Today’s Headlines:

• Google Adds AI Trip Planning to Search, Maps, and Gemini - Google is enhancing its travel planning experience just in time for summer, launching a set of new features across Search, Maps, and its Gemini AI assistant. The updates include AI-generated itineraries, hotel price tracking, and custom travel planners—all designed to simplify how users organize trips.

  
  
  

  
  

• OpenAI Limits ChatGPT Image Generation as GPU Demand Surges - Facing overwhelming demand for its advanced image generation tools, OpenAI has temporarily placed rate limits on image creation within ChatGPT. The move comes as the company works to improve infrastructure efficiency.
  
  
  
  
  

• ‘Paddington’ Writers Team Up to Expand AI Short ‘Critterz’ with Native Foreign - The groundbreaking AI short film "Critterz" is being developed into a feature-length animated movie, with James Lamont and Jon Foster—writers behind Paddington in Peru—on board to script the adaptation. The project marks a major milestone in AI-assisted filmmaking and is being led by Vertigo Films in partnership with Native Foreign, the original creators of the short.
  
  
  
  
  

• OpenAI Expands Cybersecurity as AGI Development Accelerates - OpenAI has unveiled a major expansion of its cybersecurity initiatives, signaling a firm commitment to safeguarding its technologies as it moves closer to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The updates include enhancements to its Cybersecurity Grant Program, Bug Bounty rewards, and AI-driven defense systems.
  
  
  
  
  

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Adds Researcher and Analyst AI Agents - Microsoft is adding two new AI-powered agents to its 365 Copilot platform: Researcher and Analyst. These first-of-their-kind tools are designed to deliver expert-level reasoning, helping employees make faster, more informed decisions across vast amounts of internal and external data. The new capabilities will begin rolling out in April through Microsoft’s “Frontier” program.
  
  
  
  
  

• OpenAI Nears $40B SoftBank-Led Round, Eyes $300B Valuation - OpenAI is reportedly on the verge of closing a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, pushing the company’s valuation to an unprecedented $300 billion. If finalized, it would mark the largest venture capital round in history—surpassing OpenAI’s previous record-setting raise of $6.6 billion in October 2024.

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AI In Action: Quick Tutorials

In this section, you'll find short, practical tutorials that walk you through using the latest AI tools, helping you quickly unlock their full potential.

Today’s AI in Action: Create custom study assistants for any subject

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Google Gemini's Gems feature to create personalized AI assistants for specific subjects, homework help, and project research — completely free of cost.

Step-by-step:

• Visit Google Gemini, click the diamond Gem icon on the left sidebar, then select "New Gem."

• Name your Gem specifically (e.g., "Physics Problem Solver") and write detailed instructions about how it should help with your subject.

• Add course materials like notes, textbook chapters, or study guides to the Knowledge section.

• Test your Gem with sample questions and refine its instructions until it responds perfectly.

Pro tip: You can create multiple Gems for different papers instead of one general helper; this keeps each assistant focused on a specific subject.

AI Tools:

Please note that AiNews.com does not endorse the following AI tools. We aim to share the tools we come across that you may find helpful in you work or daily lives.

• GibsonAI: Your AI Database Engineer. Design, deploy, and scale your database in minutes.
  
  

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• Conveo: Conveo is a qualitative research platform that conducts and analyzes in-depth, AI-moderated voice & video interviews. By merging the depth of qualitative interviews with the scale of a survey, we provide deeper insights, blazingly fast.

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