- 10Beauty robot gives $25 manicures at an Ulta Beauty in New Jersey
10Beauty's robotic manicure machine is live at an Ulta Beauty in Clark, NJ, charging $25 with no tip. The company has pre-sale agreements for roughly 850 to 1,000 machines with partners including Ulta Beauty and Nordstrom.
- Workday gives its Payroll Agent autopilot checks before each run
Workday said its Payroll Agent will check payroll data and flag problems before a payroll run, with early adopter availability planned for early 2027. Its Talent Acquisition Agent, which can coordinate interview scheduling, is available now to early adopters.
Workday · Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, Human Resources Specialists
- Only 36% of retailers plan to invest in self-checkout
In a survey of 340 retail operators, only 36% said they plan to invest in self-checkout, down seven percentage points from last year. Walmart, Costco and Kroger have increased staff involvement in self-checkout lanes.
- Chimelong puts more than 300 robots to work in a theme park and hotel
Chimelong Group deployed more than 300 AGIBOT robots at Chimelong Spaceship Park in China. They perform shows, lead tours, welcome hotel guests, work in retail and answer visitor questions.
Australasian Leisure Management · Amusement and Recreation Attendants, Tour Guides and Escorts, Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
- P&G and Siemens expand AI quality inspection across global plants
P&G and Siemens expanded an AI-based visual inspection system across P&G's manufacturing operations worldwide. Siemens says scrap rates fell 10% to 20% depending on the product.
Manufacturing.net · Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
- YouGov launches AI-moderated interviews for research studies
YouGov Voices lets survey respondents opt into an AI conversation that asks follow-up questions, then summarises themes. It is available in the UK, the US and Australia.
- VA expands AI scribes after use in over 986,000 appointments
VA first deployed ambient AI scribes at 10 medical centers in October 2025, and over 986,000 primary care appointments have used them. Abridge is deployed at 70 VA sites.
Nextgov/FCW · Medical Assistants, Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Engel AI assistant can now change injection molding machine settings
Engel's EVA assistant answers operator questions by text or voice and, after the operator confirms, passes approved changes to the machine control. It is optional on new cells and can be retrofitted to CC300 or C3 controls.
PlasticsToday · Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- EliseAI launches Apollo agent for property operations staff
EliseAI launched Apollo, a single AI agent that can perform any task on its property management platform, such as sending bulk messages to everyone who toured the previous day. The company raised a $250 million Series E in August 2025.
Commercial Observer · Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
- Meta tests robots for cable swaps and server work in data centers
Meta is testing robots from Watney Robotics, Kinova and ABB at its Altoona, Iowa and New Albany, Ohio data centers. Two Watney robots have worked on cabling since June 2025 but are slower than human technicians and run under supervision.
TechRepublic · Maintenance and Repair Workers, General, Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers
- JAL introduces aircraft washing robot at Narita Airport
Japan Airlines introduced the Aerowash AW3 robot to wash aircraft exteriors such as wings and tail sections at Narita. The maker says it cuts washing time by up to 40% and water use by up to 50% per aircraft.
- BLS projects 4% drop in medical transcriptionist jobs through 2035
BLS projects employment of medical transcriptionists to fall 4% from 2025 to 2035, about 1,900 jobs. It cites speech recognition and natural language processing that let physicians document visits in real time.
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook · Medical Transcriptionists
- Corvus has deployed over 300 inventory drones, raises $20 million
Corvus has deployed 300+ warehouse inventory drones across 26 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits runs 40+ drones across nine distribution centers, and Corvus says 35% of inventory labor was redirected.
DroneLife · Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, Stockers and Order Fillers
- FDA authorizes Vitestro's Aletta robot to draw blood on its own
The FDA authorized Aletta on August 19, 2026 for adults in outpatient settings, with one trained phlebotomist overseeing up to three devices. In a 1,633-patient study the needle went in on the first try 94.5% of the time.
- Seminaris tests a humanoid robot that checks cleaned hotel rooms
Seminaris SeeHotel Potsdam is piloting Billie, a humanoid robot from Bellboy Robotics that checks freshly cleaned guest rooms. The seven other Seminaris hotels in Germany are to have at least one Billie by end of 2026.
