Hey {{first_name}}
Welcome to The AI Report — the #1 AI newsletter for business leaders.
We believe you don’t need to be technical. Just informed.
Inside: real-world use cases and Partner Perspectives you won’t find anywhere else:
• 1. 🚫 Get rid of annoying ads with Cleanweb by Surfshark
• 2. 🤖 Slackbot is an AI agent now
• 3. 📊 How AI saved McKinsey 1.5M work hours
• 4. 📈 Scale your LinkedIn with Linked Agency
• 5. 🏡 Microsoft launches community plan
• 6. 🎥 Google upgrades Veo with vertical video support
Read Time: 5 minutes
TOGETHER WITH SURFSHARK
Say Goodbye to Annoying Ads with CleanWeb from Surfshark
Ever tried following a quick dinner recipe online, only to be ambushed by endless ads, autoplay videos, and suspicious pop-ups? It’s not just annoying—it’s often tracking your every move without your consent.
That’s where CleanWeb by Surfshark comes in. CleanWeb blocks ads, trackers, and malware before they even load, giving you a faster, safer, and frustration-free browsing experience. Imagine surfing the web without constant interruptions or creepy targeted ads following you around.
Installation is simple, and with Black Friday plans starting at just $1.99/month (plus 3 free months), it's a no-brainer. Enjoy a cleaner, faster internet today with Surfshark CleanWeb.
Latest in AI
Slackbot is an AI agent now
🚨 Our Report
Salesforce has transformed Slackbot, the automated assistant built into its corporate messaging platform Slack, into a full-fledged AI agent. This version, available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, can find information, draft emails, and schedule meetings directly within Slack.
🔓 Key Points
The upgraded Slackbot can connect to and interact with other enterprise products like Microsoft Teams and Google Drive, pulling information across platforms without users needing to leave Slack.
Salesforce CTO Parker Harris described it as a "super agent" powered by generative AI, calling it the most adopted internal tool the company has ever released during its months-long employee testing phase.
The company plans to expand Slackbot's capabilities beyond text, with Harris confirming they want to add voice features and the ability for the agent to browse the internet alongside users.
🔐 Relevance
This launch signals Salesforce's aggressive push into enterprise AI as competition heats up among software giants racing to embed agents into their platforms. For businesses already using Slack, this could reshape daily workflows by centralizing tasks that currently require jumping between multiple applications. The key question is whether employees will actually adopt these AI assistants or view them as another layer of complexity.
Partner Perspective
Trump’s AI Executive Order Takes Aim at State Laws
Partner Column exclusively available in this edition of The AI Report
By Karen Odash — Attorney at Fisher Phillips
“This executive order is a signal, not a shield. It tells states that federal resistance is coming, but it leaves employers fully exposed to today’s compliance obligations.”
Case Study
How AI saved McKinsey 1.5M work hours
McKinsey, a global management consulting firm, deployed internal AI agents handling research, search, and synthesis.
Pattern: AI completes defined knowledge tasks end to end, then humans validate outputs and apply insight during live client work.
Why it matters: Workflow redesign translates productivity into growth without expanding headcount proportionally.
Metric: 1.5M hours saved in one year.
Steal this: Assign AI full ownership of one repeatable knowledge task this week. Cap human review authority to final approval only.
TOGETHER WITH LINKED AGENCY
Scale Your LinkedIn Without Burning Out
WScale Your LinkedIn Without Burning OutMost founders know LinkedIn drives business. Few know how to scale it. That’s where Linked Agency comes in. We turn your profile into a client-winning machine - without the endless posting grind. With Linked Agency, you’ll get:
Done-for-you LinkedIn content that attracts qualified leads
AI-enhanced systems to multiply reach and conversions
Proven frameworks trusted by 100+ founders and executives
Our team has grown profiles to 100k+ followers and built six-figure pipelines - all while clients focus on running their businesses. Skip the guesswork and watch growth compound
AI News Story
Microsoft launches community plan
Microsoft has announced an initiative to address the local environmental impact of its AI data centers through community compensation and infrastructure investments.
The program aims to offset the strain on local utilities, water supplies, and transportation systems by funding community projects such as renewable energy development, water conservation programs, and road improvements.
This represents a shift toward more proactive stakeholder engagement as AI infrastructure requirements balloon.
AI News Story
Google upgrades Veo with vertical video support
Google has rolled out updates to Veo 3.1 that let users turn portrait images into native vertical AI videos, aimed squarely at short-form formats used on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and similar platforms.
The update improves Veo’s “Ingredients to Video” tool, keeping characters and objects visually consistent across scenes while allowing creators to reuse backgrounds, textures, and reference images.
By pairing vertical output with higher-quality upscaling, Google is pushing Veo deeper into creator and social video workflows, where speed, format readiness, and visual consistency drive adoption.
Trending AI Tools (sponsored by our tools database)
A curated look at the AI tools quietly transforming how teams work.
Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Product Hunt)
HeyGen is an AI platform for creating professional business videos with avatars and text-to-video.
POTO AI is an AI photo studio for generating portraits and editing images from selfies.
Companies to Watch/Raising Now
Early-stage AI startups on our radar, before they’re everywhere.
• Deepgram
What they do: Real-time voice API that handles live conversations.
Why it matters: Processes over 125,000 years of audio with sub-second latency and 95%+ containment in real-world deployments.
Stage: Series C
Raising: $130M at $1.3B valuation
Investors: AVP, Alkeon, BlackRock, Tiger, Y Combinator
• e2vc
What they do: Pre-seed and seed fund backing technical founders in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Turkey.
Why it matters: Four unicorns from 50+ companies backed. Portfolio companies raised close to $3B in follow-on capital from Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.
Stage: Fund III first close
Raising: €100M total fund size
Investors: 10+ startups already committed
Know a company we should be watching? Hit reply and let us know.
Refer a Friend
We read your emails, comments, and poll replies daily.
Until next time, Martin, Arturo, and Liam.
P.S. Unsubscribe if you don’t want us in your inbox anymore.