Welcome Automaters 👋
Alright, quick PSA: If you thought your targeted ads were annoying, wait until Google’s new AI shopping agent starts checking your bank balance before giving you a price.
On January 11th, Google dropped the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). On paper, it sounds like a dream: Google, Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart teaming up so you can find a suitcase in Gemini and buy it without ever leaving the chat.
But the internet’s "joy" lasted about 48 hours. Lindsay Owens (an executive director of the consumer economics think tank Groundwork Collaborative) went viral on X with a warning that’s currently sitting at 470K views. Her take: Google didn't just build a shopping tool—they built "an NSA for capitalism."
The Core Accusations:
The Pricing Squeeze: The fear is that by merging your search history and your private AI chats, Google can figure out exactly how much you're willing to pay. And if the AI knows you’re desperate for that suitcase for a flight tomorrow? Boom—premium pricing just for you.
The “Hidden” Specs: Owens went doc-diving and found some interesting features like “personalized upselling” that nudges pricier items using your data, “Direct Offers” that tweak prices based on loyalty or new-member status, and identity-linking specs that suggest hiding the "scope complexity" from your consent screen. In normal-person speak: "Let's make the privacy settings so confusing they just click 'Yes'.
Google’s Response? Well Google fired back on X yesterday, basically saying "We’d never!" They swear merchants can’t charge more on Google than their own sites, that upselling just means showing premium options (not overcharging), and that their agent doesn't have the "functionality" to manipulate prices.
The Big Picture: Even if Google’s playing “nice” right now, Owens isn't completely wrong about where this could end. The pipes for price manipulation are officially in place. When one company controls the agent, the storefront, and your data… “buyer beware” gets a whole lot darker.
The Plot Twist: This is actually a massive opportunity for the underdogs. If nobody trusts the Big Tech shopping agents, private-first tools like Dupe and Beni are about to have a very big year.
The takeaway? We’re moving into an era where we’re either shopping smarter or just getting surveilled better.
So stay safe (and maybe keep your budget a secret from Gemini)
Here's what we have for you today
🏭 Microsoft Data Center Pledge And What It Means for Your Power Bill in 2026
In a move that screams "we read the room (and Trump’s Truth Social)," Microsoft just pledged not to wreck your monthly electricity bill while they build out a massive wave of AI data centers across the US.
On Tuesday, Microsoft President Brad Smith dropped their new "Community-First" playbook in Virginia. And the timing? Honestly, perfection. Trump had just posted on Truth Social the night before that he won't let Americans "pick up the tab" for Big Tech’s power-hungry AI dreams.
Well, guess what? Message received. Cuz right now Microsoft is trying very hard not to be the bad guy in a suburban sci-fi flick, complete with its own “Good Neighbor” rulebook.
So here’s the plan:
Paying the Premium: Microsoft says it’ll work with utilities to cover both its massive power usage and the grid upgrades needed to support it. In Wisconsin, they’re literally asking regulators to raise their rates so the local town doesn’t go dark the second they turn on the GPUs. (A rare "please charge us more" moment).
The Water Hack: They’ve pledged to replenish more water than they consume (a HUGE sore spot for communities might I add). In Quincy, WA, they built a treatment facility to recirculate cooling water instead of draining the local supply. Turns out, neighbors get way less cranky when you aren't drinking all their water while their lawns turn brown.
No More Tax Begging: Microsoft says it’s done chasing property-tax abatements. Instead, they’ll pay full freight to support local schools, hospitals, and parks. An honest-to-god W for local treasuries.
The 10-Year Job Loop: Their Datacenter Academy is expanding to train locals for construction, maintenance, and ops jobs. Smith says these projects can keep people employed for 10–15 years as sites grow. So yeah, not a quick cash grab, at least on paper.
Small Biz Sweeteners: They’re also offering AI tools, investments and "upskilling" to local nonprofits and small businesses. Basically: "We’ll show you how to use Gemini—oops, Copilot—if you let us build the warehouse."
So, why the sudden charm offensive?
Well data centers have turned into a full-blown political headache. There are approximately 142 activist groups across 24 states trying to stop these “industrial monoliths” in their tracks. Microsoft did the math and realized being the “bad guy” was getting very expensive. And honestly? Can’t blame them. They were already pushed out of a Wisconsin project by furious locals, and in Michigan, residents literally took to the streets to shut another one down.
Oh, and here’s the kicker: some communities near data centers saw electricity prices jump up to 267% over the last five years. Yikes.
The Reality: Microsoft spent a cool $35 billion on AI infra in Q3 alone, and Satya Nadella wants to double their data center footprint in the next two years. If you ask me, that's a staggering amount of electricity.
The Bottom Line: Microsoft is making all the right noises after getting absolutely pummeled by community backlash. But there’s a catch: data-center developers often strike confidential power deals with utilities. And unless those contracts go public, we may never know if Microsoft is truly “paying its way”… or if the rest of us are quietly subsidizing their AI dreams.
Color us cautiously optimistic, with a heavy emphasis on cautiously, but maybe keep an eye on your utility bill, just in case.
Don’t Forget: we’re open for sponsorships and ad placements in our Newsletter. And to celebrate the New Year, we’re also offering a special price for early partners.
Curious? Feel free to talk to us.
What investment is rudimentary for billionaires but ‘revolutionary’ for 70,571+ investors entering 2026?
Imagine this. You open your phone to an alert. It says, “you spent $236,000,000 more this month than you did last month.”