- Diligent's Moxi hospital robot is in more than 25 U.S. hospitals
Diligent has deployed its Moxi delivery robot in more than 25 U.S. hospitals. Children's Hospital Los Angeles reports more than 40,000 deliveries, saving over 16,000 hours of staff time.
- Stanford study finds 19% employment gap for young workers in AI-exposed jobs
Using ADP payroll data through June 2026, the study finds employment of workers aged 22 to 25 in AI-exposed occupations is 19% below where it would be otherwise. The decline comes mainly from reduced hiring, and experienced workers show no comparable gap.
Stanford Digital Economy Lab · Software Developers, Computer Programmers
- Philadelphia-area contractors use AI to measure plans for bids
Seamless Flooring Systems and Hispanic Ventures use AI takeoff tools that calculate quantities from plans. A ServiceTitan survey found 38% of contractors see measurable impact from AI, up from 17% in 2025.
- Intermountain automates 44% of repetitive patient calls with AI agents
Intermountain Health uses Hyro AI agents with Salesforce Agentforce Health to automate scheduling and other routine access tasks. It reports 44% of repetitive calls automated and call abandonment cut 85%.
Becker's Hospital Review · Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Receptionists and Information Clerks
- ABM pilots cleaning and inspection robots at LaGuardia Terminal B
ABM is piloting three robotic platforms at LaGuardia Terminal B, including autonomous floor scrubbers and vacuums from CenoBots and a four-legged inspection robot. ABM says the robots are meant to support staff, not replace them.
- WellSpan's AI voice agent handles over 160,000 patient calls a month
WellSpan Health expanded its partnership with Hippocratic AI. Its voice agent, Ana, answers inbound calls, schedules primary care visits and answers common questions. WellSpan says the goal is to ease administrative work for its teams.
GlobeNewswire (WellSpan press release) · Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Receptionists and Information Clerks
- Richtech's ADAM robot bartender expands from Globe Life Field to T-Mobile Arena
Richtech Robotics' ADAM robot generated over $32,000 in revenue in its first 30 days at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. It has since expanded to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- Fairfax County expands AI case note tool to 150 more staff
Fairfax County expanded a 40-person pilot of Beam Notes to 150 more practitioners and supervisors. The pilot showed a 51% reduction in time spent entering case narratives.
Fairfax County · Social and Human Service Assistants, Child, Family, and School Social Workers
- Net Health adds AI scribe for PT, OT and speech therapy notes
Net Health added an ambient AI scribe to its ReDoc rehab therapy EMR for physical, occupational and speech therapy. Pilot clients report documentation time reductions of up to 20 minutes per patient evaluation.
Net Health · Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists
- CoxHealth cuts 53 revenue cycle roles after automating coding entry
CoxHealth cut 53 revenue cycle roles, citing strategic advances in technology. The affected roles centered on manual medical coding entry that has been automated.
Becker's Hospital Review · Billing and Posting Clerks, Medical Records Specialists
- Plataine shows AI agents that reschedule composites production
Plataine demonstrated AI agents, including an AI Production Scheduler that reschedules work when priorities or machine availability change. When authorized, the agents can execute approved decisions within set limits.
CompositesWorld · Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners deploys Spot robot at two UK factories
Boston Dynamics' Spot robot checks equipment on seven production lines at CCEP's Wakefield and East Kilbride sites, covering almost 600 inspection points. It is already used at nine CCEP factories in other countries.
- Synthesia launches AI avatar roleplay for employee training
Synthesia launched Roleplay Sessions, where employees practice sales pitches and performance reviews with an AI avatar that scores them against a rubric. It is enterprise-only for now.
- Sovereign Lending Group gives all loan officers AI agents
The California mortgage lender rolled out custom AI agents built on Anthropic's Claude to all its loan officers and reports a 25% productivity gain. Its co-founder expects the tools to triple loans closed per officer within 120 days.
Eastern Progress · Loan Officers, Loan Interviewers and Clerks
- Software developer postings rise 15% on Indeed but remain below pre-pandemic
Indeed data show software development postings up 15% since late February 2025 while overall postings fell 7%, though still about 27.5% below pre-pandemic levels. Dice reported software development postings down 22% from 2025, and 71% of the Indeed increase was for senior roles.
