The AI news that actually matters, in plain English.
Short summaries you can read in under a minute, with a link to the full article when you want the details. Newest entries first. We focus on changes that affect everyday users, not VC headlines.
October 2026
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Anthropic releases Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5: Opus gets an API price cut, Sonnet gets faster at the same price
Anthropic shipped two model updates in the last two weeks. Claude Opus 5.5, released September 22, cuts the API price from $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens to $4 input and $20 output, roughly 40% cheaper for typical workloads. Claude Sonnet 5.5, released September 28, keeps the same $2 input and $10 output API pricing as Sonnet 5 but generates output more than 30% faster and costs up to 30% less per completed task. Both models are available in the Claude app on paid plans. Subscription prices for Pro, Max, and Team are unchanged. If you are a developer, Opus 5.5's lower cache-write price ($5 per million tokens) adds to the per-task savings.
See Claude plans and models -
OpenAI DevDay: $500 Pro 500 tier launches, Pro 200 reopens, and Business gets a price cut
At DevDay on September 29, OpenAI made three subscription changes at once. First, a new Pro 500 plan at $500 per month gives the highest included usage of any Pro tier and is the only plan with access to Astra Ultrafast; the $100 Pro and the $200 Pro continue unchanged. Second, the $200 Pro plan has reopened to new sign-ups after its three-week pause, but with a catch: starting October 30, the included compute drops from 20 times to 10 times the Plus allowance, and the weekly GPT-6 Pro chat limit falls from 200 to 100 messages; existing subscribers receive a one-time credit to help offset the change. Third, ChatGPT Business dropped from $30 per user per month to $25 (annual rate from $25 to $20). If you are on Pro 200 and use it heavily, check your weekly message counts before October 30 to understand whether the change affects you. If you were waiting to upgrade from Plus to Pro 200, the plan is open again.
See ChatGPT plans -
Meta Connect confirms Muse AI Agent tiers: free, $20, and $100 a month
Meta Connect (September 23-24) confirmed the pricing structure for the Muse personal AI agent: a free tier at up to 100 million tokens per week, a Power tier at $20 per month for 500 million tokens per week, and a Maximum tier at $100 per month for 3 billion tokens per week. The event also unveiled a full hardware lineup: Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 glasses starting at $449, Ray-Ban Meta Audio (camera-free glasses, $349, shipping October 13), Meta Adventurer glasses at $249, and Meta VR Glasses (an ultra-thin headset priced at $1,299, coming spring 2027). The core free Meta AI experience in Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and the Meta AI app is unchanged. If you use Muse regularly, the free tier's 100-million-token weekly budget is generous for most people; the $20 Power tier is for daily heavy use.
See Meta AI and Muse plans
September 2026
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OpenAI releases GPT-6 Sol and Luna, replacing the 5.6 lineup and cutting API prices more than 50%
OpenAI released GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna on September 22, 2026. The two models replace GPT-5.6 Sol and GPT-5.6 Luna across all ChatGPT plans. GPT-6 Sol is designed for everyday professional work and makes roughly half as many mistakes as GPT-5.6 Sol. GPT-6 Luna handles fast, high-volume tasks at significantly lower cost. On the API, Sol is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens; Luna is $0.10 input and $0.50 output per million tokens, cuts of more than 50% compared to the previous GPT-5.6 promotional rates. Both models are available in the ChatGPT model picker for Free, Go, Plus, Pro, and Business accounts starting September 22. Subscription prices are unchanged. GPT-6 Astra, the top model released September 3, continues its staged rollout to Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise.
See ChatGPT plans -
Microsoft Copilot Business promotional rate ends: $21 replaces $18 for direct customers this weekend
If your organization pays for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, the $18 per user per month introductory rate ends September 30, 2026 for customers who bought directly from Microsoft or through retail. The standard price of $21 per user per month applies at the next renewal. If you bought through a Microsoft partner or reseller, the introductory rate extends through December 31, 2026. The free standalone Copilot Chat at copilot.microsoft.com is not affected. Enterprise plan pricing, which increased 5 to 43 percent on July 1, 2026, is also unchanged by this transition.
