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Google just turned Gemini into a 24/7 agent
Published 24 days ago • 7 min read
Weekly AI Highlights: May 16-22, 2026
What Small Business Owners Need to Know Right Now
by Jen Lehner
Reader,
Last weekend I enjoyed a "hen party" in Chautauqua, NY. This photo was taken at Panama Rocks, a very unusual geographical spot made up of prehistoric boulders, deep crevasses, and beautiful trees. I left AI far behind and enjoyed every minute of the weekend. We also visited the Lucille Ball museum and the Comedy Museum, which I highly recommend if you are ever in the area.
Back to the regularly scheduled AI chaos...
Google had a wild week at I/O 2026 (their big annual product event), with SO many Gemini updates I could fill an entire newsletter just on those. I'm going to give you the three that actually matter for your business. Plus OpenAI just gave ChatGPT a window into your bank accounts, and Spotify made a move on the AI podcast space.
1. Google Just Turned Gemini Into a 24/7 Agent (And Two Other Things You'll Actually Use)
This week at Google I/O, Google rolled out a stack of new Gemini features. Here are the three you should know about.
Daily Brief. A new feature inside the Gemini app that pulls from your Gmail and Calendar in the morning and gives you one summary of what's urgent, what's coming, and what to do next. You can thumbs-up or thumbs-down each brief so it learns what you actually care about over time. Live now if you pay for Google AI Plus, Pro, or Ultra (those are Google's paid AI subscription tiers) in the U.S. I have been building something like this with a custom Gem inside Google Workspace Studio. If Daily Brief actually delivers, that whole workaround becomes obsolete.
Gemini Spark. Google is calling this a 24/7 AI agent. Quick definition before we go further: in AI, an "agent" is the word for AI that doesn't just answer your questions, it actually does the task for you. Spark connects to your Gmail, Docs, and Slides, plus outside apps like Canva, OpenTable, and Instacart. It keeps working in the background even when your laptop is closed or your phone is locked, because it lives in the cloud. Some of Google's real examples: auto-flag hidden subscription charges on your credit card statement, pull your kids' school updates from your inbox into one daily digest, or turn raw meeting notes into a polished Google Doc plus a draft kickoff email. Before it does anything big like spending money or sending an email, it asks you first. Rolls out next week as a beta to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S.
Gemini Omni. This one is for anyone who creates content. Omni turns text, images, or video into polished short videos. You can apply cinematic zooms, swap backgrounds, or drop in a custom AI version of yourself that looks and sounds like you. Live today for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers worldwide.
OMG, this is it. We have been waiting for Gemini to have real agents, and I cannot wait for Spark to land in our accounts.
2. ChatGPT Can Now Connect to Your Bank Accounts
(Don’t come for me. I’m just the messenger). OpenAI just launched a personal finance feature inside ChatGPT. You can connect your bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and loans (over 12,000 institutions supported, including Chase, American Express, Capital One, Fidelity, and Schwab), and you get a dashboard that shows where your money is going.
Once connected, you can ask ChatGPT real questions like "Have I been spending more lately?" or "Help me build a plan to buy a house in five years," or "What subscriptions should I cancel?" The answers are based on your actual financial data, not generic advice.
A few important guardrails. ChatGPT cannot see your full account numbers. It cannot make changes to your accounts (no moving money, no canceling subscriptions for you, just analysis and advice). You can disconnect any account anytime, delete the financial data, or use temporary chats that never save to your history.
It's a preview right now for ChatGPT Pro users in the U.S., on web and iOS. ChatGPT Plus users will get it later.
I have a Team account, so I can’t test this yet. If I had a Pro account, I would absolutely try it. I would not connect everything all at once. I would start with one account, poke around, and see what kind of insights it gives me. That feels like the right way to approach tools like this. Not with panic. Not with blind trust. Just curiosity and common sense. Try one piece. See what it shows you. Decide from there. That’s really the whole AI strategy right now.
3. Spotify Now Makes Custom Podcasts Just for You
Spotify is rolling out something called Personal Podcasts. You type a prompt and Spotify creates a custom audio episode for you. The examples Spotify gave: "Share my daily city updates and tell me about local concerts from artists I love," or "Help me understand economics in five minutes." You can set it up as a one-time deep dive, a daily briefing, or a weekly roundup. The episodes get saved privately in your library, so only you can listen to them.
Spotify also released a brand new desktop app called Studio by Spotify Labs. It connects to your email, calendar, and notes, so the podcast it generates can pull in your actual schedule and personal context. It's in early preview right now in over 20 countries for anyone 18 and older.
One more thing: Spotify added an AI Q&A feature while you listen to podcasts. You can ask questions about the episode mid-play and get answers. That part is live now for Premium mobile users in the U.S., Sweden, and Ireland.
This is Spotify going head-to-head with NotebookLM. Quick reminder in case NotebookLM is new to you: it's Google's tool where you feed in documents and it creates a podcast-style audio summary, and it has been one of my favorite AI tricks for over a year. NotebookLM already lets you ask questions while you listen, so for me, the Q&A part of this Spotify news is not actually new. What is new is Spotify bringing this kind of magic into the app you already open every day, with your own info baked in. Smart play.
PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Story #3 reminded me of how often I use AI to learn something fast. Spotify's own example was "Help me understand economics in five minutes." That is exactly the kind of thing AI is wildly good at, and most people still don't use it this way.
Here is the prompt I keep coming back to for this. It is called the 80/20 prompt, because it leans on the old rule that 20% of a topic gets you 80% of the understanding.
When to use it: You are walking into a conversation about something you don't really understand yet. A sales call. A new client industry. A tool your team is debating. A topic that just landed on your radar and you want to sound like you have at least met it before.
What you'll get back: A short, plain-language brief that gives you the core concepts, the words you should know, and enough grounding to ask a smart follow-up question.
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini:
I want to learn [TOPIC]. I don't need to become an expert. I just want a solid working understanding. Identify the most important 20% of concepts, terms, or ideas that will give me about 80% of what I need to know. Teach me those first, in plain language.
Bonus tip: add a time limit at the end. Something like "I have 10 minutes" or "I have one minute." It changes how the AI shapes the answer. Less time gets you a tighter, more skimmable version. More time gets you a deeper one.
Kajabi just cut every plan in half, and if you sign up through my link, you get 50% off for 12 full months instead of the 6 months Kajabi is offering directly.
During this promo window, Kajabi is also rolling out five new products, including AI business planning, client portals, sponsored email opportunities, AI integrations, and AI agents trained on your offers and content.
When you join through my link, you’ll also get special bonuses from Team Jen:
Two 45-minute setup calls with us, so we can help you get your Kajabi account set up around your specific business goals.
Our custom sales page template, the same framework that has generated more than $500k in our business.
Access to Kajabi Kamp, our members-only library of Kajabi trainings, from your first course setup to advanced automations.
This is a great fit if you already have an offer idea and you’re ready to start building. The promo ends June 2 at 11:59pm PST.
If any of this made you think differently about how you want to work with AI, hit reply and let me know. I read every message. Your questions shape what I cover next.
Have a great weekend,
Founder, Front Row AI Club PS. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to get it in your inbox.
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