- Allianz Partners confirms 1,500 to 1,800 job cuts due to AI
Allianz Partners CEO Tomas Kunzmann confirmed AI as the reason for 1,500 to 1,800 job cuts across Europe, about 7% to 8% of headcount. About 14,000 of the division's staff handle customer calls and claims by phone.
Insurance Business · Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
- Waymo goes driverless in Las Vegas, with Denver, San Diego and Tampa next
Waymo began driverless service in Las Vegas and named Denver, San Diego and Tampa as next. It gave about 500,000 paid rides per week earlier in 2026 and targets 1 million per week by the end of 2026.
- Jacksonville's driverless NAVI service carries 15,200 riders in year one
JTA's NAVI autonomous service began revenue service on 30 June 2025. It carried more than 15,200 passengers and drove over 61,000 miles in autonomous mode in its first year.
- Taco Bell voice AI now takes orders at 890+ drive-thrus
Voice AI runs in more than 890 U.S. Taco Bell restaurants across 38 states, with more coming under a new deal. Taco Bell says it eases team members' workloads.
Foodservice Equipment Reports · Fast Food and Counter Workers
- YMCA of Middle Tennessee adds AI drowning detection to its pools
The YMCA plans to equip all 12 of its family wellness centers with AngelEye, which sends alerts to a lifeguard's watch when a swimmer shows signs of distress. It piloted the system in 2025 and says it supports lifeguards rather than replacing them.
WSMV · Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
- American Ambulance crews use AI Assist to write patient care reports
American Ambulance, which runs about 150 ambulances daily and handles roughly 200,000 transports a year, fully implemented ImageTrend's AI Assist in September 2025. Documented insurance policy IDs rose from about 43% to about 54% between January 2025 and May 2026.
- Pudu plans a robot-run hotel with robot reception and check-in
Pudu Robotics is managing a hotel on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link where robots will handle reception and check-in. Public trials with a limited number of rooms start in late 2026, with opening planned for 2027.
Interesting Engineering · Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks, Receptionists and Information Clerks
- HaloBraid raises $7 million for a salon braiding robot
HaloBraid raised $7 million in seed funding for a device that finishes braids a stylist starts by hand, which it says is up to five times faster. Commercial launch is expected later this year in northeastern U.S. salons.
Innovation Village · Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
- HPE pitches a self-driving network run by AI agents
At HPE Discover 2026, HPE described a self-healing, self-optimizing network run through HPE Mist and coordinated by operational agents. Analysts questioned whether the claims hold in mixed vendor environments.
Futurum · Network and Computer Systems Administrators, Computer Network Architects
- Dental Care Alliance deploys Overjet AI across 400 practices
Dental Care Alliance extended Overjet AI across 400 practices and 900+ dentists in 24 states. The tools draft chart notes, capture and analyze images, and automate insurance eligibility checks and claims.
Dental Care Alliance · Dental Assistants, Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Fervo, Nvidia and PNNL build AI twin for geothermal drilling
Fervo, Nvidia and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are building EGS-Twin, which combines live field data, simulations and AI forecasting. The goal is to help geothermal operators drill more efficiently.
- State Farm requires daily AI use in new contracts for 19,000 agents
State Farm is scrapping existing contracts for about 19,000 agents; those staying past 2027 must meet sales targets and use AI tools daily. Some long-tenured agents could see income drops of up to 40%.
- Lithia and AutoNation dealers use AI pre-diagnosis to speed repairs
Dealerships including Lithia's Mercedes-Benz of Los Angeles and AutoNation's Audi Chicago use myKaarma's AI Service Pre-Diag tool. It cuts diagnostic repair order completion time by about 17 hours, and the two Lithia stores sell about 600 additional labor hours per month combined.
Automotive News via myKaarma · Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
- Suffolk embeds AI engineers at its jobsites nationwide
Suffolk will embed AI engineers at its sites to work on design, schedule and process problems. Tools so far include AI design review that flags drawing conflicts and AI procurement tracking.