See Copilot pricing -
Copilot Tasks is moving to Cowork, and Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans lose it
Microsoft is merging its consumer Copilot app with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, and as part of that the Copilot Tasks feature (the one that runs a multi-step job for you) is being migrated into Copilot Cowork over the next few weeks. Cowork is a Microsoft 365 Premium feature. If you are on a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan, you can still open and read your old Tasks conversations, but you cannot run them again or start new ones without upgrading. A few smaller catches: memories from Tasks do not carry over, scheduled tasks move but arrive switched off, and links you shared to a Task stop working. If you set up any recurring tasks in Copilot, open the app this week and check what still runs. The free Copilot Chat at copilot.microsoft.com is not affected. One more date: the $18 per user introductory price on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business ends September 30, after which it is $21.
Read Microsoft’s migration notice -
Claude chat and Cowork become one app; Claude Docs and Claude Slides launch in beta
Anthropic folded Cowork (the “hand it a big job” mode) into the regular Claude app on September 16. You no longer pick which one to open. You ask for what you want, and Claude decides whether that is a quick reply or a longer task it keeps working on after you close the laptop; you can check progress from your phone. By default it still asks before taking actions on your behalf. At the same time, Anthropic launched Claude Docs and Claude Slides in beta on paid plans: ask for a report or a slide deck in plain language, edit it in place, and download it (Docs exports to Word, PDF, Markdown, or Google Docs; Slides exports to PowerPoint or PDF). Claude Design now works inside any conversation too. Pro and Max subscribers get all of this first over the coming weeks; Team and Free plans follow, and Enterprise admins get 30 days notice. Subscription prices are unchanged. If Claude looks different this week, this is why.
Read Anthropic’s announcement -
Claude for Small Business connects to QuickBooks, Shopify, Square, Gusto, and 23 other tools, with free workshops
Anthropic added 27 new connections aimed at small businesses, including QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify, Square, Stripe, Gusto, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zapier, Canva, and Docusign, along with 43 ready-made workflows (draft a reorder from Shopify inventory, prep payroll in Gusto, follow up on HubSpot leads, pull live numbers from Xero). It works on every paid Claude plan; Anthropic suggests the Team plan for businesses with more than one person. Anthropic is also running a fall tour of free half-day workshops in ten US cities plus partner webinars. If you have been waiting for a reason to connect AI to your books or your store, connect one tool, try one workflow, and see whether it saves you time. Chapter 5 covers the same idea with generic prompts.
Read Anthropic’s announcement -
ChatGPT now works inside Microsoft Word on every plan, including Free; plus a new Privacy Center and credit score tracking
On September 17 OpenAI added ChatGPT to Microsoft Word through the same add-in that already covers Excel and PowerPoint. It sits in a sidebar and can draft from your notes, summarize a long document, rewrite selected text, or clean up headings. It is available on all plans, including Free; install it from the Microsoft Marketplace inside Word (work accounts may need an administrator to approve it). Also new: you can connect both a personal and a work Google account in the same conversation, handy for anyone juggling two calendars. On September 21 OpenAI added a Privacy Center (Help, then Privacy Center on the web; Settings on mobile) that puts memory, data use, and connected apps in one place. Worth five minutes. Finally, Plus and Pro users in the US can now track their credit score inside ChatGPT via Experian. That means handing a credit bureau connection to a chatbot, so make it a deliberate choice rather than a default.
Read the ChatGPT release notes -
Gemini Notebook can now read the ebooks you bought on Google Play
Google now lets you add ebooks you purchased on Google Play Books as sources in a Gemini Notebook, covering more than 100,000 titles from major publishers. Once a book is in, you can ask it questions, get an Audio Overview, build a quiz, or combine it with your own notes. It works with personal Google accounts, Workspace Individual, and Workspace business and school accounts. Google is also giving away one eligible book per US adult while supplies last. Only books you have bought and that are flagged eligible will work, so do not expect your whole library to show up. If you are a student, in a book club, or just like to argue with authors, try it with a book you already own.
Read Google’s announcement -
Perplexity Computer gets an effort dial so simple questions stop burning credits
Perplexity Computer, the agent on the Max ($200/month) and Enterprise plans, now has four effort settings in the search bar: Light, Standard, High, and Ultra. Lower settings use cheaper models and fewer credits; higher settings think harder and cost more. It is on the web now, with iOS and Android to follow, and you can still pick a specific model by hand. If you have been running out of credits on routine lookups, drop to Light for those and save the higher settings for real research. Separately, HP will pre-load the Perplexity Windows app on some new HP business PCs, and Grok 4.7 finally shipped on September 21 (developers first; xAI has not said when it reaches the consumer Grok app).
