Update: 12 October 2026
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8 October 2026 · Anthropic
Claude makes documents, decks and designs on every plan
Ask Claude to “turn these notes into a deck for Monday” and it builds the slides inside the chat. Docs, Slides and Design have left beta and now come with every Claude plan, Free included. Download a deck as PowerPoint or PDF, or send it to Google Slides as an editable file. You can make changes from the Claude mobile app too.
Anthropic hasn’t said which countries get it. If you used the separate Claude Design site at claude.ai/design, it closes on 14 December 2026, and your chats and comments there won’t carry over. Save anything you need from them before then.
Free on every plan Anthropic’s announcement ↗ -
5 October 2026 · Google
Gemini skills arrive, and Gems will retire
Skills are saved instructions you can call up any time you prompt Gemini, like the tone you use for customer emails. They work inside the chat, and you can stack several in one prompt. Google Workspace Business Starter, Standard and Plus accounts on the early release track get them by 12 October. Other Workspace accounts get them between 19 October and mid-November, and the Gemini app follows from 13 October.
Google hasn’t said which countries get it. Gems keep working for now, but Google plans to stop them on business plans no sooner than 1 March 2027. Skills don’t sync between the Gemini app and Workspace, so rebuild your most-used Gem as a skill wherever you use it.
Rolling out now Google’s announcement ↗
Update: 5 October 2026
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1 October 2026 · Shopify
Shopify Canvas: redesign your shop by chatting
Shopify sellers can now rebuild their store's design by describing it to Sidekick, Shopify's built-in AI assistant. Canvas lays every page of your shop out side by side, and you watch each change land as you ask for it. Shopify says a fully custom store now takes about twenty minutes.
It's an early release. Shopify says Canvas doesn't replace the existing theme editor yet and still has gaps to close. Duplicate your theme first so you have a copy to go back to.
Rolling out now Shopify's announcement ↗ -
29 September 2026 · Meta
Muse for Small Business
Meta's AI agent can now connect to your Facebook and Instagram business accounts, plus Shopify, Canva, QuickBooks, Stripe, Slack, Notion and more. You give it a goal, like finding new customers, and it works through the steps. Meta says nothing publishes, sends or spends money without your approval.
It launched in the US and Canada only. Meta hasn't given a UK date. It's free for most uses, with paid plans for heavier use.
Not in the UK yet Meta's announcement ↗ -
23 September 2026 · Google
Gemini connects to more work apps
Google's Gemini app now works inside monday.com, Airtable, Zoho, PandaDoc, Squarespace, Webflow and Adobe, among others. Turn an app on in Gemini's settings, or type @ and its name in a chat. Then ask Gemini to manage a project, sort a database or start a web page without switching tabs.
Google hasn't said which countries get it first. If the apps aren't in your Gemini settings yet, check again in a week or two.
Rolling out now Google's announcement ↗ -
17 September 2026 · OpenAI
ChatGPT inside Microsoft Word
ChatGPT now sits in a sidebar in Word. Draft a document from your notes, summarise a document or rewrite a paragraph you've selected, with no copying back and forth. The same add-in already works in Excel and PowerPoint.
Install the ChatGPT add-in from Microsoft Marketplace, open it in Word and sign in. It uses your plan's normal limits.
Free on every ChatGPT plan OpenAI's release notes ↗ -
11 September 2026 · OpenAI
Custom GPTs switch off on 11 December
If your business relies on a custom GPT, such as a quote helper or an FAQ bot, it stops working on 11 December 2026. OpenAI is replacing GPTs with plugins on every ChatGPT plan. Your past conversations stay.
If you built the GPT, open My GPTs and choose Migrate to plugin once the option appears for your account. Test the plugin with the prompts you use most. Custom actions that link your GPT to other services don't carry across, so leave time to rebuild them.
Action needed OpenAI's FAQ ↗
Setting up from scratch?
The AI stack a small business needs covers the four layers to add, in order, and what each one costs.