Construction Dive · First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers, Construction Managers
- B&R Stores deploys Simbe's Tally shelf-scanning robot in Nebraska
B&R Stores deployed Simbe's Tally autonomous shelf-scanning robot at select Lincoln, Nebraska locations to track product availability, pricing and placement. Simbe says associates can spend up to 30 hours a week on manual inventory tasks.
Robotics 24/7 · Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons
- AI drive-thru ordering tested at five Chicago-area McDonald's
The test covers five restaurants. McDonald's says it has not confirmed plans for a wider rollout.
- New Mexico adds AI document processing for Medicaid work requirements
New Mexico introduced an AI document processing system in March to scan timesheets and similar forms, plus an agent assist tool that drafts case comments. Caseworkers still make final eligibility decisions; the technology is estimated at about $10 million.
Santa Fe New Mexican · Government Programs Eligibility Interviewers
- McDonald's pilots ArchIQ, an AI system built with Google
Announced as part of its "McDonald's Next" strategy, ArchIQ includes a voice drive-thru assistant and is meant to streamline kitchen work. McDonald's has not said which restaurants take part.
Washington Times · Fast Food and Counter Workers, Fast Food Cooks
- Reframe Systems uses a robotic arm to build home wall panels
Reframe Systems' pilot factory in Andover, Massachusetts, uses a robotic arm to build panelized walls that tradespeople assemble into modules. It plans a new factory with fivefold output, starting at 5,000 square feet of modules per week.
- PwC US reportedly cut about 600 assistants and support staff
PwC's US arm reportedly laid off about 600 executive assistants, recruiters and other support staff in February. Firms including PwC and McKinsey are cutting or relocating support roles as AI takes on more work.
Bloomberg Government · Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
- Tampa General uses AI agents for claims, denials and appeal letters
Tampa General Hospital deploys AI agents for billing and claims follow-up, denial management, appeal letter writing and release of information. It uses Palantir, Epic and Anthropic tools.
Becker's Hospital Review · Medical and Health Services Managers, Billing and Posting Clerks
- Better.com's AI loan agent Betsy resolves 35% of borrower inquiries alone
Better.com's AI agent Betsy handled nearly 100,000 mortgage calls a month in 2025 and resolved 35.5% of inquiries with no human. Better says AI voice automation cut its average cost to originate by 41%, per an ElevenLabs case study.
- Pano AI wildfire detection cameras spread across the Mountain West
Pano AI runs about 700 detection sites in 17 states, with close to 50 in New Mexico. New Mexico's Forestry Division and utilities PNM and Xcel Energy are among the organizations using AI cameras to spot fires for local fire agencies.
KUNC · Firefighters, Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists
- Encore pilots AI tools but says voice AI cannot yet handle collection calls
Encore said it is piloting AI tools and more than 50% of new payments now occur digitally. CEO Ashish Masih said collection calls are complex and current voice AI is not fully equipped to handle them.
- USPS lists AI route optimization among its 2026 tools
Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS plans AI and digital tools in 2026, including predictive arrival times and route optimization. USPS serves more than 170 million addresses.
- Walmart swaps self-checkout for staffed registers at a Philadelphia store
Walmart removed self-checkout lanes at its South Philadelphia store in March and replaced them with staffed registers. A spokesperson said it is the only Philadelphia store to fully roll back self-checkout.
- Hippocratic AI launches voice assistant for inpatient nurses
Nurse Co-Pilot automates patient education, admission instructions and medication adherence calls that nurses start from the health record. Cleveland Clinic, OhioHealth and Cincinnati Children's are named collaborators.
HLTH · Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
- Chef Robotics says its food assembly robots reached 100 million servings
Chef Robotics says its robots have deposited 100 million servings into meal trays. Customers include Amy's Kitchen, Chef Bombay and one of the largest school lunch providers in the country.
TechCrunch via Yahoo Finance · Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, Food Batchmakers
- Schwab plans client-facing AI agents over chat and voice in June
Schwab plans to launch AI assistants for clients over chat and voice in June, with handoffs to human agents. It is also building AI agent tools for advisors.
WealthManagement.com · Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents, Personal Financial Advisors
- AI scribe saves a Mercy nurse two hours of charting a shift
A Mercy nurse reported that Dragon Copilot saved about two hours of charting in a 12-hour shift.
