstein GPT

At the TrailheadDX developer conference this week, Salesforce announced that it would be adding generative AI capabilities to its popular CRM platform with a new tool dubbed Einstein GPT.

“We’re announcing Einstein GPT, the world’s first generative AI for CRM. I think the future is really bright here. It’s creating a tremendous amount of opportunities for innovation within our ecosystem of products as well as our broader ecosystem.” – Patrick Stokes, EVP and GM for platform at Salesforce to TechCrunch

If you know anything about Salesforce, you likely recognize the Einstein name as Salesforce’s own AI-powered assistant that improved functionality for its users. Considering Salesforce partnered with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, to roll out this new feature, it’s safe to say this new tool could seriously help businesses out in the long run.

What Can Einstein GPT Actually Do?

All this talk of adding generative AI to platforms sounds great and obviously gets headlines. But how does it translate to actual, helpful features in platforms like Salesforce? Well, the specifics actually do sound like they could make life a lot easier for the average user.

“Think about all of the emails and chats that come into service agents today. They get inundated. With Einstein GPT for Service, we can auto-generate draft replies so that the agents can respond to customers much faster, and they get final say. They can make any edits before they hit send.” – Clara Shih, GM at Salesforce

This kind of functionality can be instituted across the Salesforce platform, including automatically generated customer summaries, personalized emails, and marketing copy to attract new customers.

That’s not all, though. Einstein GPT will also be able to generate images, like promotional materials for campaigns and other value assets for business owners. Even better, the platform will learn from your business operations, allowing it to provide a more comprehensive, helpful service in the long run.

There doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for tech layoffs, with Meta likely planning to cut thousands more jobs from its workforce as early as this week.

Once the pandemic had subsided, tech CEOs blindly and obliviously started hiring in huge numbers. However, due to a lack of common-sense foresight on the part of these CEOs, the economic upturn didn’t last long, and hundreds of thousands of employees have lost their jobs as a result.

The trend continues, as reports out of Meta point to another round of layoffs that could see even more employees outsted from their positions as soon as this week.

Meta Planning for More Layoffs

According to “people familiar with the matter” in a report from Bloomberg, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — one of the largest social media employers in the world — is planning to lay off thousands of employees as early as this week.

These aren’t the first major round of layoffs from Meta either. In November, the social media company let go of nearly 11,000 employees, which amounted to approximately 13% of its workforce. Meta is also experimenting with a wide range of cost cutting measures, including asking its many managers to stop managing and take lower level positions in the company.

All these firings have been part of Meta’s “year of efficiency,” a term Mark Zuckerberg has been happy to use in the face of these historic cuts. The anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the looming threat of layoffs has had a decidedly negative impact on the morale and mental health of workers at Meta.

Tech Layoffs Abound

The tech industry alone is now responsible for more than 100,000 layoffs in the last few months. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Intel, and dozens of others have been slashing workforces to facilitate this leaner strategy being adopted.

Subsequently, the general consensus across the tech industry — and the global economy as a whole — is that virtually no job is safe, resulting in the atmosphere of distrust and resentment that could have long-lasting effects for the industry.

“I think people should come out of this learning and remembering that we have to trust ourselves before anyone or anything else.” – a recruiter for a large tech firm told Fortune

The sentiment is hard to argue with. While tech was long considered the safest and most lucrative gig you can get, this inability to forecast basic economic trends at the expense of hundreds of thousands of employees doesn’t inspire much confidence. All that to say, the so-called geniuses of the tech industry clearly don’t know enough to protect your job, or worse, they’re apathetic to the plight of the people powering their companies.

Two US senators will introduce new legislation this week with the goal of opening up government power to “ban or prohibit” foreign-owned tech products such as TikTok.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he has bipartisan support for the bill.

It’s following on the heels of another bill out from the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, which aims to give President Biden the ability to ban the video app. Plus, the Office of Management and Budget has recently published guidelines detailing how agencies could impliment a ban.

Why the New Bill Exists

Tiktok is owned by ByteDance, a private Chinese company. Many of the app’s critics in the US base their concerns around fear that the private company has too close a relationship to its government. Tiktok’s defense: It operates independantly, even storing its data safely with Oracle, a US-based company.

Warner, who is working on the bill with Senator John Thune, says that questionable data security is only one reason he’s concerned about TikTok specifically. Here’s his statement, covered by CNBC yesterday:

“They are taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe, but what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool.”

According to Warner, the app’s admittedly opaque algorithm could potentially be used to promote videos in China’s interests. But the proposed ban could face First Amendment challenges, as Caitlin Chin, fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explained to the New York Times:

“In democratic governments, the government can’t just ban free speech or expression without very strong and tailored grounds to do so and it’s just not clear that we have that yet,” said Ms. Chin.

