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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. The chat tool you've been using for years just got a major upgrade, and it might know your team better than you do.
Slack rebuilt Slackbot from scratch as an AI agent powered by Claude, giving it access to your full history of chats, files, and connected apps. With context on every project and conversation, has workplace AI finally moved from "search assistant" to "trusted colleague"?
In today's recap:
Slack rebuilds Slackbot as Claude-powered AI agent
Microsoft pledges local taxes to ease data center backlash
Set up Slackbot as your team's AI assistant
Anthropic commits $1.5M to Python security initiative
4 new AI tools, prompts, and more
SALESFORCE
Slackbot is now an AI Agent
Slack
Recaply: Slack just unveiled a rebuilt Slackbot that works as an AI agent, powered by Claude and connected to your team's full history of chats, files, and tools.
Key details:
Users can ask Slackbot to search past messages, sum up channels, or pull data from apps like Salesforce, Jira, and Google Drive.
Slack says Slackbot can now tap into 2,700+ third-party apps. It uses Claude 3.5 Sonnet, with plans to add more models later.
CNBC reports Slackbot will also work as an "AI peer reviewer" for Agentforce bots built inside Salesforce, checking their work before tasks complete.
Pro and Business+ teams get basic features now. Advanced agent skills roll out to Enterprise Grid customers starting Q1 2026.
Why it matters: Slack's new Slackbot turns chat history into a searchable brain for your team. Unlike standalone AI assistants, it can pull context from years of messages, files, and app data in one place. For teams already deep in Slack, this could cut the time spent hunting for info.
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MICROSOFT
Microsoft responds to data center backlash
Microsoft
Recaply: Microsoft just launched a five-point plan to calm communities angry about its data centers, promising to pay local taxes, share power line costs, and speed up clean energy projects.
Key details:
Microsoft will skip property tax breaks and pay local levies, fund grid upgrades to prevent rate hikes, and build solar farms tied to each new data center.
Microsoft claims its global data center fleet now exceeds 1,000 facilities. New projects in Wisconsin and the UK have sparked local protests over land use and power strain.
The Verge notes Microsoft also pledged to back nuclear restarts and expand small modular reactor deals. It recently signed a 20-year contract to reopen Three Mile Island.
The policy takes effect right away for new U.S. projects. Global rollout begins Q2 2026, with community grants open by midyear.
Why it matters: This is Microsoft trying to get ahead of the NIMBY wave hitting Big Tech. Data centers are critical for AI, but locals don't want higher power bills or lost farmland. By promising tax payments and clean energy, Microsoft hopes to keep expansion on track without the PR fires.
TUTORIAL
Set up Slackbot as your team's AI assistant
Recaply: In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up and use Slack's AI agent powered by Claude to search your team's conversations and files.
Step-by-step:
Check that your workspace has Business+ or Enterprise+ plan. Go to Settings → Workspace Settings → AI Features and turn on Slackbot.
Click the Slackbot icon at the top of Slack or press Cmd+Shift+O (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows).
Try a Find prompt like "Find the latest updates on [project name]" or "Search for decisions about [topic]." Slackbot will scan your messages and files.
Use Create or Brainstorm prompts, like "Create a recap of #marketing-channel for the past week" or "Brainstorm ways to improve onboarding."
Check your conversation history to see what worked. Then add channel names, dates, or team members to make prompts more specific.
Pro tip: Add channels or date ranges to prompts like "Summarize #engineering-updates from the last 2 weeks" for better results.
ANTHROPIC
Anthropic commits $1.5M to Python Security
Recaply: Anthropic just announced a two-year, $1.5 million deal with the Python Software Foundation to boost supply chain security and support the open source ecosystem that powers most AI development.
Key details:
Funds will hire a full-time security engineer, pay for safety audits, and expand the Python Security Response Team.
Python runs on over 100 million devices and supports 90%+ of machine learning frameworks, according to the PSF.
Developer Simon Willison calls this a "model for how AI labs should give back." The PSF says the donation is one of its largest single gifts ever.
Work starts Q1 2026 with a public roadmap. Security audits for top PyPI packages begin by March.
Why it matters: Anthropic's AI runs on Python, so a safer Python means safer AI. This deal puts real money behind open source security at a time when supply chain attacks are rising. It also sets a bar for other AI labs to match.
NEWS
What Matters in AI Right Now?
Anthropic introduced Labs, a new team building experimental products at the edge of Claude's abilities, with Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger joining to lead alongside Ben Mann.
Google released Veo 3.1 updates across Gemini App, AI Studio and API, adding vertical video for YouTube Shorts and upscaling to 1080p and 4K.
Google Research released MedGemma 1.5 for 3D medical scans, supporting CT, MRI, and tissue imaging with a $100K challenge on Kaggle.
Manus AI partnered with Similarweb for marketing data, bringing 12 months of web traffic and market info directly into Manus for quick competitive analysis.
Skywork introduced Design Agent, an AI tool for making posters, social media images, and logos with editing for layers, backgrounds, and text.
Kyutai Labs introduced Pocket TTS, a 100M-parameter voice model with cloning that runs in real time on laptop CPUs without a GPU.
Z AI introduced GLM-Image, the first open-source auto-regressive image model with 9B parameters, strong at text rendering and knowledge-heavy scenes.
Apple rolled out Creator Studio, a $12.99 monthly bundle with Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and more, launching January 28.
TOOLS
Trending AI Tools
🤖 Slackbot - Slack's AI agent that searches team chats, files, and apps using context from your work
🎨 GLM-Image - Z AI's open-source image AI model built for drawing text and detailed scenes
🎤 Pocket TTS - Kyutai Labs' voice AI with cloning that runs in real time on laptop CPUs without a GPU
🎥 Veo 3.1 - Google's Veo 3.1 Ingredients to Video with vertical format for YouTube Shorts and 4k quality
PROMPTS
Write Introductions for Amazon Kindle Books
#CONTEXT:
Adopt the role of an expert Kindle book introduction writer specializing in the Creative Writing category. Your task is to help the user write engaging Kindle book introductions that captivate readers and drive book sales.
#ROLE:
You are an expert Kindle book introduction writer specializing in the Creative Writing category. Your compelling introductions captivate readers and drive book sales.PS: 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
Agentic AI Workshop (ODSC): Jan 20, 2026 • NYC
Microsoft AI Agents Hackathon: Jan 22-23, 2026 • Online
v0 Studio: Jan 29, 2026, San Francisco, CA
Raycast Stockholm Hackathon: Feb 06, 2026 Stockholm, Sweden
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Cheers, Jason