- AI scribes cut doctors' note-writing time
Cleveland Clinic's AI scribe cut clinicians' daily note time by 14 minutes on average. At Cooper University Healthcare, Dragon Copilot saved about 4 minutes per patient.
American Hospital Association · Family Medicine Physicians, General Internal Medicine Physicians
- Gartner: 60% of supply chain software users will adopt AI agents by 2030
Gartner forecasts supply chain management software with agentic AI will grow from under $2 billion in spend in 2025 to $53 billion by 2030. It expects 60% of enterprises using such software to adopt agentic AI features by 2030, up from 5% in 2025.
Gartner · Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers, Logisticians
- Harvard College plans AI chatbot for academic advising
Harvard College plans to launch a ChatGPT Edu chatbot this summer to answer questions on academic policies and course planning for the Class of 2030. Harvard says it is not meant to replace human advising.
The Harvard Crimson · Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
- University of Toledo Health deploys Nabla AI scribe in Epic
University of Toledo Health is bringing Nabla's ambient AI documentation to hundreds of its physicians and advanced practice providers inside its Epic health record.
University of Toledo · Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants
- PwC: only 2% of factory frontline leaders have AI in daily work
A PwC and Manufacturing Institute survey of 102 HR and operations leaders found 2% of frontline leaders have AI integrated into daily operations. 54% had low or very low confidence in these leaders' ability to lead AI-driven change.
PwC · First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
- HD Hyundai and Persona AI sign deal to build a shipyard welding humanoid
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Robotics and Persona AI signed a joint development agreement on March 23, 2026 for a welding humanoid. HD Hyundai plans to apply it gradually at shipbuilding sites.
Cyprus Shipping News · Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
- ASI buys Scythe, whose robot mowers cut turf in 30 states in 2025
Autonomous Solutions Inc. acquired autonomous mower maker Scythe Robotics. Scythe's M.52 mower covered nearly 2 billion square feet of turf across 30 states in 2025 for dozens of landscaping customers.
Turf Magazine · Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers, First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
- WordPress.com lets AI agents publish and manage websites
WordPress.com enabled AI agents to draft and publish posts, create pages, manage comments, and update categories, tags and alt text through natural language. Every action needs approval and every change is logged.
- Coffee co-packer Cascade Coffee runs six cobot palletizers
Cascade Coffee installed six Robotiq cobot palletizers on its retail lines after palletizing turnover exceeded 60%. Some temporary end-of-line workers moved into higher-paying technical roles, and the first unit paid back in nine months.
Packaging World · Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders, Hand Packers and Packagers
- Pricer uses AI test agents after QA team shrinks from 8 to 2
After a restructuring cut its QA team from 8 people to 2, Pricer adopted QA.tech agents that create, update and run tests on every pull request. The vendor case study says about 390 hours of testing are saved per quarter.
QA.tech case study · Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
- Dermalogica uses Corvus drones for warehouse inventory counts
Corvus One drones image Dermalogica's Carson, California warehouse 52 times a year, a 600% increase over manual cycle counting. About 120 labor hours per month were freed, after a full manual pass had taken up to two months.
- Gartner: half of companies that cut support staff for AI will rehire
Gartner forecasts that 50% of companies that cut customer service headcount because of AI will rehire by 2027, often under new job titles.
- BMW to pilot two Hexagon humanoid robots at its Leipzig plant
BMW plans a months-long pilot of two Hexagon AEON humanoid robots at Leipzig starting in summer 2026 to move and handle parts. BMW said it does not currently plan to reduce its workforce.
- Bedrock Robotics raises $270 million for operator-less excavators
Bedrock raised a $270 million Series B, bringing total capital to over $350 million. It has run supervised autonomous deployments on large earthmoving projects and plans first client deployments of operator-less excavators in 2026.
Plant & Equipment · Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Aurora expands driverless trucking to 10 Sun Belt routes
Routes include Dallas to Houston and Fort Worth to Phoenix. Aurora expects more than 200 driverless trucks by the end of 2026. A person still rides in the cab; Aurora planned to drop the observer in Q2 2026.
- Cadence launches AI agent for chip design and verification
Cadence launched the ChipStack AI Super Agent, which automates front-end chip design and verification work. Tenstorrent reported up to 4X reduced verification time, and Nvidia and Qualcomm are evaluating or deploying it.