Read Perplexity’s announcement -
Meta expands its subscription lineup: new single-app plans and creator tiers from $2.99 to $499 a month
Meta relaunched its subscription offering on September 15, 2026 as a much larger family of plans. On the individual side, three new single-app subscriptions let you pay for one service: WhatsApp Plus at $2.99 a month, Instagram Plus at $3.99, and Facebook Plus at $3.99. The existing individual AI tiers carry over at the same prices but with new names: Core (formerly Meta One Plus) at $7.99 a month, and Premium (formerly Meta One Premium) at $19.99. Four new creator and business tiers complete the lineup: Essential at $14.99, Advanced at $49.99, Expert at $149, and Max at $499. Meta says the core free experience across all Meta apps, including Meta AI, is unchanged. If you were already paying $7.99 or $19.99, nothing changes for you except the name on the receipt. Meta Connect is September 23-24 in Menlo Park, where new AI glasses and Quest headsets are expected.
See Meta AI and Meta One plans -
Claude Code usage dropped 17% this week as a promotional boost expired
Starting September 14, 2026, the amount of Claude Code usage included in Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans is about 17% lower than it was the day before. The reason is that a temporary 50% usage boost Anthropic introduced on May 13, 2026 expired September 13. Anthropic simultaneously locked in a permanent 25% increase over the original pre-promotion baseline, so limits are better than before the promo, just not as high as during it. If you are a heavy Claude Code user and noticed the change, this is why. Your monthly subscription price is unchanged.
See Claude plans -
Perplexity Portable Computer for Windows keeps your sensitive work entirely on your own machine
Perplexity launched Portable Computer for Windows on September 14, 2026. Unlike the cloud-based Perplexity Computer, Portable Computer runs entirely on your own hardware, which means prompts and outputs never leave your device. It can run recurring tasks and long workflows without drawing from your subscription's cloud credits. It is designed for users who handle sensitive files or work in environments where data residency matters. Pricing and plan requirements were not separately announced; watch Perplexity's site for availability details.
See Perplexity plans -
xAI adds SuperGrok Plus at $100 a month, filling the gap between the $30 and $300 plans
xAI added a new SuperGrok Plus tier to grok.com at $100 a month (or $1,000 a year). It sits between the existing SuperGrok plan at $30 and SuperGrok Heavy at $300. SuperGrok Plus includes 1080p video creation via Grok Imagine, significantly higher usage caps across Chat, Imagine, Voice, and Build, priority access at peak hours, and early access to new features. SuperGrok Heavy remains the top tier for the multi-agent and voice agent features. The free tier and other plan prices are unchanged. On the model side, Grok 4.7, which Elon Musk announced around September 2 with a September 12 target, has still not shipped; the September 18 window also passed without a release.
See Grok plans -
ChatGPT closes its $200 Pro plan to new sign-ups and changes voice limits
Two changes to check on if ChatGPT is your main tool. First, on September 10 OpenAI stopped taking new subscribers and upgrades for the $200 per month Pro plan (the 20x tier), citing heavy demand for its new GPT-6 Astra model. If you already pay $200, nothing changes. The $100 Pro plan is still open, as are Free, Go, and Plus. The catch: if you cancel or downgrade from $200, you cannot rejoin until the pause lifts, and OpenAI has not given a date. Second, on September 9 ChatGPT reorganized voice mode. Go now gets up to 3 hours a day on a lighter voice model, Plus gets 3 hours on the full one, the $100 Pro plan gets 15 hours, and the $200 plan is unlimited. The old “instant, medium, high” voice settings are gone, and voice can now hand hard questions to the smarter text models. If you use voice a lot, check Settings, then Usage, to see whether your daily allowance still fits.