Social Media and Data Security

TikTok is faced plenty of opposition from the US already: State employees across more than 20 states are banned from using the service on government-issued devices, and some universities have blocked it on their WiFi.

TikTok’s algorithm has clear flaws, including a bias against queer, fat, and disabled people. While there’s no hard evidence that the platform is controlled by or closely cooperates with the government of the country that it operates within, it did weather a July 2022 report accusing the platform of “excessive” levels of data harvesting.

Not for nothing, Meta and Google have recently made the news for turning over their users’ chat logs and search history records to US police departments to aid them in prosecuting abortion seekers — evidence that the scope of governmental concern doesn’t need to stop at foreign-owned companies.

Regardless of how the First Admendment discussion shakes out, one thing’s for sure: TikTok, like any big corporation, is after its users’ data and there’s no harm in sharing less on social media. Thankfully, the service recently rolled out warnings to let some users know when they’ve been scrolling for more than an hour.

Dialing into a Google Meet call from your phone is about to become a bit less of a struggle: The video communication service is finally rolling out background noise cancellation to phone calls.

Users on desktop or mobile apps have long been able to filter out pesky background noises like typing, car horns, or dog barks. But until now, users dialing directly in from a cell or landline would still need to suffer through those disruptions.

The update is part of a raft of features that Google is rolling out for its Workspace software suite, ensuring that the tech giant keeps up its reputation for constantly adding new features.

How Google Meet Background Noise Cancellation Works

The update is listed among a myriad of brand-new features that also includes improvements to Google Sheet filters and better Google Drive labels.

“Participants who dial in by phone will have background noise removed from their audio,” the update explains. The function can be toggled on or off by the admin for an organization: If your organization has the feature turned on, it will automatically filter noise when you dial in by phone.

This makes sense: Google recently expanded the same cancellation tool, making it available for users on their personal Google Accounts across many Android mobile devices, while also enabling it as a default for any third-party devices using video-tech platform Pexip.

There are a few catches to know about the tool:

• It won’t work for those who dial out to add a phone participant to a meeting in progress.
• It’s not recommended for anyone speaking with the use of an electrolarynx.
• It won’t affect audio capture from screen sharing.
• Voices from TV or people talking at the same time won’t be filtered out — this is because the tool is intended solely to filter out non-human voices.
• The tool also adjusts total volume, to avoid harshly loud or quiet voices.

The new expansion of noise cancellation to phone participants will arrive for “select Google Workspace editions,” specifically: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Frontline users.

Picking Out a Video Call Service

With a large swath of the working world relying heavily on hybrid or fully remote work environments for convenience, flexibility, and health needs, call conferencing services are now a key business software. If you’re looking to Google Meet as your solution, you’ll be guaranteed a background-noise free experience.

That’s also true for many of the top conferencing tools, from Zoom to Microsoft Teams. RingCentral might be the best for longer meetings, however, due to its custom features and low price.

We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to: Check out our full review page of all the top web conferencing platforms for the full story about all the pros, cons, and prices to expect from the cream of the crop.

Like it or loathe it, ChatGPT is irreversibly changing the way we work. Since the app was released last November, surveys suggest it’s been picked up by almost half of US companies. 93% of these firms are looking to expand their use of ChatGPT further in the upcoming months, and its popularity has even encouraged popular business apps to launch AI tools. For example, you can sign up for a free ClickUp account and join a waitlist to use its new AI assistant.

But its rise to prominence is hardly surprising. Ethical and philosophical debates aside, the artificial intelligence-backed tool offers boundless possibilities to businesses looking to get ahead. And due to the chatbot’s ability to respond to any human prompt, the limit really is your imagination.

To find out how exactly the insurgent app is being used in the workplace, we asked businesses across a vast range of industries how they’re currently deploying ChatGPT. We also asked workers to share their experiences with the app, as well as any anxieties they may be feeling about its meteoric rise, to get a clearer picture of how this tool might shape the future of work.

In this guide:

• How are Businesses Using ChatGPT?
• The Future of AI in the Workplace
• Companies that have banned ChatGPT

How Are Businesses Using ChatGPT?

From data analysis to assistant duties, ChatGPTs applications stretch far and wide. Here are 10 ways businesses are currently using OpenAI’s disruptive app.

1. For customer service inquiries
2.  To streamline external communications
3.  As a coding tool
4.  As a personal assistant 
5.  To write emails
6.  To write copy
7. For time management 
8. To create presentations 
9.  For keyword research 
10.  To manage meetings

1. For customer service inquiries 

Chatbots have been helping customer service teams to automate activity for decades. However, now the use of AI has been democratized further with the use of ChatGPT, businesses are using the tech to carry out even more advanced customer service functions.

Bennett Heyn, the CEO of the digital marketing firm Parker Marker, uses the tool to manage customer service inquiries and track customer data simultaneously. By allowing him to process consumer data more quickly and accurately than when using manual methods, Heyn claimed it allowed him to “save time and maximize efficiency”, changing the way his firm does business as a result.