- Amazon MGM Studios opens AI Studio beta for film and TV makers
Amazon MGM Studios' AI Studio planned a closed beta with industry partners in March 2026 to build AI tools for directors. Director Jon Erwin combined AI with live action for battle scenes in House of David season two.
- Wells Fargo branch goes from three tellers to one as AI app expands
A teller at Wells Fargo's Artesia, NM branch said it once always had three tellers and now has one at the front, with customers directed to the Fargo virtual assistant. CEO Charlie Scharf said he expected job cuts in 2026 as the bank rolls out AI.
- Salesforce AI agents contacted 130,000 leads in four months
Salesforce said its AI agents worked previously untouched leads and in four months contacted 130,000 leads and created 3,200 opportunities. Leadership expects those numbers to be roughly ten times higher the following year.
Salesforce · Sales Representatives of Services, Sales Managers
- Planet DDS launches AI voice perio charting for dental groups
Planet DDS launched AI Voice Perio, letting hygienists dictate periodontal measurements that are written into the patient record without manual typing. Planet DDS platforms serve 14,500 practices and 175,000 users.
- Muck Rack launches AI agent that builds media lists for pitches
The beta agent recommends up to 50 journalists per request, and beta users saw an average 10% increase in pitch open and click rates. Muck Rack says 12% of PR professionals use AI agents today.
- Mizuho may cut up to 5,000 clerical jobs in Japan with AI
Mizuho could cut up to 5,000 clerical jobs over the next decade, about one third of its roughly 15,000 administrative employees in Japan, as it uses AI to streamline work.
- OpenAI's internal data agent runs analysis for over 3,500 staff
OpenAI's internal data agent writes and runs SQL, publishes notebooks and reports, and lets people outside the data team run analysis. It has more than 3,500 internal users across about 70,000 datasets.
- Helios HVACR rolls out Bluon AI diagnostics in over 40 states
Helios HVACR deployed Bluon's AI diagnostics platform across commercial operations in over 40 U.S. states, with data on more than 25 million HVAC units. Bluon's CEO said it will let Helios do more with fewer experienced technicians.
Refindustry · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
- DEWALT drilling robot pilots on hyperscaler data center builds
DEWALT and August Robotics are piloting a concrete drilling robot on live data center projects for a large hyperscaler. The pilot has drilled more than 90,000 holes with 99.97% accuracy and cut timelines by as much as 80 weeks across 10 construction phases.
- McKinsey says its workforce now includes 20,000 AI agents
CEO Bob Sternfels said McKinsey has 40,000 humans and 20,000 AI agents, up from about 3,000 agents a year and a half earlier, with human headcount unchanged. He expects every employee to be supported by one or more agents within 18 months.
- Path Robotics passes $100 million in bookings for AI welding systems
Path Robotics said it surpassed $100M in bookings in 2025 for its AI welding automation. Shipbuilding customer LAD Services is among its users.
- Caterpillar unveils Cat AI Assistant for troubleshooting and service
The Cat AI Assistant will give troubleshooting guidance, book service and show machine diagnostics, drawing on maintenance manuals, parts catalogs and purchase history. Caterpillar said it would launch in Q1 2026.
- Alpha School, which uses AI apps instead of teachers, expands in Bay Area
Alpha School has no teachers; students learn through AI-powered apps for two hours a day, with adults acting as mentors. The founder says there are 13 campuses nationwide, and the school plans new Palo Alto and East Bay sites.
- Serve Robotics has deployed more than 2,000 sidewalk delivery robots
Serve said it has deployed more than 2,000 sidewalk delivery robots in U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago. It works with Uber Eats, DoorDash and 7-Eleven and has completed more than 100,000 deliveries.
The Robot Report · Couriers and Messengers, Driver/Sales Workers
- Securus pilots AI that scans inmate calls for planned crimes
Securus is piloting an AI model that scans inmates' calls, texts and emails and flags sections for human reviewers. One model was trained on seven years of calls from the Texas prison system.