Read OpenAI’s Pro tier notice -
ChatGPT can now read your Dropbox, Box, and SharePoint files, and images got better
ChatGPT Library already connected to Google Drive. This week Box, Dropbox, and SharePoint joined the list on the web version for Go plans and up, so you can ask about a file sitting in Dropbox without downloading and re-uploading it. Mobile support comes later. Open Library in the left sidebar and connect the account. Also, Images 2.5 rolled out September 8: sharper pictures, faster generation (OpenAI says up to half the wait), new templates, sketch-to-image on your phone, and the ability to comment on part of an image to change just that part. Image limits did not change.
Read the ChatGPT release notes -
Gemini gets a real Windows app, and Sheets on Android
Google released a native Gemini app for Windows 10 and 11. Press Alt and Space from inside any program and Gemini pops up, connected to Gmail and Drive if you allow it, with image generation and Deep Research built in. Free at gemini.google/desktop. Mac users have had this for a while; Windows folks, this is your turn. Also rolling out: if you use Google Sheets on an Android phone, Gemini can now answer questions about your spreadsheet and build charts from it (reads and explains, but does not edit formulas from the phone yet). That one needs Google AI Pro or Ultra, or a Business Standard Workspace plan or higher.
Read Google’s release notes -
Copilot will build a small business app for you
Microsoft added an “app” skill to Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio. You describe a simple business tool in plain English (a sign-in sheet, a request tracker, an inventory checker) and Copilot builds it. Public preview rolls out the week of September 14 and is billed on usage, so it is not free. Two housekeeping notes for Microsoft users: the consumer Copilot app and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app are being merged into one app on Windows and Mac around now, so yours may look different after an update. And the $18 per user introductory price on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business ends September 30, after which it returns to $21.
Read Microsoft’s announcement -
OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra, now rolling out to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in ChatGPT
OpenAI shipped GPT-6 Astra on September 3, 2026, calling it “the most intelligent and aligned model in the world.” It is rolling out to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users and appears in the model picker as “GPT-6 Pro.” The model has a 1,050,000-token context window (roughly 800 pages of text) and accepts text and image input. On the developer API, it costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens. Rollout is staged, so you may not see it in your ChatGPT account on day one; it should be widely available to paid subscribers within a few days. Subscription prices (Plus $20, Pro $100/$200, Business $25) are unchanged. The free tier is not included in the initial rollout.
See ChatGPT today -
Gemini app adds Lyria 3.5 music generation worldwide, including the free tier
Google rolled out Lyria 3.5, its latest music-generation model, directly inside the Gemini app on September 4, 2026. Unlike many recent Gemini features, this one is not gated to a paid plan: it is available worldwide on the free tier as well as Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra. Describe the mood, genre, or instrumentation you want and Gemini generates an original track. No pricing changes accompanied the rollout.
See Gemini plans -
Meta ships Muse Spark 1.3: new multimodal model with sharply lower API prices on an opt-in data-sharing tier
Meta released Muse Spark 1.3 on September 2, 2026. It handles text, images, and video, with a 1-million-token context window, designed for long-running agentic and coding tasks. Standard API pricing is $1.25 per million input tokens and $4.25 per million output tokens. Meta also introduced a “contributor” tier priced at just $0.10 input / $0.20 output per million tokens, but the trade-off is that Meta uses your prompts and outputs to train future models. Consumer Meta AI subscription pricing (Free, Meta One Plus at $7.99/month, Meta One Premium at $19.99/month) is unchanged. This model is relevant mainly to developers; regular Meta AI users will not notice a difference day-to-day.
See Meta AI -
Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash: same price as 3.7 Flash, better benchmarks, and a cybersecurity sibling
Google shipped Gemini 3.8 Flash on September 2, 2026, alongside a specialized Gemini 3.8 Flash Cybersecurity variant. The new model outperforms 3.7 Flash across every benchmark Google published while keeping exactly the same introductory pricing: $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens. That rate holds through December 31, 2026, then doubles. In the Gemini consumer app, 3.8 Flash is available on Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra ($99.99 or $199.99/month); the free tier continues with Flash-class models. If you are already a paid subscriber, you get a meaningfully smarter assistant at the same monthly price.
