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Tim Cook's successor 🍎
🦾Plus: ️🛒 Microsoft turns Copilot into a checkout counter
Veer CH
January 09, 2026
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In today's edition: 🔥
🛒 Microsoft turns Copilot into a checkout counter
🔔 Major Chinese AI lab goes public
💰 Musk's xAI Burns Almost $8 Billion in Cash
👨💻Grok Build, upcoming vibe coding agent from xAI
💡 AI Tutorial:How to dictate anywhere on your computer with AI
🤖5 AI Tools to check
🖼️ A.I. Generated Image of the Day
Microsoft just launched Copilot Checkout, a new feature that lets U.S. shoppers complete purchases directly inside the AI assistant without ever leaving the chat window — with major sellers and retailers already integrated into the platform. Users can navigate the entire shopping experience, from search to payment, within the chat, with retailers maintaining full control over transactions.
The Future of Shopping? AI + Actual Humans.
AI has changed how consumers shop by speeding up research. But one thing hasn’t changed: shoppers still trust people more than AI.
Levanta’s new Affiliate 3.0 Consumer Report reveals a major shift in how shoppers blend AI tools with human influence. Consumers use AI to explore options, but when it comes time to buy, they still turn to creators, communities, and real experiences to validate their decisions.
The data shows:
Only 10% of shoppers buy through AI-recommended links
87% discover products through creators, blogs, or communities they trust
Human sources like reviews and creators rank higher in trust than AI recommendations
The most effective brands are combining AI discovery with authentic human influence to drive measurable conversions.
Affiliate marketing isn’t being replaced by AI, it’s being amplified by it.
Zhipu AI just debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after raising $558M, becoming the first major Chinese AI company to go public — and firing a shot at U.S. rivals with prices a fraction of what labs like OpenAI and Anthropic charge. Share prices on day one valued the company at between $6-8B, a fraction of Anthropic's recent $350B or xAI’s reported $230B valuations.
xAI's losses are mounting as it spends to build data centers, recruit talent, and develop software that will eventually power humanoid robots. The company reported that it spent $7.8 billion in cash in the first nine months of last year. Its revenue nearly doubled quarter-over-quarter to $107 million for the three-month period ending in September.
John Ternus, Apple's head of hardware engineering, could be next in line to replace Tim Cook as CEO if he steps aside. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, is known for his attention to detail and knowledge of Apple's vast supply network. Apple began accelerating planning for Cook's succession last year after Cook told senior leaders he would like to reduce his workload.
Grok Build is a coding agent from xAI that can be accessed both on the web and through a CLI. It currently supports local agents, with remote environment support marked as coming soon. There are options for users to configure agents and custom environments. A video previewing the feature is available in the article.
Say goodbye to alcohol, and say hello to America’s first USDA organic THC edibles. Cornbread Hemp is well-known to provide exceptional and safe hemp products, and these edibles are now their best-selling product. Formulated with a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD (10mg of each), each gummy provides a balanced feeling of happiness without feeling overwhelmed or couch-locked.
AI Tutorial
How to dictate anywhere on your computer with AI
Download Wispr Flow for Mac or Windows and install.
Open the app and sign in.
Click into any text field, hold your hotkey, talk, and release to insert text.
Mac default: Fn
Windows default: Ctrl + Win
To match tone with your writing style, open Flow Hub → Style, pick a context tab (Personal, Work, Email, or Other), and choose your vibe (Formal, Casual, Very Casual, or Excited).
We recommend Casual for friendly, clean phrasing with lighter punctuation. Your choice applies everywhere you dictate on the desktop.
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🔥AI Tools to supercharge your productivity
Nectar AI is an AI companion platform where users can create and roleplay
FeatureShark is an all-in-one platform designed to revolutionize how you collect and manage customer feedback.
BeadPattern, AI-powered perler bead pattern maker with smart color matching.
Brandmaven is a brand intelligence platform for marketers, powered by AI.
SEOzilla - Let AI Transform Your SEO: Publish Articles That Rank Every Day
SellerPic is an AI SaaS platform purpose-built for e-commerce sellers
Crowdstake - Analyze Your Website & Convert More Visitors
Cloaked - Tired of Spam Messages, Scam Calls, and Phishing Attempts? You Need to Address the Root Cause.
Linktopia - Community link-building for bloggers, entrepreneurs and startup brands to grow
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Get Your Content Ops Workflows Right in 2026 - Best Practices
Want to manage and monetize your content to the fullest in 2026?
Join Forrester Research and media execs with experience spanning ESPN, Comcast, and Disney on January 14, 2026, at 10am PT/1pm ET.
Get actionable insights and perspectives from the leaders who built and transformed top media and entertainment organizations.
🧠AI Research
[arXiv is a free online library where researchers share pre-publication papers]
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⚡️Quick AI News Roundup
⚠️ Hundreds of nonconsensual AI images being created by Grok on X, data shows.
🚜 Farming robots tackle labor shortages using AI.
🚗 Nvidia unveils self-driving car tech as it seeks to power more products with AI.
🤖Prompt Engineering
🎯 Copywriting
"I'm looking for a [type of text] that will explain the features and benefits of my [product/service] to [ideal customer persona] in a clear and concise manner, leading them to make a purchase."If you found this prompt useful,
You can find 1000+ prompts to increase productivity by clicking here.
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