- St Helens rolls out Magic Notes AI to 450 frontline staff
St Helens Borough Council rolled out Beam's Magic Notes AI tool to 450 frontline staff, including social workers. In a pilot with 17 practitioners, users saved about 3.7 hours per week and submitted reports 71% faster.
St Helens Borough Council · Child, Family, and School Social Workers, Healthcare Social Workers
- Dubai restaurant Woohoo has an AI model create its dishes
Woohoo in Dubai uses Chef Aiman, a large language model trained on recipes and flavour pairings, to create its dishes.
- VOICEplug AI links with OpenTable for voice reservations in 20 countries
VOICEplug AI integrated its voice system with OpenTable, available in 20 countries. OpenTable works with 60,000 restaurants worldwide.
Verdict Food Service · Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
- AECOM buys AI engineering startup Consigli
AECOM acquired Norwegian startup Consigli, which brands itself as "The Autonomous Engineer" and claims engineering time reductions of up to 90%. The reported price was 4 billion NOK, about $390 million.
AEC Magazine · Architectural and Engineering Managers, Electrical Engineers
- FDA clears Ceribell AI seizure detection for newborns
Ceribell received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Clarity algorithm to detect electrographic seizures from pre-term newborns through adults. The clearance was supported by EEG data from more than 700 patients.
- Armstrong Robotics runs dishwashing robots in restaurants around the clock
Armstrong Robotics says its robots run live in multiple restaurants, 24 hours a day, washing thousands of dishes. It raised $12 million and aims to install one robot per month by summer 2026.
- Clifford Chance cuts about 10% of London business services roles
Clifford Chance told 550 London staff in finance, HR and technology that 50 jobs will be made redundant and 35 more will change. AI is cited as one factor, along with lower-cost hubs in Poland, India and Newcastle.
Legal IT Insider · Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- West Ham builds an AI scouting platform with AWS and Crayon
West Ham United is working with AWS and Crayon on a generative AI platform to gather, analyse and compare player data worldwide. It weighs performance, playing style, age, experience and financial fit.
- Gartner predicts AI agents will outnumber sellers 10 to 1 by 2028
Gartner predicted that by 2028 AI agents will outnumber human sellers by tenfold. It also said fewer than 40% of sellers will report that AI agents improved their productivity.
Gartner · Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
- 57% of special education teachers used AI to help with IEPs
A Center for Democracy and Technology survey found 57% of licensed special education teachers used AI to help with IEPs or 504 plans in the 2024-2025 school year, up 18% from the year before.
Disability Scoop · Secondary School Special Education Teachers, Middle School Special Education Teachers
- Turner Construction gives all employees ChatGPT Enterprise
Turner Construction signed a two-year deal with OpenAI to give all employees ChatGPT Enterprise. Its largest agent build session produced more than 100 custom AI agents, including ones that level bids and review contracts.
- Allianz uses seven AI agents to process food spoilage claims in Australia
Allianz's Project Nemo went live in Australia in July 2025, using seven AI agents for food spoilage claims under AUD 500. Allianz reports an 80% cut in processing and settlement time, with a human making the final payout decision.
Allianz · Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks, Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
- Chegg cuts 45% of staff, citing AI and lost Google traffic
Chegg cut 388 roles, about 45% of its workforce. It cited the new realities of AI and reduced traffic from Google.
- Amazon cuts about 14,000 corporate jobs to reduce layers
Amazon said it would cut about 14,000 corporate jobs to reduce layers and bureaucracy, and the cuts could eventually exceed 30,000. HR chief Beth Galetti called AI the most transformative technology since the Internet.
TechRepublic · General and Operations Managers, First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Mondelez invests over $40 million in a generative AI marketing tool
Mondelez is investing more than $40 million in a generative AI tool built with Publicis and Accenture, aiming to cut production costs by 30% to 50%. Starting in November it will update Oreo product pages on Amazon and Walmart in the US.
- Internal Amazon documents plan robots for 75% of operations
According to documents reported by The New York Times, Amazon expects to avoid hiring more than 160,000 U.S. workers by 2027 and 600,000 by 2033. Amazon says the documents are incomplete and don't represent its hiring strategy.
Business Standard, citing The New York Times · Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Stockers and Order Fillers
- eXp Realty launches Mira, an AI business assistant for its agents
eXp launched Mira, an AI assistant agents can use by voice or text in English, French and Spanish. It lets agents check cap status, track revenue share and view payouts.
