Amazon Challenges Perplexity AI Tool!

PLUS: Microsoft's MAI-Image-1 is Now Live!

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Welcome back, folks.

Amazon's taking Perplexity to court over an AI shopping tool that threatens to make browsing less profitable.

Spoiler alert: this fight isn't about user experience. It's about protecting those sweet, sweet ad dollars.

Let’s dive into the details. . .

Today in the “Incredible AI” world:

  • Amazon vs. Perplexity AI Tool Clash

  • Microsoft’s MAI-Image-1 is Now Available

  • Ex-Meta Engineers Built a Smart Ring

  • How to Supercharge Your PR with AI

  • 5 Super-Useful AI Tools You Should Try

  • AI Image of the Day

Read Time: 4 minutes

- LATEST DEVELOPMENTS -

Amazon Battles Perplexity Over AI Shopping:

Amazon and Perplexity are clashing over who gets to control your online shopping cart. The e-commerce giant isn’t thrilled about AI agents making purchases. Perplexity, however, insists it’s fighting for user choice.

Things to Know:

  • Amazon’s Ceasefire Demand: Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter, accusing its Comet AI agent of sneaky shopping. The company claims Comet violates terms, degrades user experience, and even risks privacy.

  • Perplexity’s Counterpunch: Perplexity fired back, calling Amazon’s move pure bullying. The startup insists users deserve freedom to pick their digital shopping assistant.

  • The Bigger Picture: This fight highlights a looming debate over AI agents. Should bots be allowed to shop, research, and act like humans online? Amazon says no, Perplexity says yes, and regulators may soon weigh in.

Amazon is testing its own AI shopping assistants, like Rufus and Buy For Me. If bots dominate shopping, Amazon’s lucrative ad business could wobble. That’s a billion-dollar reason to keep rivals out.

Introducing WhatsApp Business Calls in Synthflow

65% of people still prefer voice, but 40% of business calls go unanswered. Now Synthflow Voice AI Agents can answer WhatsApp calls directly — resolving issues, booking, and following up 24/7 with full analytics.

Microsoft’s Own AI Image Generator is Now Live:

Microsoft’s new image generator, MAI-Image-1, is now live across selected platforms. This marks a major shift in how Microsoft handles generative visuals. It’s designed for high fidelity and fast output.

Things to Know:

  • Overview: MAI-Image-1 is the first image-generation model developed entirely in-house by Microsoft. The company says it prioritised creator feedback and rigorous data to avoid generic imagery.

  • Capabilities: The model excels at photorealistic scenes, strong lighting effects, reflections, and landscapes. Microsoft claims it’s faster and more efficient than many larger, slower competitors.

  • Integration & availability: MAI-Image-1 is now accessible via Bing Image Creator and Copilot Audio Expressions, with rollout planned for the EU in the coming weeks.

This launch signals Microsoft’s intent to reduce reliance on third-party models such as those from OpenAI. The move positions Microsoft to compete more directly in generative AI.

Ex-Meta Engineers Built a Ring for Your Thoughts:

Two ex-Meta employees just dropped a smart ring that lets you whisper your random thoughts without looking like you're talking to yourself. It's called Stream, and it wants to be the sneaky sidekick for capturing ideas.

Things to Know:

  • The Origin Story: Sandbar's founders, Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong, met at CTRL-Labs before Meta bought it in 2019. They spent years designing neural interfaces for smart wearables.

  • How It Works: You wear Stream on your index finger and press the touchpad to record whispered notes. The mic stays off by default for privacy. It's sensitive enough to catch whispers and transcribe them instantly in the iOS app.

  • Beyond Voice Notes: The ring doubles as a music controller for playing, pausing, and skipping tracks on the go. When you're in crowded spaces, pair it with headphones for private AI conversations.

Pre-orders start at $249 for silver and $299 for gold, shipping next summer. A Pro subscription costs $10 monthly after three months free. Sandbar raised $13 million from True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, and Betaworks to make this happen.

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- AI TUTORIAL -

How to Get Press Coverage with AI-Powered Outreach:

Getting featured in the press can feel like a black box—full of cold emails, dead ends, and expensive PR agencies. But what if you could pitch journalists directly, with the help of AI?

JustReachOut is a PR outreach platform that helps you find and pitch relevant journalists, land podcast interviews, and build backlinks—all without needing a PR team.

How it works:

  • Find journalists fast: Search a database of 700k+ journalists based on your niche or topic.

  • Pitch smarter: Use built-in templates and AI suggestions to craft compelling outreach messages.

  • Automate follow-ups: Schedule automatic follow-ups if you don’t get a reply.

  • Land podcast features: Discover podcasts in your niche and pitch yourself as a guest.

  • Build backlinks: Use tools like broken link outreach to earn high-authority backlinks and boost SEO.

Skip the agency fees and take control of your PR. With JustReachOut, you can get featured, build authority, and grow your brand—all from one dashboard.

- BEST AI TOOLS -

Lyzr: Lyzr is a no-code platform to build AI agents in minutes. No coding skills are required.

ToolJet: ToolJet is the ultimate low-code platform for building internal tools faster than ever.

Filmora: Filmora is the all-in-one AI-powered video editing tool that anyone can imagine.

Boardy: Boardy is an AI networking partner who makes introductions to investors, founders, recruiters, executives, operators, and anyone else that you would like to meet.

Easytools: Easytools is the all-in-one platform designed to streamline the sale and delivery of your digital products.

- DAILY POLL AND RESULT -

Today’s Poll:

Q) Should AI replace traditional education methods?

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Vote and find out the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Result:

Q) Can AI be trusted in legal decision-making?

  • A) Yes, it’s based on facts - 17%

  • B) No, human judgment is necessary - 83% 👑

- AI IMAGE OF THE DAY -

Optimus Prime Stands Guard Over Creativity:

Prompt:

"A cinematic photograph of an intricately detailed Optimus Prime figure displayed on a wooden desk in a cozy home office. The red, blue, and gray armor gleams under warm lamp light, revealing weathered metallic textures and articulated joints. A monitor glows with the Autobot logo beside scattered design sketches, plants, and artwork, creating a nostalgic and creative collector’s workspace."

Try this prompt in any decent AI image generator and let me know your result.

CTV ads made easy: Black Friday edition

As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting — plus creative upscaling tools that transform existing assets into CTV-ready video ads. Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

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