Weekly AI Highlights: December 20, 2025 - January 2, 2026
What Small Business Owners Need to Know Right Now
Reader, Happy New Year! 🎉 I hope your 2026 is off to a strong, energized start. Or a gentle, quiet, lazy-ish start. Personally, I completely unplugged for almost two weeks and it was heavenly.
Whether you’re easing back into work or hitting the ground running, this week’s AI updates offer a glimpse of what’s coming in the year ahead—and it’s clear that 2026 will be all about execution, not just experimentation. (Although there will be plenty of experimenting, that’s for sure!)
The big news this week is that Manus is joining Meta, and Google is transforming the Gemini + NotebookLM connection into a true content engine. If this is how the year is starting, we’re in for an interesting ride.
1. ​Manus Joins Meta to Power the Next Era of AI Innovation
Manus has announced that it is officially joining Meta, marking a major move in the AI landscape. Manus is known for its work on advanced agent systems that can reason, plan, and take action across complex tasks. By bringing that team and technology into Meta, the company is signaling a serious push toward more capable, autonomous AI systems that can operate across products and workflows at scale.
Sources Link: https://manus.im/blog/manus-joins-meta-for-next-era-of-innovation​
MY TAKE​
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I’ve been a Manus user for a while and I’ve always been very impressed with it. You might remember a video demo I did a few weeks ago when I showed how Manus could edit your podcast episodes…in bulk!
I think this acquisition is really interesting and probably the smartest thing Meta could have done to get in the game. To date, I think Meta’s AI has been terrible.
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Now I wonder, who will buy Genspark?
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ACTION STEP (DO THIS WEEK)
​Set up a free Manus account and give it a few tasks. Add it to your browser bar and as you go about your usual prompting in ChatGPT, Claude, etc., put the same prompts into Manus and compare the output.
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2. Gemini Deepens Its Connection With NotebookLM
Google is tightening the loop between Gemini and NotebookLM in a few important ways. You can now upload entire NotebookLM notebooks directly into Gemini, allowing you to use your existing research as full context when prompting. That means you can reference complete notebooks, combine multiple notebooks in one workflow, and generate new outputs like images, apps, or ideas based on your notes. Woo hoo! On top of that, Gemini is experimenting with new creative tools like freeform drawing inputs, and NotebookLM is testing longer, 30-minute audio lecture-style summaries that turn your notes into listenable content.
Source Links: https://9to5google.com/2025/12/18/gemini-nana-banana-drawing/​
​https://www.testingcatalog.com/exclusive-google-tests-30-minute-audio-lectures-on-notebooklm/​
MY TAKE​
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If you’ve subscribed to this newsletter for a while, then you know I’m NotebookLM’s biggest fan. And it’s upgrades like these, and non-stop innovation, that keeps me loving the platform. It does keep me on my toes, though, making it necessary for me to continue updating our
NotebookLM Guide. ​
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ACTION STEP (DO THIS WEEK)
If you already use NotebookLM, clean up one notebook so it clearly reflects a single topic or project. Once Gemini access rolls out for you, upload that notebook and ask Gemini to generate something new from it, like a visual, outline, or idea list. If you see the audio lecture option, test it on a dense notebook and listen instead of reading.
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The Front Row Jumbo Calendar 2026 is Here!
Want my 2026 Jumbo Wall Calendar for FREE? I just created this year-at-a-glance wall calendar to help you plan launches, map content, and keep your goals visible every single day (not buried in your phone). It's $19.99, but here's how to get it free:
- Subscribe to my YouTube channel ​​​https://www.youtube.com/@Jenlehnermedia​​
- Follow me here on Instagram @jen_lehner​​​https://www.instagram.com/jen_lehner​​
- Send me an email to jennifer@jenlehner.com with screenshots of both
This is the same planning system I use to see my whole year at once, plan quarterly, and stop overcommitting. It's an instant download, and you can print it as large as you want for your office or home. (Staples will print for about $10, and I’ve included step by step instructions).
When the plan is always in front of you, decisions get easier and your weeks get more productive.
Who's ready to make 2026 their most intentional year?
Front Row AI Club Exclusive Training
Practical Tips for Using AI and Protecting Your IP
​with Elise Steegstra
January 21, 2026 at 3 PM ET | 12 PM PT | 8 PM UK
A practical, real-world discussion on how AI affects your intellectual property rights and what you can do to protect and own your own ideas.
What We Will Cover in the Session:
- Practical case studies including marketing copy, video scripts, social media graphics
- How to convert AI-assisted outputs into work you can own.
- How to avoid common pitfalls that cause creators to lose rights inadvertently.
- Tools and checklists to adopt immediately.