Farhan Advani from Ncctting Tools uses chatbots for this purpose too. Doing so, Advani explains, helps his business to accurately locate information, reducing the time it takes for them to respond to customer queries.

2. To streamline external communications

ChatGPT can be a useful tool for streamlining communications operations too. Alice Wu from the PR company Mind Meld PR uses ChatGPT to alter content for various mediums including social media posts, blog posts, and emails. Specifically, she uses the app to generate a clear and unique piece of content, before adding some “flavor, additional details, and personal touches” of her own.

“I would recommend the tool for any small business looking to create more content for its website, social accounts, or marketing. It’s definitely been a quick turnaround for our marketing material.” – Alice Wi, PR Associate from Mind Meld PR

While Wu endorses ChatGPT to small businesses, she does offer some words of advice. “Always double-check what it produces to make sure it’s factual and accurate” she warns, “you don’t want to inadvertently post anything controversial, or make promises you can’t deliver”.

3. As a coding tool

ChatGPT is making major waves in the software industry. One data engineer from Detroit told Tech.co that he uses the chatbot when he’s stuck on a project. “If you know how to give correct prompts, it can help you with code logic, syntax errors, and even change code from one coding language to another” he explained.

Another software engineer revealed that ChatGPT helps him to create more complex liquid code snippets that help his clients can use on their websites to filter products, create membership programs, and track consumer interactions.

4. As a personal assistant

In addition to streamlining major processes, the app is being used by workers to carry out a variety of administrative tasks like data entry and email management.

“I feel very positive about the recent explosion of ChatGPT in the workplace. It is an exciting development that definitely has the potential to revolutionize the way people work.” – Abdullah Prem, CEO of Bloggersneed

Founder of Bloggersneed Abdullah Prem — who uses the chatbot for these purposes — tells Tech.co that these tools maximize his efficiency and save him a lot of time. Prem even foresees that ChatGPT will change core processes in his workplace and revolutionize the way people work across sectors in upcoming years.

5. To write emails

ChatGPT has also been helping employees to carry out one of the most universally disliked tasks —writing emails.

Luke Lovelady, an ad developer at BlueOptima, Arizona uses the AI tool to send personalized cold emails. Depending on who Lovelady is emailing, he’ll feed ChatGPT a prompt containing information about a prospect. Then, he’ll tell it to write a personalized email using the AIDA framework and include a CTA at the end.

The Arizonan rep also uses the tool to create original cold calling scripts by feeding the app simple value propositions, engaging hooks, and issues that potential customers may face. Aside from taking care of the tedious work, the app is proving to be a major time saver too. By cutting down time normally spent thinking, structuring, and writing outreach materials, he estimates the tool is saving him anywhere from one to two hours a day.

6. To write copy

ChatGPT is helping workers to create copy too, with content specialist Lauren Van Woerden using the tool at her marketing firm Ollo Metrics whenever she’s working on SEO copywriting tasks. Worden explains that by using very specific, clear prompts, she’s able to generate the best results — with the successful application of these tools cutting down her copywriting time by 30-40%.

“I treat this as a foundation to work from–no more writers block–and then I add in the tone and personality I want the copy to have.” – Lauren Van Woerden

Toni, a freelance copywriter, uses the app to create copy and claims it’s particularly useful when it comes to writing introductions and conclusions. ChatGPT has had a profound effect on her pace of work too, with the app reducing the number of days she spends writing her blog from seven to two. When it comes to using the device transparently, however, Toni isn’t so sure.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s necessary to tell my employer that I use ChatGPT” she tells Tech.co. “It’s not that much of big of a deal. All he cares about is content, it doesn’t matter where I get it from”.

7. For time management

Lovelady uses ChatGPT to create daily schedules. He feeds the app a prompt about his daily situation and what a normal day looks like before asking for advice on how he should best utilize his time. ChatGPT uses this information to create a daily schedule, which helps Lovelady to organize his task load based on his top priorities.

“It would be foolish for workers and employers to not use this technology in some capacity to eliminate manual and time-consuming tasks and increase our output.” –  Luke Lovelady, Ad Development Rep at BlueOptima

Speaking to Tech.co about the tool’s potential, he says “I think the ChatGPT explosion has created a new work paradigm that can be greatly taken advantage of if used correctly”. He also expressed that due to the app’s boundless potential,  failing to utilize this tech could be an error for businesses. 

8. To create presentations

Fed up with the repetitive nature of making presentations? Well, it seems like ChatGPT might be able to assist with this too.

Harman Signh, Director of the cybersecurity services company Cyphere uses the AI app to create reports and presentations. He explains that ChatGPT allows him to create high-quality presentations quickly and easily, which has a substantial impact on the efficiency of his work. Signh also uses the chatbot to produce reports, responses to customer inquiries, and marketing materials like blogs, which is a true testament to the tool’s versatility.