If you were the top bidder at Sotheby’s fall auctions, it could be reality.
Sounds crazy, right? But when the ultra-wealthy spend staggering amounts on blue-chip art, it’s not just for decoration.
The scarcity of these treasured artworks has helped drive their prices, in exceptional cases, to thin-air heights, without moving in lockstep with other asset classes.
The contemporary and post war segments have even outpaced the S&P 500 overall since 1995.*
Now, over 70,000 people have invested $1.2 billion+ across 500 iconic artworks featuring Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more.
How? You don’t need Medici money to invest in multimillion dollar artworks with Masterworks.
Thousands of members have gotten annualized net returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8% from 26 sales to date.
*Based on Masterworks data. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd
🧱 Around The AI Block
🤯 This voice AI startup quietly hit $330M ARR last year.
🤑 Apple goes all-in on AI for creators with a new subscription.
🫸 Brazil pushes back on Meta’s AI rules for WhatsApp.
💰 This Meta-backed startup pivoted to AI sales—and it worked.
👩⚖️ Senate moves to let victims of sexually explicit deepfakes sue for damages.
😲 Google updates Veo AI video generator with 4K upscaling and native vertical mode.
🤖 Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI.
🛠️ Trending Tools
For the Data Nerds: Pane lets you edit data on your spreadsheet and build complex formulas using natural language.
For the Personal Brands: Square Face Generator offers you fresh avatars. It comes with 30+ curated styles and HD exports with zero signup required. It’s the easiest way to grab a professional-looking PFP in seconds.
For the Analysts: Signal87 AI uses document intelligence to organize, search, and extract deep insights from your messy PDFs and docs, turning "lost data" into actionable info.
For the Social Managers: PostSyncer is the ultimate "post once, share everywhere" hub. It manages all your accounts, schedules content, and even features built-in AI for generating videos and images so you can keep your feed active on autopilot.
For the Researchers: NotebookLM Watermark Remover – If you love Google’s NotebookLM but hate the branding on your exported PDFs, this tool is a lifesaver. It securely strips watermarks so your research looks polished and professional for meetings or clients.
Hope these tools help you reclaim some of your time today!
🤖 AI Workout Of The Day: How to Actually Talk to Your PDFs (And Get It to Answer Back)
Still sloggin’ through 300-page PDFs line-by-line? Well, it's cute. But in 2026, it is also officially a choice.
The AI revolution has really hit the bookshelves, and it is wild. Tools like ChatPDF and MyReader AI are turning static documents into interactive conversations. You can now upload a PDF and literally interrogate it like you’re interviewing the author. Seriously, students are crushing homework, researchers are skipping the slog, and pros are analyzing contracts in seconds.
Here ya go!
1. ChatPDF:
This is the "drag and drop" king for quick wins. Go to ChatPDF.com, drop your file, and start asking questions.
The Deal: The free plan lets you do 2 uploads a day (up to 120 pages).
The Upgrade: For $6.99 a month, you get unlimited PDFs and documents up to 2,000 pages. It even works in any language and answers in your preferred one.
2. MyReader AI:
This one grew from a solo project to 100k users overnight. It doesn't just do PDFs; it handles EPUBs, Kindle books, Word docs, PowerPoints, web articles, and even YouTube videos.
The "Magic" Feature: You can query your entire library at once. If you’re doing deep research across ten different files, this is your best friend.
The Perk: It has text-to-speech with 50+ natural voices, and in 30+ languages.
Also: You get fast answers with source links that jump straight to the exact page (often highlighted), secure document storage you can access from any device, and a flexible pricing setup.
The Deal: It offers a free plan with daily query limits, plus paid Lite and Pro subscriptions for higher limits and extra features.
3. AskYourPDF:
This is for the power users who live in the ChatGPT ecosystem. It has a dedicated CoPilot feature and a "Library" mode that acts as a secure cloud for your sources.
The Pro Move: Use the "Cite" button at the bottom to pull direct citations from your uploaded docs. It supports everything from PDF, DOCX, PPTX, to XLSX formats
The Plugin: You can even install the ChatGPT plugin to manage your files via Google Drive or Dropbox links.
Other Tools:
💡 Pro Tips for Better Results
Turn on OCR: If your PDF is basically a bunch of photos of text, enable Optical Character Recognition so the AI can actually read it.
Be Aggressive: Don't ask "what is this about?" Ask "what are the three biggest flaws in this research study?" Specificity is your best friend.
Watch the file size: Most free uploads cap out around 30MB, so keep it lean.
Check the Privacy: Your docs are usually encrypted, but if you are uploading top-secret company files, always check the data retention policy first.
Use the prompts, then level up: Start with the suggested questions, then drill down with your own.
The bottom line? If you’re still reading line-by-line in 2026, you’re doing it wrong. These tools are mostly free, stupid-easy to use, and genuinely game-changing for anyone drowning in documents.
⚡Quick Tip to Get Better AI Results:
Next time you're stuck with a "hallucinating" AI or a bad output, try the R-G-C prompt method:
-Role: Tell the AI who it’s supposed to be (eg: “Act as a Senior Editor.”)
-Goal: Be crystal clear about what you want (eg: “Summarize this into 3 bullets.”)
-Context: Give it the tone, the audience and the vibes (eg “For a casual tech newsletter.”)
Stack these three and you’ll fix about 90% of bad AI drafts before they even start.
It’s simple. Boring. And extremely effective.Is this your AI Workout of the Week (WoW)? Cast your vote!
That's all we've got for you today.
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