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ChatGPT Enhances Collaborative Ability with Canvas Interface

On the heels of announcing a $6.6 billion funding round, OpenAI is getting busy with new products including the launch of the latest iteration of ChatGPT. The chatbot will now extend beyond simple questions and answers with Canvas, a new interface that opens in a separate window, allowing collaborative engagement with ChatGPT on writing and coding projects. Launching in beta, Canvas was built with GPT-4o and can be manually selected in the model picker. Canvas is being made available first to global ChatGPT Plus and Team users with Enterprise and Edu users next. The company says it will be available to all free ChatGPT users when it’s out of beta. Read more

Apple Advances Computer Vision with Its Depth Pro AI Model

Apple has released a new AI model called Depth Pro that can create a 3D depth map from a 2D image in under a second. The system is being hailed as a breakthrough that could potentially revolutionize how machines perceive depth, with transformative impact on industries from augmented reality to self-driving vehicles. “The predictions are metric, with absolute scale” without relying on the camera metadata typically required for such mapping, according to Apple. Using a consumer-grade GPU, the model can produce a 2.25-megapixel depth map using a single image in only 0.3 seconds. Read more

Google Serving Ads in AI Overviews and Lens Search Results

Having demonstrated how advertisements in its AI Overviews would work back in May at its Google Marketing Live event, the search giant is now adding the feature for U.S. mobile users and plans to include Google Lens shopping ads “above and alongside visual search results by the end of the year.” “The ways people ask questions today have expanded beyond the search box,” notes Google, explaining the move as a response to that evolution, as artificial intelligence technology has helped consumers use their voice and cameras “to explore the world around them.” Read more

Gen AI Among Pinterest Performance+ Advertising Upgrades

Pinterest is unveiling AI and automation tools to support advertising campaigns on the platform. At its annual Pinterest Presents global advertiser summit the social platform known for inspiration boards and shopping unveiled a generative background feature for its Pinterest Performance+ suite, allowing advertisers to replace flat backgrounds with “lifestyle imagery” using AI. Launched earlier this year, Pinterest says Performance+ lets advertisers create campaigns in about half the time and is already producing positive results. Now it is rolling out improvements to the feature in time for the holiday shopping season. Read more

YouTube Updates Shorts Player, Extends Length to 3 Minutes

Beginning October 15, YouTube Shorts will extend its maximum length to 3 minutes. The move competitively positions the Google unit against TikTok, which allows for videos of up to 10 minutes when recording, or an hour when uploading. Regular YouTube accommodates videos of up to 12 hours for verified accounts and 15 minutes for unverified accounts, whether live or uploaded. But in terms of marketing focus, the current attention is on short-form video. YouTube is also updating the Shorts player, adding templates, and introducing a Shorts trends page for mobile. Read more

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