Unsurprisingly, Signh has a very optimistic view about ChatGPT’s future potential, telling Tech.co that he’s looking forward to seeing how this technology continues to evolve and how it can be used to help companies become more successful.

9. For keyword research

Looking to power up your SEO game? You’re in luck. ChatGPT is also being used as a multi-pronged search engine optimization tool for businesses across the globe.

One worker told us that they use ChatGPT for keyword research, link-building efforts, and even to help build their monthly content calendar. Radhika Gupta, founder of the digital agency One Digital Land also uses ChatGPT to assist with various SEO activities including keyword research, SEO analytics, and content optimization for organic search, PPC, and emails.

Gupta tells us that since using the app, it’s been easier to nurture and convert leads by maximizing the company’s efficiency — a massive win for any sales business. However, her overall attitude is one of cautious optimism, with the business founder pointing out that since it’s a relatively new technology, its overall impact on digital marketing remains to be seen.

10. To manage meetings

ChatGPT also holds the potential to streamline meeting management, with businesses like Moo Soft using the AI-backed software to summarize meeting transcripts to make information more accessible to remote workers who aren’t able to tune into calls.

Moo Soft’s owner, Calvin Wallis tells Tech.co that thanks to ChatGPT’s ability to accurately sum up virtual discussions, he’s able to give his full attention to those participating in meetings in the knowledge that the rest of the team will be caught up to speed.

If you’re keen on using ChatGPT’s smart technology to manage your meetings, you’re in luck. Web conferencing giant Microsoft Teams recently launched a Premium tier that contains a slew of features backed by OpenAI technology ⁠— including intelligent recap tools and watermarking capabilities ⁠— making it easier than ever for businesses to benefit from the technology.

In fact, since ChatGPT first disrupted the business landscape, a number of major tech companies like Google and Meta have been scrambling to get up to speed. And while these efforts have been met with haven’t always been met success, there’s no doubt that ChatGPT and similar tools are going to massively influence the way we live and work going forward.

To get a general consensus on how workers feel about this, we asked them about their experience with the tool and its potential impact on the future of work. Here’s what they thought.

Anxieties and Optimism: The Future of AI in the Workplace

Almost every business we heard from had very positive experiences with ChatGPT, including Luka Lamaj from Docere Health, who told Tech.co that advances in chatbot technology have made it possible for his medical practice to streamline a number of operations, freeing up human resources and allowing him to focus on driving innovation instead.

Lots of workers are in agreement, including software engineer Cameron Perrin, who told us that tools like ChatGPT have enabled him to speed up his workflow by roughly 20-25%, and a copywriter, who revealed the app reduced his writing time by a staggering 30-40%.

However, while Lamaj from Docere Health believes that ChatGPT can open up a lot of opportunities for businesses, he acknowledges that it shouldn’t be seen as a silver bullet for all problems. “There are certain tasks and interactions that require human interaction” he explains “and chatbots cannot replace that.” 

“I have mixed feelings about it. I like it, but I my fear is that the unemployment rate will go way up.” – Cameron Garrison, CEO of Guardian Lemon Law

Additionally, with recent reports revealing that almost half of US companies using ChatGPT have already replaced workers, lots of respondents expressed understandable concerns over future job security. For example, Cameron Garrison, CEO of Guardian Lemon Law speculates that since the bot is capable of performing many tasks carried out by humans, unemployment rates could surge as a result.

Ultimately, as this technology becomes more commonplace, it’s undeniable that many roles risk becoming obsolete in the process. Yet, as Mattia Santin from the behavior analytic company HotJar points out, since tools like ChatGPT are currently incapable of carrying out tasks that require a human touch, they will still depend on workers to verify their results.

And in the meantime, for innovative businesses like Santin’s, by taking care of the busy work, they leave workers to do what they’re good at, being creative.

Companies That Have Banned ChatGPT

Most companies are welcoming the mechanical arm of ChatGPT. However, since generative AI chatbots are still in their infancy, and many are prone to errors, biases, and misinformation, a number of employers have barred their use outright due to worries about plagiarism and security.

Apple restricted the tool in May, over concerns about employees unknowingly sharing confidential information. Samsung also banned ChatGPT, alongside other generative AI platforms, after an employee of the company was responsible for classified code being leaked via the app. But it’s not just tech companies that are restricting access. A number of Wall Street Banks have cracked down on the tool, including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Corp., and Wells Fargo & Co.

Learn more about companies banning generative AI here.

Citigroup is cutting hundreds of jobs across the globe, as the company gears up to replace more manual processes with tech investments, according to the company’s CEO.

The cuts, which will affect less than 1% of Citigroup’s 240,000 employees, will impact staff in operations, technology and investment banking, in an attempt to further ‘streamline’ and ‘automate’ more processes.