See Gemini plans -
Claude Fable 5.1 replaces Fable 5 as Anthropic’s flagship; same price, but roughly 25% cheaper for typical work
Anthropic launched Claude Fable 5.1 on September 1, 2026. It replaces the original Fable 5 as the top model in the Claude lineup and outperforms it on the hardest reasoning tasks, with better judgment on ambiguous instructions and fewer confident wrong answers. The standard API price is unchanged at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens. What did change: cache-read pricing dropped 75%, which makes Fable 5.1 roughly 25% cheaper than Fable 5 for agentic or repetitive workloads that reuse context. If you are on a Max or Team Premium plan, Fable 5.1 is included at the same 50% usage-limit share as Fable 5 was. Pro and Team Standard subscribers can still access it via usage credits. A companion model, Claude Mythos 5.1, is the same underlying model with different safeguard settings and is available only to vetted cybersecurity and life-sciences organizations.
See Claude plans -
Microsoft Copilot Deep Research is gone for most consumers; Researcher moves to premium-only
Microsoft retired the Deep Research feature from the consumer Copilot app on August 18, 2026, along with Copilot Podcasts. If you were using Deep Research to investigate complex topics and generate detailed reports, that feature is no longer available unless you are on a Microsoft 365 Premium subscription, where a successor called Researcher can still generate reports. Users on M365 Personal and Family plans lose the capability entirely. Old Deep Research reports remain accessible in your Copilot chat history and can be opened in Word and saved from there.
Microsoft support page -
Perplexity Computer comes to Microsoft 365: use it inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams
Perplexity Computer, the 19-model orchestration agent on the Max and Enterprise plans, is now available directly inside Microsoft 365 apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. You can ask it to draft documents, analyze spreadsheets, build presentations, or summarize email threads without switching to a separate app. Alongside this, Perplexity has added premium data from CB Insights, PitchBook, and Statista directly into Computer's reach, so Max and Enterprise subscribers can query those sources without separate subscriptions. The $20/month Pro plan and pricing are unchanged.
See Perplexity plans
August 2026
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o3 and the DALL·E GPT are gone from ChatGPT; Gemini starts answering with things you can touch
o3 is gone from the ChatGPT model picker. OpenAI retired it on August 26, 2026, completing a 90-day sunset. Your old conversations are unaffected, they still open and read normally. The GPT-5.6 models replace it. If your model list does not match a screenshot in the book, this is why: open the menu and pick whichever model is described as best for thinking or reasoning.
The DALL·E GPT was retired August 30, 2026. Image generation did not go away, it moved. Ask ChatGPT for a picture directly in a normal conversation and it will make one. No special GPT needed. One catch: images that lived only inside the old DALL·E GPT are no longer retrievable, so anything you want to keep should be downloaded from your regular chats.
Gemini can now answer with things you can manipulate. Google started rolling this out on August 24, 2026, gradually over about 15 days. Instead of only text and pictures, an answer can come back as a rotatable 3D model, a physics simulation with sliders for variables like gravity and velocity, or a zoomable molecular structure. Handy for explaining something to a student, or to yourself. If you do not see it yet, check back in a few days.
See ChatGPT today -
Claude Fable 5 is Anthropic’s new flagship; Max and Team Premium plans get it included, Pro users pay extra
Anthropic finalized access to Claude Fable 5 on July 20, 2026. It sits above Opus 5 as the most capable model in the Claude lineup. If you are on a Max plan ($100 or $200/month) or a Team Premium plan, Fable 5 is included at up to 50% of your weekly usage limits at no extra charge. If you are on Pro ($20/month) or Team Standard ($25/seat), you can still use Fable 5 but it draws from usage credits rather than your included plan limits. Pro users received a one-time $100 credit to get started. Consumers who use the free Claude tier are not affected; the default model remains Sonnet 5.
See Claude plans -
OpenAI cuts GPT-5.6 Sol API prices by more than 20%; subscription prices are unchanged
OpenAI lowered its API pricing for GPT-5.6 Sol on August 21, 2026, reducing input costs from $5 to $4 per million tokens and output costs from $30 to $20 per million tokens. The discount runs through at least November 21, 2026, and also applies to credits on ChatGPT Work and Codex plans. If you use ChatGPT through a consumer subscription (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business), your monthly bill is unchanged. This matters mainly for developers and businesses building on the API who were paying the old rates.
