OpenAI Says ChatGPT Search Volume Has Reached 20% of Google’s
OpenAI says ChatGPT now processes search queries at a volume equal to 20% of Google’s, highlighting how quickly AI-powered search is becoming a major alternative to traditional search engines.
- Adam Fry, OpenAI’s consumer product lead for ChatGPT, shared the figure at a press event on Monday.
- He said the company defines a search as any time a user inputs a query that results in a web search, as opposed to tasks like defining a term or giving a simple how-to explanation.
- OpenAI did not disclose the source of the Google search volume figure used for the comparison.
- Fry also took the opportunity to defend the company’s decision to introduce ads in ChatGPT, saying they “have not negatively impacted the product or the usage of the product” and have not generated a lasting backlash from users.
Although one-fifth of Google’s search volume is still a considerable gap, it represents significant growth for an alternative search experience. For comparison, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in 2023 that Bing held roughly 3% of the search market. The announcement also comes as OpenAI reportedly approaches a potential IPO early next year.
Apple Cuts Employee AI Budgets as It Moves to Rein in Costs
Apple has reduced the amount employees can spend on AI tools as part of a broader cost-control effort, even as the company looks to expand AI adoption across its operations.
- Apple reportedly cut the daily AI spending allowance for some engineers from $300 to $200 last month, affecting employees who use AI models and coding tools.
- The company is considering further cuts for certain engineering teams, potentially lowering their daily limits to $100.
- Some non-engineering teams already have a $100 daily cap, which could be reduced to as little as $25.
- Employees who need access beyond their assigned budgets would be able to request exceptions from senior executives.
- The budgets cover AI tokens, the units of data processed by models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini.
The move reflects a wider trend among technology companies reassessing AI expenses after initially encouraging employees to adopt these tools. Bloomberg recently reported that Goldman Sachs had also restricted access to some AI coding tools following a review of productivity and risk management.
How to Create Animated GIFs with ChatGPT Images 2.6
OpenAI just introduced ChatGPT Images 2.6, a new image model that not only generates images 50% faster than its predecessor but can also turn a prompt or image into an animated GIF.
Step 1: Open ChatGPT and describe the GIF you want to create.
Be as specific as you like about the subject, movement, and style. You can also upload a reference image to guide the creation.
Step 2: Once ChatGPT generates your GIF, you can make further edits using follow-up prompts or by clicking the GIF and selecting “Edit” (playback speed can be adjusted too, with options ranging from 0.5x to 2x).
Step 3: When you’re happy with the result, download or share your GIF.
With the new update, you can also keep reference images of yourself, pets, and characters ready to reuse in new creations, so you never have to upload them again.
Notes:
- Images 2.6 is rolling out globally in ChatGPT and Codex across all subscription tiers, on desktop, mobile, and web.
- OpenAI is also releasing the API models GPT-Image-2.6 “Flare” for efficient image generation and “Sunburst” for higher-quality image generation.
Grok Bot can now make phone calls in the US
SpaceXAI has introduced phone calls in Grok Bot, although calling is currently limited to users in the US (except Washington and Illinois), and only to US numbers in those same areas.
Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor
Conductor uses multiple AI agents working in parallel workspaces to help developers build software projects. The deal adds to Meta’s efforts to expand its AI coding capabilities.
Pangram expands AI detection to images and videos
The company has introduced tools that let subscribers check whether images and videos were generated or edited using AI, including heatmaps that highlight potentially AI generated areas in videos. The company claims its video detector identifies AI content with more than 98% accuracy, while its image model detects over 99% of AI generated images.
Voters rejected datacenters at the ballot box in Tuesday’s midterms
Voters in dozens of municipalities across at least 10 states approved measures to restrict or temporarily halt data center development in the November 4 elections. Ohio alone saw at least 14 municipalities pass restrictions, while eight towns in Maine approved temporary moratoriums.
Your Product Is Somewhere on a Ballot. Act Accordingly.