The news comes just a week after the company banned ChatGPT, and rival Goldman Sachs cut 3,200 jobs in what is described as one of the most ‘brutal’ layoffs of 2023 to date.

Manual Jobs Are Out, Machines Are In

As part of its transformation initiative, Citigroup cut hundreds of jobs this week, as the company moves forward with its plan to achieve more ‘efficiency’. The job cuts, announced in Bloomberg, will reportedly impact staff in operations, technology and investment banking. However, the instability of the economy will naturally spark concerns for the staff in the company who remain.

“As our investment in transformation and control initiatives mature, we expect to realize efficiency as those programs transition from manually intensive processes to technology-enabled ones, Jane Fraser, Citigroup Chief Executive Officer

According to Bloomberg, the company has spent billions investing its technology division, with the intention of reducing its reliance on manual processes, meaning job cuts at this time are not only standard, but were arguably inevitable.

We’re streamlining our processes and making them more automated, whilst improving the quality and accessibility of our data. This will make us a better bank.”

With the economy at an all-time low and managers being asked to ‘not manage’ in some businesses, companies are doing anything they can to find ways to alleviate the stress of economic downturn.

How Businesses Are Maximizing Technology in 2023

Citigroup isn’t the only company that’s investing in technology. According to Microsoft 90% of businesses are interested in investing in AI-powered toolsto help streamline processes and eliminate repetitive tasks. We also know that 43% of professional workers are using ChatGPT for work-related tasks — 68% of which are doing so without their manager’s knowledge.

But AI isn’t the only type of technology businesses are reportedly investing in. According to Microsoft, 77% of businesses want greater access to tools like Wix and Smartsheet – ‘no and low-code’  tools to help build better digital solutions – with 84% believing the ability to use custom-built apps would help improve collaboration.

Businesses interested in optimizing their workflow are also investing in top project management tools, and reliable video conferencing apps to cut costs, and improve communication and productivity. While company layoffs are still expected to continue, it’s clear that investing in top talent with tech skills will be a priority, regardless of the industry.

Microsoft has released the latest update of Windows 11 (22H2), dubbed its ‘Moment 2’, which comes with some highly-anticipated features, including the new AI-powered Bing Chat in the taskbar.

The news comes shortly after the company announced its ChatGPT-powered Bing search engine integration, designed to help users find answers to their questions faster.

The new version of Windows 11 will also include voice access improvements, iPhone connectivity, task manager search functionality, a new search bar option, screen recording and more.

What Are Microsoft ‘Moments’?

Microsoft ‘Moments’ are the routine software updates released by Microsoft throughout the year to introduce new features to its latest operating system, Windows 11.

The updates, known as ‘Moments’ were introduced in 2022, to allow new features to be released more frequently, as opposed to waiting for the annual feature update that happens just once a year.

The first Windows 11 ‘Moment’ was released in October 2022, and included a file explorer with tabs, suggested actions, taskbar features, and the previously-removed ability to right-click on the taskbar to open the task manager.

Microsoft released Windows 11 in 2021. While the Windows 10 operating system is still functional, only Windows 11 users will benefit from ‘Moment’ updates, and all support for Windows 10 will end in 2025.

What’s Included in the Windows 11 ‘Moment 2’ Update

The Windows 11 22H2 ‘Moment 2’ is packed with a number of new features including a Phone Link for iOS, a searchable task manager, and the highly-anticipated Bing AI-powered chat, linked directly in the Windows search bar. The AI will be able to perform searches, generate content and answer questions. Talking to Bleeping Computer, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, described the update as a ‘major step forward’ for the business.

“Today, we take the next major step forward and combine the incredible breadth and ease of use of the Windows PC with the amazing capability of the new AI-powered Bing… Soon hundreds of millions of Windows 11 users can get access to this incredible new technology to search, chat, answer questions and generate content from right on their Windows taskbar.” — Microsoft Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay

Microsoft hopes that AI-tools will become more common in the workplace, and has invested billions of dollars into its ongoing partnership with OpenAI to upgrade its own applications like Excel, Microsoft Projects, and Microsoft Teams — which now utilizes ChatGPT to take meeting notes during conference calls. While the ‘Moment 2’ AI integration will only consist of a Bing entry point in the Windows search home, there are hopes of a more direct integration in the future.

It should be noted that the new Phone Link iOS feature, which will allow users to access their iPhone messages directly in Windows 11, and make or receive phone calls directly in the app, will only be accessible as a preview for select users at present. However, this could be a game-changer for businesses looking to better integrate their communication channels between their work laptops and phones, in the future.

