Cisco’s latest research reveals a significant shift in customer service and support interactions. By 2028, agentic AI is expected to handle 68% of these interactions with technology vendors. The study, surveying nearly 8,000 global decision-makers, highlights the growing importance of AI-led customer experiences. Respondents anticipate benefits across the technology lifecycle, including improved IT productivity and cost savings. Despite AI’s rise, 96% of customers still value human relationships in B2B tech partnerships. The research emphasizes the need for vendors to accelerate their agentic AI strategies to remain competitive. 

Microsoft is introducing artificial intelligence enhancements to Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad for Windows 11 users. These updates include generative AI features and are rolling out to Windows Insiders on Canary and Dev builds, with some functions limited to Copilot+ PCs. Paint now allows users to design stickers with AI-generated prompts and offers Smart Object Selection for pinpointing elements in images. Snipping Tool upgrades include a “perfect screenshot” feature that edits automatically and a color identification tool providing HEX, RGB, and HSL values. Notepad’s new abilities enable AI-driven text creation and editing through simple menu commands. Together, these updates highlight Microsoft’s push to integrate AI into everyday applications.

Anthropic has launched its latest AI models, Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, showcasing significant advancements in autonomous coding and reasoning capabilities. Claude Opus 4 demonstrated the ability to code independently for nearly seven hours during testing, a substantial improvement over previous iterations. To address potential misuse, particularly in sensitive areas like bioweapons development, Anthropic implemented its AI Safety Level 3 (ASL-3) protocols, incorporating enhanced cybersecurity and prompt classifiers. Both models introduce features such as “thinking summaries” and an “extended thinking” mode, aiming to provide clearer reasoning insights and improved performance. This release positions Anthropic as a formidable competitor in the AI landscape, challenging offerings from OpenAI and Google.

Leading AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and xAI are engaged in an intense competition for elite AI researchers, offering multi-million dollar compensation packages. The scarcity of top talent has led to creative hiring strategies and retention efforts. Some researchers are receiving bonuses of $1-2 million and equity increases of $20 million or more. Companies are also recruiting from diverse fields like theoretical physics and quantum computing. This talent war has intensified following recent high-profile departures from major AI labs. 

Apple reportedly plans to open its on-device AI models, the core of Apple Intelligence, to third-party developers. This move, initially reported by Bloomberg, would give app creators access to Apple’s smaller, local large language models through a software development kit. This new access will allow developers to integrate Apple’s AI capabilities directly into their applications, a strategy similar to Google’s approach with its Gemini Nano AI APIs for Android. While limited AI tools were previously available, this SDK offers deeper integration. The company is expected to announce this significant development during its Worldwide Developers Conference, starting June 9.