See ChatGPT plans -
Perplexity adds Education Pro at $10/month for verified students and faculty
Perplexity now offers a student and faculty discount that cuts the standard Pro plan in half. Education Pro is $10 per month for anyone who verifies through SheerID at perplexity.ai/students (university level or above). You get everything in regular Pro: unlimited Pro searches, file uploads, access to premium models including Perplexity Computer, and Learn Mode. This makes Perplexity one of the more affordable research tools for students, well below the full $20/month rate.
See Perplexity plans -
Grok 4.6 launches as xAI’s new flagship; SuperGrok subscribers get it at no extra cost
xAI launched Grok 4.6 on August 12, 2026, replacing Grok 4.5 as its top model. Subscribers on the SuperGrok plan ($30/month) get access automatically. API pricing stays the same: $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. New features include a 500,000-token context window and improved performance for multi-step tasks and coding. The free tier retains Grok 4.1 Fast. SuperGrok Lite ($10/month) sits between the two.
See Grok plans -
Anthropic makes Claude Sonnet 5 API pricing permanent; the September price increase won’t happen
When Claude Sonnet 5 launched, Anthropic called the $2/$10 per million token pricing “introductory” and said the standard rate of $3/$15 would take effect September 1, 2026. That increase has now been cancelled. The lower pricing is permanent. If you use Claude through its consumer apps (Free, Pro, Max), your subscription cost is unchanged. This matters most to developers building on the API, who will pay the lower rate indefinitely.
See Claude pricing -
ChatGPT adds Business Premium seats at $125/user/month for high-volume teams
OpenAI launched a premium tier within ChatGPT Business on August 10, aimed at power users inside organizations. Business Premium seats cost $125 per user per month (or $100 annually) and give five times the usage of standard Business seats at $25/month. If your company is already on ChatGPT Business and some team members are hitting limits, this is the upgrade path. The standard consumer tiers (Free, Go, Plus, Pro) are not affected.
See ChatGPT plans -
Microsoft Copilot Pro ($20/month) is done: existing subscriptions stopped renewing August 1
Microsoft stopped selling the standalone Copilot Pro subscription to new customers on October 1, 2025. Now it has completed the wind-down: existing Copilot Pro subscriptions stopped auto-renewing on August 1, 2026. If you were paying $20/month for Copilot Pro to get AI inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, that subscription is over. Microsoft is folding those features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans. On top of that, Microsoft is merging its consumer and enterprise Copilot apps into one unified experience and cutting two low-usage features (Copilot Podcasts and Copilot Labs). The standalone Copilot Chat at copilot.microsoft.com remains free.
See Copilot today -
ChatGPT Free and Go now include unlimited text chats; GPT-5.6 Luna is the new default
OpenAI is rolling out unlimited text conversations for Free and Go users starting the week of August 10, 2026. At the same time, GPT-5.6 Luna (launched August 6) replaces GPT-5.5 Instant as the everyday default for both tiers. The free tier is meaningfully better than it was six months ago. Advanced queries like deep research and image generation remain capped, but plain back-and-forth conversation is now unlimited.
See ChatGPT plans -
Perplexity launches a $200/month Max tier and makes Comet free for everyone
Perplexity added a new Max plan at $200/month for heavy researchers. The big feature is Perplexity Computer, which orchestrates 19 models to handle multi-step research tasks on your behalf. Separately, the Comet browser (previously a paid feature) is now free for all Perplexity users. The $20/month Pro plan is unchanged. Enterprise tiers also expanded: Enterprise Pro is $40/seat/month and the new Enterprise Max is $325/seat/month.
See Perplexity plans
July 2026
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Claude Opus 5 is now available on all paid plans
Anthropic released Claude Opus 5 on July 25, available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans as well as the API. Opus 5 is the new top-of-line model, replacing Opus 4.7. Pricing on the API is $5 input / $25 output per million tokens. If you are on a paid Claude plan, Opus 5 is now available in the model selector. Sonnet 5 became the default for Free and Pro on June 30; Opus 5 is the step up for demanding work.
See Claude plans -
Grok 4.5 launches as xAI’s new flagship model
xAI launched Grok 4.5 on July 8 as its most capable model. It arrives on the SuperGrok plan ($30/month) and via the API at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. The free tier retains Grok 4.1 Fast. xAI also quietly retired per-2-hour prompt caps in June 2026, switching to a daily cap model. A new SuperGrok Lite plan ($10/month) launched in March and sits between the free tier and SuperGrok.