The Task Manager search bar will allow users to filter processes by ID or name, making it easier to terminate problematic tasks efficiently. See a full list of the Windows 11 ‘Moment 2’ updates expected to roll out in the coming weeks, below:

Windows 11 ‘Moment 2’ new features

• Bing Chat in Windows Search taskbar
• Screen recording in the snipping tool
• Tabs in Notepad
• New search bar options – allowing users to customize search to their preference
• Search functionality in Task Manager
• A taskbar system ‘tray overflow menu’
• A full-screen widgets board
• Voice access improvements
• Windows studio effects in quick settings

All Windows 11 users will receive the new ‘Moment 2’ features as part of the mandatory March 2023 patch updates – which will include security fixes too.

How to Get Windows 11 ‘Moments 2’

As usual with Microsoft, all existing Windows 11 users will receive the ‘Moment 2’ features as part of the mandatory patch updates, so if you’re a Windows 11 user you should already have these new features. New Windows 11 users will be able to download Windows 11 (22H2, build 22621.1344) with the new features, automatically.

To manually install the Windows update, users can action the following steps:

1. Open settings
2. Select ‘windows update’
3. ‘Click ‘check for updates’
4. Install

Like most operating system updates, this update is free.

What the fork? Microsoft Teams is working on a new feature that would allow users to censor profanity from live captions throughout the platform.

There’s no denying that Microsoft Teams is one of the more popular collaboration tools on the market, largely due to the vast array of updates that come along with it. These improvements are always driven by customer feedback, in service of a more capable and functional platform.

Now, Microsoft Teams could soon be making another change related to whether or not your swear words will get through to the rest of your team.

Microsoft Teams Could Add Profanity Filter

Spotted on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, a new feature could be coming to Microsoft Teams to give users the power to censor profanity from live captions in meetings.

“With the newly introduced toggle for turn on/off profanity filtering, user will now be able to control whether they want to continue to leverage the profanity filtering capability provided out of box, or, if they want to see every word as-is.”

Obviously, the swear words you use will only be censored in the live captions, as Microsoft Teams has not yet developed the technology to bleep a person in real time.

Additionally, you’ll have time to use profanity before it’s removed from live captions as well, as the update is not scheduled to go into effect until May 2023.

Is Microsoft Teams Good for Business?

We’ve done extensive research at Tech.co on business tools like Microsoft Teams. From analyzing features to evaluating pricing plans, we’re committed to making sure businesses can make the right decisions when it comes to professional software.

We can confidently say that Microsoft Teams is a rock solid option for the average business, particularly if you’re already set up with Microsoft 365. Sure, it can be a bit complicated at times, but with a lot of features and a vast library of available integrations, Microsoft Teams is good for business.

In fact, one of the best aspects of Microsoft Teams is updates like this. The platform is constantly improving based on customer feedback, so any issues you might have with the platform will likely be solved before you get too frustrated. Feel free to check out our Microsoft Team vs Google Meet guide for more information.

TikTok just announced that it would set a default time limit of 60 minutes per day for users under 18 years old in an effort to curb the mental health crisis among its younger userbase.

There’s no denying that TikTok has seen its fair share of controversy in recent years. From the government bans to its questionable trends, the social media platform seems to never leave the news cycle for very long.

Now, TikTok is hoping to quell the storm of criticism by curbing the addictive behaviors of teens that perhaps use the app a little too much.

TikTok Announces Default Time Limit for Teens

Announced in a press release this week, TikTok announced new features aimed at making the app a better place for teen users, including new default screen time limits and screen time reports.

“We believe digital experiences should bring joy and play a positive role in how people express themselves, discover ideas, and connect.” – Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok

These new time restrictions are not set in stone, though, as teen users will be able to input a passcode to bypass the 60-minute limit. This will still curb usage, claims Keenan, as users will be forced “to make an active decision to extend that time.”

Additionally, if teen users deactivate the 60-minute time limit and use the app for more than 100 minutes per day, the TikTok app will prompt them with a notification to set a time limit, displaying a breakdown of screen time to further illustrate the value of time off of TikTok.

Is TikTok Addictive?

There have been plenty of studies done on the addictive nature of social media, with experts explaining that the scrolling on social media isn’t entirely dissimilar to recreational drug usage as far as brain chemistry is concerned.

“When you’re scrolling… sometimes you see a photo or something that’s delightful and it catches your attention. And you get that little dopamine hit in the brain… in the pleasure center of the brain. So, you want to keep scrolling.” – Dr Julia Albright, Digital Sociologist and Lecturer at USC

There’s also more than enough data to show that social media and TikTok have a negative effect on mental health, particularly for young people. Even the American Psychological Association published a report stating that reduction of social media usage could improve the esteem of emotionally distressed minors.

So, at least TikTok is taking steps to quell this kind of usage, but bigger leaps may be needed to solve the problem.

After serving businesses for almost six years, Microsoft Teams’ free Classic plan is officially retiring on April 12, forcing all remaining users to switch to a paid version to retain their chats, files, and data.