This is an exclusive training session for the members of The Front Row AI Club, designed to give members the clarity and confidence needed to make sure they don’t accidentally step on AI “legal landmines”! If you want access to sessions like this, ongoing AI support, and hands-on training, consider joining the Front Row AI Club.​
PROMPT OF THE WEEK
The Ultimate Interactive New Year’s Resolution Planning Prompt
Use this prompt to create a clear, personalized, and actionable plan for your New Year’s resolutions. It walks you step by step through every major area of life, helping you clarify your goals, remove obstacles, build better habits, and stay motivated with practical tracking and reflection. The prompt is designed to adapt to your priorities, encourage honest self reflection, and turn big goals into realistic daily actions.
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Try this prompt:
I want to create a comprehensive and actionable plan for my New Year’s resolutions. I am focusing on the following areas of life:
• Health and Fitness
• Personal Development
• Career and Education
• Financial Goals
• Relationships and Social Life
• Mental and Emotional Well-being
• Hobbies and Interests
• Environmental and Social Impact
• Spiritual Growth
Please guide me through this process by asking detailed, thoughtful questions and structuring your output using the framework below.
Before Starting (for each focus area):
• Ask me to reflect on what went well last year in this area.
• Ask me what I would like to improve this year.
• Ask me what I am already grateful for in this area of my life.
• Help me prioritize whether this area should be a focus in the next 3 months or later.
For Each Focus Area:
Goals and Focus
• Ask me to define specific and measurable goals.
• Ask why these goals matter to me and how they connect to my deeper values.
• Ask what kind of person I want to become by focusing on this area.
• Help me rank this area’s importance compared to the others and determine whether it is a short-term or long-term priority.
Distractions to Avoid
• Identify common distractions or obstacles related to this area.
• Suggest practical strategies or tools to minimize or eliminate these distractions.
Preparations Needed
• Recommend resources such as apps, books, courses, tools, or mentors.
• Ask what steps I should take before starting, such as setting up systems, schedules, or accountability.
Habits to Avoid
• Identify unproductive or counterproductive habits tied to this area.
• Suggest realistic and positive replacement habits.
Actionable Steps and Micro-Resolutions
• Create a clear daily, weekly, and monthly action plan.
• Break larger goals into small, achievable milestones.
• Suggest ways to gamify progress using rewards, challenges, or streak tracking.
Tracking Progress and Accountability
• Recommend ways to track progress such as apps, spreadsheets, or journaling.
• Suggest regular weekly or monthly check-ins to review and adjust goals.
• Encourage involving accountability partners, coaches, or communities.
Overcoming Challenges
• Identify potential obstacles or setbacks.
• Provide proactive solutions and contingency plans.
Celebrating Wins
• Suggest meaningful ways to celebrate milestones and progress.
• Encourage reflection to reinforce motivation.
Visualization and Motivation
• Guide me through visualization exercises describing what success looks and feels like.
• Suggest creating a vision board or future-focused journaling prompts.
Output Structure:
Objective: Clearly define goals and desired outcomes for each focus area.
Key Components: Summarize focus areas, distractions, preparations, and habits to avoid.
Actionable Steps: List specific routines, habits, and milestones.
Tracking Progress: Outline tools and methods for measurement.
Overcoming Challenges: Present solutions and contingency plans.
Motivation and Visualization: Include exercises and inspiration prompts.
Interactive Follow-Up: Ask reflective follow-up questions and offer to refine the plan as priorities evolve.
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Source: r/ChatGPTPromptGenius
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A Handy Tool Hub Worth Bookmarking
Ran across this gem of a website I think you'll love: Delphitools is a collection of lightweight, privacy-respecting utilities for creators and developers—from QR code generators and colour palette tools to image converters and typography calculators. I love the favicon generator! Everything runs locally in your browser with no logins, registration, or data collection required. It's indie web at its best: simple, handmade tools that just work.
The Bottom Line
This week reinforces a clear shift: AI is being built to do work, not just assist with ideas. Meta’s move to bring Manus in-house shows a long-term bet on agents that can reason, plan, and act across real workflows. Google is tightening the loop between research and creation, turning NotebookLM into a true source of truth and Gemini into a production engine.
You don’t need to overhaul everything today, but you should start thinking less about prompts and more about outcomes. The advantage heading into 2026 will belong to people who design their workflows with AI in mind and practice using these tools intentionally as they mature.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON:
- Meta’s push into agent-based AI through the Manus acquisition, and what that signals about where real execution and automation are headed
- NotebookLM’s evolution into a central research hub, with Gemini increasingly turning stored knowledge into audio, visuals, and other usable outputs
Comments
If any of these updates sparked questions about how to use AI more strategically in your business, hit reply and tell me what you’re thinking about. Also, if you did something cool with AI this week, I’d love to hear about it. I read every message, and your questions directly influence what I share and teach next.
Cheering you on from the front row,
Founder, Front Row AI Club
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You can find my previous newsletter articles here: The Front Row AI Report​
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