Sunday, January 18, 2026

TL;DR

Today’s briefing covers 12 items from 13 sources. Top stories include: Google brings its AI videomaker to Workspace users; The AI healthcare gold rush is here; Ads are coming soon to ChatGPT, starting with shopping links.

Top Stories

Google brings its AI videomaker to Workspace users

The Verge AI

Google is expanding access to its AI videomaking tool. Launched last May, Flow was initially only available to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers, but now, those with Business, Enterprise, and Education Workspace plans can access it, too. Flow uses Google’s AI video generation model Veo 3.1 to g

The AI healthcare gold rush is here

TechCrunch AI

AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast.  In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for healthcare, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into he

The Verge AI

ChatGPT will soon start showing you sponsored products or services if they’re related to your conversation. In an announcement on Friday, OpenAI says it will start testing ads in the coming weeks for logged-in users in the US who use the app for free or have a ChatGPT Go subscription. The “clearly l

OpenAI releases a cheaper ChatGPT subscription

The Verge AI

OpenAI is expanding a low-cost subscription tier called ChatGPT Go to the US and the rest of the world. Go was released in India in August and later became available in another 170 countries prior to Friday’s global release. “In markets where Go has been available, we’ve seen strong adoption and reg

Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT. Here’s How They’ll Work

Wired AI

OpenAI says ads will not influence ChatGPT’s responses, and that it won’t sell user data to advertisers.

News & Analysis

Deep Dive: Today’s AI Landscape

Synthesized from multiple research sources

No major AI breakthroughs or launches were announced specifically on January 18, 2026, based on available sources. The most recent updates, from January 16, 2026, highlight practical tools, infrastructure deals, and integrations rather than foundational model releases[2].

Key Recent AI Developments (January 2026)

  • Meta’s nuclear power initiative: Meta announced a deal for nuclear power to support AI data centers, part of over $10 billion in infrastructure investments[2].
  • DeepSeek V4: Planned release mid-February 2026, signaling upcoming model advancements[2].

Sources:

As of January 18, 2026, here’s a summary of AI news, breakthroughs, and launches:

AI Advancements & Breakthroughs:

  • Agentic AI: A major theme is the rise of agentic AI, referring to intelligent systems capable of making decisions and performing multi-step tasks independently. The agentic AI market is projected to grow significantly.

Sources:

This newsletter is automatically generated by PAI using RSS aggregation and AI research tools. Sources include arXiv, HuggingFace, OpenAI, Google AI, MIT News, VentureBeat, and more.

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