This Company Says 1 New AI Feature Can Handle 20 Hours of Work in Seconds

Popular wedding planning platform The Knot has released an update to its mobile app that uses AI to streamline the process of finding local vendors. In a press release, the company said that the new update “cuts over 20 hours of planning work to just seconds.” The reimagined “planning experience,” as The Knot calls it, allows couples to browse through thousands of photos of weddings to create a vision board. By clicking an icon, users can activate a new feature called “make it yours,” which scans the image and then searches through The Knot’s database of venues and vendors to find similar options that “fit your vibe, budget, and location.” Christine Brown, The Knot’s VP of product, says that the company built this new AI feature entirely in-house, rather than relying on AI models from external providers like OpenAI or Anthropic. To create the feature, Brown says the company trained its own models on “more than a million images accessible on The Knot.” To test its effectiveness, The Knot ran a two-month pilot in which thousands of couples were given early access to the tool. As an example of how the new feature can help amateur wedding planners save time, Brown pointed to one of the most time-consuming aspects of throwing a wedding: picking a venue. Brown’s team estimated that most couples take roughly six weeks to pick a venue, spending 3.5 hours per week devoted to the search. That adds up to 21 hours of total searching time, which Brown says can now be reduced to minutes thanks to this new tool. The Knot says that this update is just the first step in a larger push to introduce AI-powered wedding planning features. As for what’s next, she says the company is building AI tools to help both couples and professional wedding planners and vendors. One of those tools is an AI-assisted email reply feature that allows vendors to convert more leads into bookings. “We see AI as a powerful force to support the planning journey,” Brown says, “helping couples and vendors save time, while still keeping personalization and human touch at the heart of the wedding experience.” BY BEN SHERRY @BENLUCASSHERRY

Microsoft Is Adding Anthropic’s Claude to Its AI Tools. Here’s What It Can Do for Businesses

Microsoft is expanding the lineup of AI models used to power 365 Copilot, its workplace-focused AI service. The move is a sign that Microsoft is actively working to lessen its reliance on OpenAI‘s models after investing over $10 billion in the company. In its blog post announcing the news, Microsoft said that while 365 Copilot will continue to be primarily powered by OpenAI’s models, users will now be able to harness Anthropic’s models in two specific ways. One is in Researcher, a 365 Copilot feature that searches the internet and analyzes internal data like emails, Teams chats, and files, in order to conduct deep research. Normally, Researcher runs on models developed by OpenAI, but 365 Copilot customers will now have the option of using Claude’s Opus 4.1 model (the company’s most advanced model currently available) instead. Microsoft said that Opus 4.1 in Researcher could be used to accomplish tasks like “building a detailed go-to-market strategy, analyzing emerging product trends, or creating a comprehensive quarterly report.” The other method for using Claude in 365 Copilot is within Copilot Studio, a feature that enables users to build customized AI agents that can automate workflows. Users will now be able to easily select Claude Opus 4.1 or Claude Sonnet 4 (Anthropic’s mid-sized model) when creating agents. Microsoft says users will even be able to orchestrate whole teams of agents, all powered by different AI models, to work in tandem in order to accomplish tasks. Workplaces with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses can now use Claude in Researcher and Copilot Studio, but only if opted-in by an administrator. Microsoft wrote that “this is just the beginning,” and that users should stay tuned for Anthropic models to “bring even more powerful experiences to Microsoft 365 Copilot.” Microsoft is also reportedly working on an AI marketplace for news and media publishers, according to Axios. The marketplace would enable publishers to sell their content to AI companies, who would in turn use that content to train their new AI models. Axios reported that Microsoft discussed plans for the marketplace at its invite-only Partner Summit in Monaco. BY BEN SHERRY @BENLUCASSHERRY

