Google’s Gemini AI is now baked into Gmail, offering automated drafting, email summarization and inbox organization. Users who want to disable the assistant face two “Smart Features” toggles that not only mute Gemini but also strip away long‑standing Gmail tools such as tabbed inboxes, Smart Compose and package tracking. A deeper Workspace toggle even reaches into Drive, removing personalized search and loyalty‑card syncing, yet UI prompts repeatedly coax users back to the AI. The convoluted process has drawn criticism for its lack of transparency and for forcing a trade‑off between AI convenience and basic functionality. Read more →

After a marathon 12-hour trilogue, EU member states and European Parliament lawmakers could not agree on changes to the bloc's AI Act omnibus package. The deadlock centered on whether high‑risk AI systems embedded in regulated products should be exempt from the new rules. With the deadline for core AI obligations looming in August 2026, officials say negotiations will reconvene in May, leaving businesses uncertain about compliance timelines. Read more →

Anthropic announced today that its AI assistant Claude now supports 15 additional app connectors, adding popular services such as Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, Instacart, TurboTax and Booking.com. The rollout lets users execute tasks across these platforms directly within a Claude conversation, from ordering food to filing taxes. Anthropic says the feature respects privacy, requires user confirmation before any purchase, and does not use connected‑app data to train its models. The expansion aims to make Claude a more practical, everyday tool for iPhone and Android users. Read more →