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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. Gmail just got its biggest transformation in two decades — and Google's Gemini AI is now built into every corner of the inbox.
With AI email drafting, automated replies, and smart summaries rolling out to 2.5B+ users, has Google finally turned the inbox into something people won't dread opening?
PS: We are reinstating the old format of the Prompts section due to popular feedback. Thank you for your input, and enjoy!
In today's recap:
Gmail's Gemini integration, AI throughout inbox
China's Zhipu AI IPO despite US chip restrictions
5 new AI tools, prompts and events.
Gmail enters the Gemini era with AI transformation
@glenngabe/X
Recaply: Google just introduced AI Overviews, Help Me Write, and an AI Inbox to Gmail, transforming how 3 billion users manage email through Gemini 3-powered features rolling out today.
Key details:
AI Overviews summarize lengthy email threads into concise summaries and answer natural language questions about inbox content, with Help Me Write drafting or polishing emails and Suggested Replies offering personalized one-click responses.
Gmail serves 3 billion users globally, with AI Overview conversation summaries launching free today while advanced features like inbox questions require Google AI Pro or Ultra subscriptions.
AI Inbox identifies VIPs based on email frequency, contacts, and message content relationships, with analysis happening securely under user control according to Google.
Features roll out in the U.S. starting January 8, with English language support first and additional languages and regions launching in coming months.
Why it matters: Gmail's transformation from a communication tool to an AI assistant marks the biggest shift since its 2004 launch. With email volume at record highs, managing information flow has become as critical as the messages themselves. Google's bet on Gemini 3 to power this reinvention positions Gmail as a proactive inbox assistant, not just a repository. If AI Inbox's personalization works, Google's 3 billion users get a fundamentally different email experience.
PRESENTED BY HUBSPOT
The Future of AI in Marketing. Your Shortcut to Smarter, Faster Marketing.
Unlock a focused set of AI strategies built to streamline your work and maximize impact. This guide delivers the practical tactics and tools marketers need to start seeing results right away:
7 high-impact AI strategies to accelerate your marketing performance
Practical use cases for content creation, lead gen, and personalization
Expert insights into how top marketers are using AI today
A framework to evaluate and implement AI tools efficiently
Stay ahead of the curve with these top strategies AI helped develop for marketers, built for real-world results.
ZAI
China's first AI tiger goes public despite US restrictions
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Recaply: Zhipu AI just completed a $558M Hong Kong IPO, becoming the first of China's "AI tigers" to go public despite being placed on the US Commerce Department's Entity List.
Key details:
Founded in 2019 by Chinese university researchers, Zhipu builds large language models to rival OpenAI and Anthropic, with offices across the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East.
Shares rose 13.1% to close at HK$131.5 on debut following the $558M IPO, valuing the Beijing-based startup at HK$4.3B, though revenue reached just 312.4M yuan in 2024.
OpenAI highlighted Zhipu as a competitor on the "front line" of China's AI race, though the firm's model training faces constraints from US chip restrictions.
Zhipu plans to use 70% of IPO proceeds for R&D of general-purpose AI models, with rival Chinese startup MiniMax expected to launch its own offering Friday.
Why it matters: Zhipu's successful debut shows China's AI sector continuing to mature despite US trade restrictions. Being on the Entity List hasn't stopped the company from building a global presence or attracting investors. OpenAI's acknowledgment of Zhipu as a frontline competitor signals these firms are real challengers, not just local alternatives. With limited access to advanced chips and US expertise, China's AI tigers are proving they can still raise capital and compete internationally.
NEWS
What Matters in AI Right Now?
Alibaba Qwen team released Qwen3-VL-Embedding and Qwen3-VL-Reranker, multimodal models for image-text retrieval and video-text matching, with state-of-the-art performance on MMEB-v2 benchmarks.
OpenAI is acquiring the three-person team behind executive coaching tool Convogo in an all-stock deal, marking its ninth acquisition in a year with the product being wound down.
Grok AI faces global investigations from India, EU, and UK regulators after the chatbot generated deepfake child sexual abuse images, with watchdogs examining content moderation failures.
China is investigating Meta's acquisition of AI startup Manus for potential technology export violations, with officials reviewing the deal that valued Manus at around $2B.
OpenAI introduced OpenAI for Healthcare, launching ChatGPT for Healthcare with HIPAA-compliant features for hospitals including AdventHealth and Stanford Medicine, with GPT-5.2 models powering clinical workflows.
Tailwind Labs laid off 75% of its engineering team as CEO Adam Wathan blamed AI for crushing revenue by 80%, with traffic to paid documentation down 40% despite growing popularity.
TOOLS
Trending AI Tools
Gmail: Google’s email inbox, now integrated with the Gemini era
ChatGPT Health: OpenAI's new experience securely combines your health information with ChatGPT's intelligence.
OpenCode: The open source AI coding agent
MiroThinker: Open-source search agent model designed for tool-augmented reasoning and real-world information retrieval.
MiniMax M2.1: Open-source AI coding model with fast, efficient, multiple-language and full-stack app development.
PROMPTS
Generate Engaging Product Descriptions
#CONTEXT:
You are an expert ecommerce copywriter specialized in crafting persuasive, conversion-focused product descriptions. Your task is to generate unique, engaging product descriptions optimized for search engines and designed to drive sales.
#ROLE:
Expert ecommerce copywriterPS: This is not the full prompt. Click the button below to access the complete prompt.
Have a favorite prompt? Tell us about it or rate today’s prompt, click here.
EVENTS
MiniMax M2.1 Builder Meetup: Jan 10, 2026 • San Diego
Anthropic The Briefing: Jan 12, 2026 • San Diego
Agentic AI Workshop (ODSC): Jan 20,2026 • NYC
Microsoft AI Agents Hackathon: Jan 22-23, 2026 • Online
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Cheers, Jason