Microsoft Teams (free) will still be available to businesses looking for a complimentary web conferencing service, but annoyingly, migrating data from the legacy version will not be possible.

The changes will come just two months after Microsoft Teams announced the release of its new Premium tier that features a number of tools backed by OpenAI like intelligent recapping and automated note generation.

Currently using Microsoft’s Classic tier? Here’s what these changes will mean for you, and guidance on the different steps your business can take next.

Microsoft Teams Classic Plan is Ending on April 12

Microsoft has decided to call curtains on its free Classic plan —with the company permanently halting its services on April 12 this year.

This doesn’t mark the end of Team’s free offering though. The soon-to-be sheltered plan is being replaced by Microsoft Teams’ new free tier, which contains many of the same trappings as Classic, including unlimited group meetings for up to 60 minutes, meeting limits of 100, and up to 5GB of cloud storage per user.

But what does this mean for the thousands of businesses that currently depend on Microsoft’s free web conferencing service? Well, confusingly Classic users aren’t able to transfer chat data directly into the new free plan. Instead, the software company recommends backing up all Team files before April 12 before signing up for the new service. Or, upgrading to its paid Essentials package, which will cost companies $4 per user per month.

“You’ll be able to view and save files in your current account through April 12, 2023, however, none of it will transfer to your new account.” – Microsoft

By switching to Microsoft’s Essential package, businesses will be able to maintain full access to their chats, files, and meetings and unlock more benefits like unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours, and generous call limits of up to 300 users.

Businesses willing to fork out slightly higher fees of $7 per month, per user can also opt for Microsoft’s new Premium tier. But what does the platforms’ recently released package include – and are its X features worth the extra cost?

Microsoft Teams Launches New OpenAI-Backed Premium Tier

In light of Microsoft’s recent partnership with OpenAI — the machine learning powerhouse that’s responsible for creating the world’s fastest-growing app, ChatGPT — the company has launched a new web conferencing tier; Microsoft Teams Premium.

The plan includes a number of features powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 AI language model, the upgraded version of GPT-3 that utilizes deep learning to generate human-like output. Features using this new smart technology include an intelligent recap tool that generates meeting notes automatically, automated reminder emails to drive up attendance for webinars, and improved live translation capabilities.

For businesses looking to drive up operational efficiency and workplace collaboration, this suite of smart features is likely to pay for itself over time. However, if you’re looking to keep overheads as low as possible, paying for conferencing services isn’t your business’s only option, as we explore next.

Not Willing to Upgrade? Here Are Your Other Options

If you’re a Teams loyalist, backing up your data and switching to Microsoft’s new free package may be your best bet.

However, despite its market dominance, Microsoft Teams isn’t the only quality free complimentary conference call service out there, and our insights suggest it might not be the best, either.

If you’re looking for a free feature-rich video calling tool, our research suggests Zoom is the number one solution. While its meeting times might not be as generous as Microsoft Team’s free tier, it offers flawless usability and a number of capabilities that Microsoft free lacks like recording tools for calls and access to over 1000+ integrations.

RingCentral is another worthy contender, with generous user limits of 100 participants and a 24-hour time limits on calls. There’s no limit on competitive services though, so see how our favorite free services compare in the table below.

Snapchat has just launched a chatbot powered by the same technology as ChatGPT, called “My AI”, which will be made available for use next week.

The social media platform, which has around 750 million monthly users, is the latest tech company to utilize the GPT-3 family of language models to create a new AI feature for its customers.

However, don’t expect this chatbot to discuss any and all matters at length – strict limitations mean that it will obediently adhere to established trust and safety guidelines.

Snapchat Launches “My AI”

“My AI”, in a nutshell, is Snapchat’s answer to ChatGPT. It uses the same technology to generate accurate answers to user queries but has repackaged it into a mobile-friendly tool that can generate those answers quickly and concisely.

Unfortunately, at present, the new feature will only be available to Snapchat Plus customers, but the company says it will make My AI available to all of the platform’s users, free or paid, in the near future.

Snapchat Plus is currently priced at $3.99 per month. The company will hope that the release of My AI will help them expand its paid user base, which currently sits at 2 million users, a small fraction of Snapchat’s total.

ChatGPT vs Snapchat My AI: What’s the Difference?

Snapchat has assured users that My AI will always adhere to the trust and safety guidelines it has been trained on, which means it’s safer but more restrictive than ChatGPT.

The other big difference between ChatGPT and Snapchat’s My AI is that the latter functions more like a persona-mimicking bot rather than a tool with a genuine business application like ChatGPT. This will also set My AI apart from Bard, Google’s soon-to-be-released ChatGPT alternative.

In keeping with its more human-like appearance, My AI will appear as another contact on your Snapchat for you to talk to at any time. Don’t expect it to weigh in on politics or use curse words though, as it’s programmed to partake in neither.