See Grok plans -
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business raised to $21/user/month; Enterprise plans up too
Microsoft ended its promotional pricing on July 1, 2026. M365 Copilot Business moved from $18 to $21 per user per month. Enterprise plans increased between 5% and 43% depending on the SKU, with E5 customers getting Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 and Intune Remote Help bundled in. If your organization is on Copilot, expect to see the higher rate at your next renewal with at least 30 days notice in your tenant. The standalone Copilot Chat at copilot.microsoft.com remains free.
See Copilot pricing
June 2026
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Claude Sonnet 5 is now the default model on Free and Pro
Anthropic swapped in Claude Sonnet 5 as the default model for Free and Pro accounts on June 30, replacing Sonnet 4. If you have been using Claude on a free plan, you are now getting a meaningfully more capable model at no extra cost. Paid subscribers who want the top tier can upgrade to Opus 5, which launched on July 25. The pricing tiers themselves (Free, Pro $20, Max $100/$200, Team, Enterprise) are unchanged.
Try Claude -
Google cuts AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 and doubles the included storage
Google dropped the price of its Google AI Plus plan by 37 percent on June 8, from $7.99 to $4.99 per month, and doubled the included cloud storage from 200GB to 400GB. At $4.99, it is now cheaper than OpenAI’s $8/month Go plan. The other tiers stay where they were: AI Pro at $19.99, AI Ultra at $99.99 (entry) and $199.99 (top). The free tier still exists for everyday use with Gemini’s Flash-class models.
See Gemini plans -
Meta AI introduces paid tiers for the first time: Plus at $7.99, Premium at $19.99
Meta began charging for advanced AI features in June 2026 with two new subscription plans under the Meta One brand. Meta One Plus is $7.99 per month and adds higher compute queries, reasoning, and image and video generation. Meta One Premium is $19.99 per month and gives meaningfully more capacity on top of that. The free version of Meta AI continues to work for basic chat, search-style responses, and routine image generation. The new paid tiers are rolling out gradually, starting in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia.
See Meta AI
May 2026
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Google I/O 2026: Gemini AI Ultra cut to $99.99, top plan dropped to $199.99, Spark personal agent launches
Google overhauled its consumer AI lineup at I/O. The new entry Google AI Ultra plan is $99.99/month (was $249.99) and the top Ultra plan dropped to $199.99/month. The $7.99 Plus and $19.99 Pro tiers stay where they were. Gemini Spark, an agent that takes actions on your behalf, is rolling out on both Ultra plans in the U.S. A new Daily Brief feature gives a personalized morning digest of email, calendar, and updates across paid tiers. The Gemini app is also moving from daily prompt limits to a weekly "compute-used" model that refreshes every five hours.
Read Google’s I/O announcement -
ChatGPT can now see your finances (Pro preview, U.S. only)
OpenAI released a preview of a new personal finance experience to Pro users in the U.S. You can securely connect bank, credit card, and brokerage accounts, see a dashboard of where your money is going, and ask ChatGPT questions grounded in your actual financial context. Pro tier only at launch ($100 or $200/month). No word yet on when it expands to Plus or Free, or outside the U.S.
Read OpenAI’s release notes -
Microsoft Copilot will run your calendar for you
Microsoft 365 Copilot rolled out a new Calendar Agent. Using plain-English instructions, you can set rules that let Copilot manage your calendar automatically (decline anything before 9am, hold Fridays open for deep work, auto-accept invites from your manager). Copilot acts on those instructions in the background, no app to open, no menu to configure. Available to Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers.
Read Microsoft’s release notes -
Meta launches Incognito Chat with Meta AI on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app
Meta added a new Incognito Chat mode for talking to Meta AI on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app. Conversations are processed in a secure environment Meta says even its own engineers cannot read, messages are not stored, and the chat disappears when you end it. Useful if you want to ask Meta AI something sensitive without it being kept around. A separate Side Chat feature, for privately asking Meta AI questions about an ongoing WhatsApp thread without interrupting it, is rolling out next.