Anthropic’s Claude AI Has 1 Killer Use Case, According to New Data

Software engineering is the overwhelming favorite use case for Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, according to a new report published by the company. The report, the third in a series tracking AI’s economic effects, also breaks down how enterprises are using Anthropic’s AI models. The takeaway? Enterprises are heavily focused on using Claude to automate tasks. The report, titled “Uneven Geographic and Enterprise AI Adoption,” found that 36 percent of sampled conversations on Claude.ai, Anthropic’s ChatGPT-like platform for chatting with Claude, are centered on providing software development assistance. That makes it by far the AI model’s most popular use case. It should come as no surprise, then, that software developers working on applications are Claude’s heaviest users, making up 5.2 percent of all usage. The other top Claude.ai uses, according to Anthropic’s data, include providing assistance with writing, acting as a virtual tutor, conducting research, and supplying financial guidance and investment assistance. The report also tracked how enterprises are using Claude’s API, which enables developers to integrate Claude into their products and software applications. The data shows that businesses are largely using Claude to automate tasks, rather than using it as a learning tool or a collaborator. Anthropic says this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because the API naturally lends itself to automation. “Businesses provide context,” the company explained, “Claude executes the task, and the output flows directly to end users or downstream systems.” Like with Claude.ai, according to the report, software development is by far the most popular use for enterprises using the Claude API, with just under half of all API traffic accounting for computer and mathematical tasks. More specifically, 6.1 percent of all Claude API use is for resolving technical issues and workflow problems in software development; 6 percent is for debugging and developing front-end code and components for web applications; 5.2 percent for developing or managing professional business software; and 4.9 percent for troubleshooting and optimizing software. In the report, Anthropic wrote that code generation tasks dominate API traffic “because they hit a sweet spot where model capabilities excel, deployment barriers are minimal, and employees can adopt the new technology quickly.” But coding isn’t the only way that enterprises are using Claude. Ten percent of API usage comes in the form of office and administrative tasks, 7 percent is for science tasks, 4 percent is for sales and marketing tasks, and 3 percent is for business and financial operations. The report also examined how the cost of using Claude to handle specific tasks correlates with usage amounts. According to the data, tasks typical of computer and mathematical jobs, like coding and data analysis, cost over 50 percent more than sales-related tasks, but still dominate overall use of the tech. This, according to the company, “suggests that cost plays an immaterial role in shaping patterns of enterprise AI deployment.” Rather than focusing on costs, Anthropic postulated, “businesses likely prioritize use in domains where model capabilities are strong and where Claude-powered automation generates enough economic value in excess of the API cost.” The report also revealed how each state in the U.S. typically uses Claude (specifically Claude.ai). Unsurprisingly, California (where Anthropic is based) is far and away the biggest Claude user, accounting for 25.3 percent of total use. Other states with heavy Claude usage include New York (9.3 percent), Texas (6.7 percent), and Virginia (4 percent). BY BEN SHERRY @BENLUCASSHERRY

Gen-Z AI Founders Are Merging Work and Life in These 3 Ways

Young AI founders in San Francisco are upending preconceived notions about Gen Z’s approach to work-life balance. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, founders from ages 18 to 32 described a lifestyle entirely structured around their companies. These founders and their grind-first mindsets are in stark contrast to a 2024 Deloitte survey, which found that while 36 percent of Gen Z respondents consider work to be central to their identity, 25 percent consider work-life balance the top factor in choosing an employer. Far from quiet quitting, these founders are working seven day weeks, living in their offices, and eating only for sustenance. And they couldn’t be happier, at least according to the Journal’s reporting. Here’s what these young founders are doing to win in the AI era. Living in the office Several young founders interviewed by the Journal claimed to be working constantly. Marty Kausas, a 28-year-old founder building an AI startup called Pylon, said he had recently worked three 92-hour weeks in a row. And Nico Laqua, a 25-year-old cofounder of AI-powered insurance startup Corgi, said that he lives in his office and typically spends “every waking hour” working (doggedly, perhaps) on his company. He claims to only hire people willing to work seven days a week. Indeed, Corgi is currently hiring for a chef to provide the team with breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. Blowing up the work-life balance Even when they’re not physically in the office, these founders are reportedly almost always advancing their business interests in some way. Recent social activities for Kausas include attending a hackathon and taking a bike ride with a fellow founder. Emily Yuan, a Corgi co-founder, told reporters that she and her founder friends spend their free time discussing funding rounds while exercising and going to saunas. De-centralizing food Another common theme among the interviewed founders is their attitudes toward food and meals. Kausas told the Journal that he eats pre-packaged breakfasts and lunches from nutrition and supplements company Blueprint, because “the workday is more efficient if he doesn’t have to think about food.” Haseab Ullah, founder of an AI customer support chatbot, also claimed to have a utilitarian approach to eating. Usually, his only meal of the day is an Uber Eats-delivered treat, a tactic that he said helps him “save time and avoid cooking.” (A young person using Uber Eats to avoid cooking may not be a shocker, but using it to source every meal sounds more extreme.) Michelle Fang, an event planner at VC firm Headline, told the Journal that many founder-focused get-togethers in San Francisco don’t even serve alcohol, both because it is “out of fashion in the San Francisco crowd,” and because many founders “aren’t old enough to drink” yet. BY BEN SHERRY @BENLUCASSHERRY