Snapchat: One of Foundry’s First Beneficiaries

My AI was only made possible thanks to Foundry, a developer platform launched by ChatGPT creators OpenAI. Snapchat is thought to be among the first clients, according to The Verge.

Now it’s got itself up and running, the social media platform will now be able to improve My AI with information gathered from chats, and even incorporate language models from other vendors.

The race to create the world’s most popular chatbot is well and truly on. With Snapchat’s My AI feature coming out of the blue, it’s anyone’s guess who might be next.

ChatGPT has been taking the western world by storm – over 100 million people are now thought to have had a conversation with the Chatbot in the three months since its launch, and it has since been incorporated into Microsoft Teams and search engine Bing.

Unfortunately, due to the Chinese government’s authoritarian laws presiding over the free speech of its citizens, it’s not officially accessible in the country – and the ruling party is clamping down on other ways to access it.

Alongside all this, Chinese companies like Baidu, Tencent, and ecommerce giant Ali Baba have been quietly researching and developing competing technology. Here’s how they’re doing so far – and what might slow them down.

China’s ChatBots: What’s Out There?

The release of ChatGPT for Bing – as well as the imminent launch of Google’s Bard AI chatbot – does make it feel like China is a world away from releasing a genuine competitor to either platform. But in reality, they don’t seem that far behind.

Perhaps the most significant project currently taking place is Ernie Bot, a chatbot being developed by the Chinese search engine Baidu and scheduled to launch in March.

Baidu CEO Robin Li has said that the bot is designed for Chinese language speakers and the Chinese market more generally, making it a more suitable platform, in theory, for citizens of the world’s largest country than its western analogs.

Jack Ma’s ecommerce behemoth Ali Baba has made similar inroads and is currently testing a ChatGPT alternative internally before releasing it to the public.

On top of this, it was revealed this week that Tencent Holdings, which owns WeChat, has created a team to develop a ChatGPT competitor, currently called “Hunyuan AI”.

The South China Morning Post reported that the language model achieved a record-high score on the Chinese Language Understanding Evaluation (CLUE) test.

AI and Censorship: A Headache for Authoritarians

The Chinese companies currently pumping money into AI projects are forced to contend with something that western companies like OpenAI don’t need to worry about: ensuring their chatbots aren’t violating the draconian censorship laws enforced by the CCP by simply thinking freely.

China has already made it extremely difficult to access the non-compliant ChatGPT for this reason. If you want to access the service from inside the country, you’ll need a VPN or proxy server, but reports suggest that Beijing is also clamping down on these avenues to access too.

It may be easy to ensure censored or banned content doesn’t appear on Chinese search engines, but a Chatbot designed to produce original (or quasi-original) answers is far more unpredictable and difficult to control than a web-crawling device.

“Even if Baidu launches Ernie Bot as promised, chances are high it will quickly be suspended,” Xu Liang, the lead developer at Hangzhou-based YuanYu Intelligence, told the Washington Post. “There will simply be too much moderation to do.”

Liang’s own Chatbot, ChatYuan, was suspended shortly after his company released it to the public.

The Chinese government itself has made a number of statements about the role they see AI playing in Chinese society in the near future.

Conceptually, however, it’s difficult to imagine how a chatbot developed by a private company could generate fresh, conversational content that didn’t violate China’s censorship policies without intrusive government oversight of the datasets being used to train the bot, or hardline content moderation processes that defeat the point of the technology.

Chip Supply Poses Challenge for Chatbots

Despite challenges when it comes to contending with censorship laws, it’s clear that the desire to compete with ChatGPT is strong – but whether the country’s biggest companies will have the hardware components to do so is questionable at present.

“If China wants to create its own ChatGPT, we need tens of thousands of A100 chips to provide the necessary computing power,” Tsinghua University professor Zheng Weimin explained at the Global AI conference in Shanghai last weekend.

A100 chips are high-performance graphic processors manufactured by Nvidia – but the company is now restricted by the US government from selling the product in China.

What’s more, the popularity of ChatGPT has caused the price of such chips to surge by 50%, making them even harder to come by.

ChatGPT: Not the Only One Chatting

It’s important to remember that it’s not just China making ChatGPT alternatives. There are a number of free alternatives already on the market, and with ChatGPT often at capacity, it’s good to have a plan b in mind when this occurs.

ChatSonic is a great example of a ChatGPT alternative that’s actually worth using. Not only can it provide you with answers to a variety of multi-faceted queries, but it can also generate AI images.

YouChat is also worth a look at if you like the idea of being shown an AI-generated answer and web pages relevant to your query, and you don’t even need an account to try it out.

With much stricter regulations to worry about than their US counterparts, Chinese businesses developing AI tools really have their work cut out. The launch of Baidu’s Ernie Bot, which is just weeks away, will be the first real indication of precisely how close the country is to developing a ChatGPT alternative to be reckoned with.