Voters just rejected AI data centers in 38 of 39 jurisdictions — and 56% said it shaped their congressional vote. If your product depends on AI compute, cloud infrastructure, or any physical buildout, your stakeholders are going to have questions. Use these prompts to get ahead of the conversation rather than react to it. Ask your AI 1. Map my product's dependency on AI infrastructure: which parts of my stack rely on large-scale compute, where that compute is likely located, and what happens to my service if Texas or California moratoriums affect my cloud provider's capacity. Identify the highest-risk dependencies. 2. Write three versions of a stakeholder update — for my board, for enterprise customers, and for my team — explaining how the 2026 midterm results affect our infrastructure roadmap and what contingency options we're evaluating if capacity constraints materialize in 2027. 3. Analyze what a "geographic diversification" strategy for AI compute would look like for a company my size: what cloud regions are least exposed to current moratoriums, what the latency and cost tradeoffs are, and what a 12-month migration plan would require to execute.
Data centers just lost the midterms
In Tuesday’s midterms, Democrats who campaigned for data center moratoriums won governor races in Texas and Georgia, two of the country’s biggest data center hubs, while local measures restricting construction passed widely.
In NBC’s exit poll, 56% of voters called data centers a crucial or major factor in their vote, and 76% opposed one in their community. Corruption and cost of living still ranked higher.
As results rolled in, Elon Musk posted that data centers in space looked “pretty appealing right now.” SpaceX has pitched orbital data centers all year, and voters just handed it a fresh argument.
ChatGPT can now create animated GIFs
OpenAI’s new Images 2.6 update lets ChatGPT turn a text prompt or uploaded photo into an animated GIF. Users can then adjust playback speed, edit individual frames, and share the result.
OpenAI says Images 2.6 generates images 50% faster. Developers also get two API models: GPT-Image-2.6 Flare, which can produce images in as little as six seconds, and Sunburst, which targets higher quality and more consistent edits.
OpenAI says users now generate over 4 billion images a week, up from 3 billion in September. That’s a billion more weekly images in two months, and GIFs only just joined the pile.
Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor
Meta acquired Conductor, a startup that lets developers run multiple AI coding agents in parallel, isolated workspaces. Meta confirmed the deal to TechCrunch but disclosed no price or terms.
Meta has been racing to catch up in AI coding, launching its own Muse Code agent in August. Founder Charlie Holtz says Conductor’s team plans to ship “something new” by early next year.
Conductor ran agents from Anthropic and OpenAI, so Meta just bought a control panel for its rivals’ models. Cloud users should export their data now, since deletion begins November 20.
Grok Bot can now make phone calls
SpaceXSI rolled out phone calls in Grok Bot, its AI agent platform, so paid users can have it sit on hold, book appointments, and negotiate bills with U.S. businesses while they follow a live transcript.
When a rep asks something the bot can’t answer, users type a reply for it to relay. SpaceXSI’s terms make users the “caller of record,” legally responsible for every call and for following phone laws.
One early user reportedly cut a Comcast bill by nearly $500. Grok Voice already answers 20,000 Starlink calls a day by SpaceXSI’s count, so your bot’s next call may reach another bot.
Apple cuts employees’ daily AI spending limits
Bloomberg reports Apple cut some engineers’ daily AI budget from $300 to $200 in October, and plans $100 caps for certain teams. Some non-engineering teams could drop to $25.
The budgets cover tokens for tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The cuts come as CEO John Ternus pushes Apple to run leaner, and Apple now steers some teams toward cheaper or on-device models.
Bloomberg’s sources say few employees were using their full $300 a day, so the cut trims a ceiling most people never hit. Staff who need more can still request exemptions from senior leadership.
Claude Code cuts background subagent token cost by 99% in v2.1.316
Claude Code just got a quiet but useful fix for background subagents, those helper agents that run tasks in parallel while your main session keeps going.
Here is the problem it solved. Every 30 seconds, each background subagent refreshed its status line. To do that, it re-read its entire conversation history each time. That is expensive. The longer the session, the worse it got.
Now, Haiku 5.5, a smaller and faster model, writes that status update from short notes instead of the full transcript. The result: each status update costs 99% less to generate.
What does that mean for you? More runway on the same plan.
- Sessions with background subagents now use about 5% less of your usage limit
- That translates to roughly 6% more prompts before you hit the wall
- No config changes needed, just update to v2.1.316+ with claude update
- Live for Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise users
Small change, real impact, especially if you run long multi-agent sessions.