Read Meta’s announcement -
Gemini now has four consumer tiers: Free, Plus ($7.99), Pro ($19.99), and Ultra ($249.99)
Google quietly expanded Gemini’s consumer lineup. The new Plus plan at $7.99/month gives limited access to Gemini 3 Pro and 200GB storage. At the top end, the Ultra plan at $249.99/month adds Deep Think, Veo 3.1, and 30TB storage. The $19.99 Pro plan (formerly called Advanced) sits in the middle. The free tier still works but is limited to Flash-class models.
See Gemini plans -
Claude Team plan restructured: Standard at $25/seat, Premium at $125/seat
Anthropic replaced the single $30/seat Team plan with two tiers. Team Standard ($25/seat/month, or $20 annually) gives 1.25x Pro usage. Team Premium ($125/seat/month, or $100 annually) gives 6.25x Pro usage. Minimum five seats required. Alongside this, Anthropic doubled Claude Code rate limits for Pro, Max, and Team plans and removed peak-hour slowdowns for Pro and Max.
See Claude Team pricing
April 2026
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Google Cloud Next 2026: Workspace Intelligence and Chrome auto-browse
Google announced Workspace Intelligence, AI that works across Gmail, Docs, and Drive together. Enterprise Chrome users also get “auto browse,” letting Gemini handle multi-step tasks across websites. Consumer impact is limited for now, but expect these features to trickle down.
Read Google’s announcement -
ChatGPT Codex expands beyond coding, now an all-purpose agent
OpenAI’s Codex can now operate your computer, automate web workflows, generate images, and remember your preferences across sessions. Think of it as a digital assistant that can actually click buttons and fill out forms on your behalf. Available on paid plans.
Read OpenAI’s announcement -
ChatGPT ImageGen 2.0: smarter image creation with reasoning
ChatGPT’s image generator got a major upgrade. It can now “think” about what you want before creating, produce multiple versions at once, and pull in web references. Great for creating social media graphics, presentations, and creative projects.
Read OpenAI’s announcement -
Claude launches Claude Design, create slides, prototypes, and one-pagers visually
Anthropic released Claude Design, a new tool that lets you collaborate with Claude to create visual outputs like presentations, design mockups, and polished one-pagers. Available for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise subscribers. A big step for anyone who wants AI help beyond just text.
Read Anthropic’s announcement -
ChatGPT adds a $100/month Pro tier, now has 6 pricing plans
OpenAI slotted a new $100/mo “Pro” plan between Plus ($20) and the existing $200 tier. It includes 5x the usage of Plus and full Codex access. The full lineup is now: Free, Go ($8), Plus ($20), Pro ($100), Pro ($200), and Business ($25/user). The free tier still works but shows ads and caps at 10 messages every 5 hours.
Read TechCrunch’s coverage -
Microsoft Copilot is no longer free in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
If you've been using Copilot inside Office for free, that ended April 15. To keep AI features in those apps you'll need a Copilot Pro subscription ($18–$21/month). The free chat at copilot.microsoft.com still works for general questions.
Read Microsoft's announcement -
ChatGPT free tier now shows ads between responses
OpenAI added sponsored content to the free version of ChatGPT. Paid ChatGPT Plus accounts are unaffected. If you'd rather skip ads, Claude and Gemini both still offer ad-free free tiers as of this week.
Read OpenAI's announcement -
Gemini API free tier tightened, Pro models now paid-only
Google removed Gemini Pro models from the free API tier. If you were experimenting with the Gemini API for free, you’re now limited to Flash and Flash-Lite models. The consumer Gemini app (gemini.google.com) still has a free tier for everyday use.
See Gemini API pricing -
Claude can now read uploaded PDFs up to 1,000 pages
The free version of Claude got a much bigger document upload limit. Useful for summarizing long reports, contracts, or instruction manuals without having to chunk them yourself. Drag the PDF into the chat and ask your question.
Read Anthropic's announcement
March 2026
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Gemini now answers questions about photos in Google Photos
Open any photo in Google Photos on Android and ask Gemini "what kind of plant is this?" or "where was this taken?" Rolling out to free accounts over the next few weeks. iOS support is coming soon.
Read Google's blog post -
Voice-cloning scams are up 60%, what to do about it
The FTC is reporting a sharp rise in scam calls that mimic a family member's voice using AI. Chapter 9 covers the defense in detail; the short version is to set a family code word and never act on a voice call asking for money or codes.
FTC consumer guidance