Real Estate News · Real Estate Sales Agents, Real Estate Brokers
- Deloitte refunds part of a government fee over AI-made report errors
Deloitte refunded over A$97,000 of a roughly A$440,000 contract with Australia's Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. The report contained a fabricated court quote and references to nonexistent research.
- FleetWorks raises $17 million for an always-on AI truck dispatcher
FleetWorks raised $17 million led by First Round Capital for its AI dispatcher. Less than six months after launch it had onboarded over 10,000 carriers and partnered with more than 15 of the top 100 U.S. freight brokers.
- Logitech CEO says AI agents sit in almost every meeting
CEO Hanneke Faber said Logitech uses AI agents such as Microsoft Copilot in almost every meeting for summaries, notes and ideas, and that she would consider putting an AI on her board.
- Tumble tests a folding robot in its San Francisco laundry
Laundry service Tumble installed Weave Robotics' Isaac robot in its North Beach laundry room, where it folded about 15% of one customer order. The founder said there is no timeline but hopes to reach 50%.
The San Francisco Standard · Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
- JPMorgan's LLM Suite reaches about 250,000 employees
About 250,000 JPMorgan employees have access to LLM Suite and roughly half use it daily. In a demo it produced a five-page investment banking deck in about 30 seconds, work junior bankers previously needed hours for.
- Colorado runs driverless crash trucks behind highway crews
CDOT has three self-driving truck-mounted attenuators in use in Limon, Pueblo and southwest Colorado, mainly on striping projects. It plans to expand statewide and to mowing, pothole patching and sweeping.
- Peloton launches Peloton IQ AI coaching with form tracking
Peloton unveiled Peloton IQ, a computer vision system that gives AI feedback on exercise form and reps, alongside price increases. CEO Peter Stern said services will stay centered on human instructors.
- Oregon sheriff's deputies test Axon AI tool that drafts police reports
Select deputies began a 60-day pilot on October 1, 2025 of Axon's Draft One, which turns body camera audio into a first draft report. Deputies must review and edit each draft, and the office and District Attorney will decide afterward whether to continue.
Washington County, Oregon · Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
- Gartner: 75% of IT application leaders are piloting or using AI agents
A Gartner survey of 360 IT application leaders found 75% were piloting, deploying or had deployed some form of AI agents. Only 15% were considering, piloting or deploying fully autonomous agents.
Gartner · Computer and Information Systems Managers, Computer Systems Analysts
- Katy ISD plans AI to handle 30% of administrative inquiries
Katy ISD wants AI to handle at least 30% of administrative inquiries with six planned systems, including an AI receptionist and help desk. The phased rollout runs 12 to 18 months, expanding to 40 campuses before all schools.
Community Impact · Kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrators
- Accenture cuts staff it says cannot be reskilled for AI
Accenture headcount fell from about 791,000 to over 779,000 in three months, with about $865 million in expected restructuring costs. CEO Julie Sweet said reskilling "is not a viable path for the skills we need" for some workers.
Yahoo Finance · Management Analysts, Computer Systems Analysts
- HPE Juniper Mist agents fix more network issues on their own
HPE added agentic AI to Juniper Mist. Its Marvis Actions can now autonomously fix more issues, including misconfigured ports, capacity problems and non-compliant hardware, with IT oversight.
- TxDOT AI plan proposes automated bridge inspections and road design
TxDOT's 2025 to 2027 AI Strategic Plan draws on 230 potential use cases, including AI bridge inspections and generated initial road designs. AI cut some engineering invoice entry from seven days to 30 minutes.
- HopSkipDrive pairs RouteWise AI bus routing with small-vehicle drivers
HopSkipDrive launched a model that uses its RouteWise AI to design bus stop hubs and routes, paired with caregiver drivers in small vehicles. In its survey of more than 500 school administrators, 81% said bus driver shortages are a problem.
- Trane adds AI Tech Assistant to its HVAC technician apps
Trane launched an AI assistant inside its Trane and American Standard technician apps that searches product documentation and asks follow-up questions. It was available to HVAC professionals on launch day with no extra hardware.
Trane Technologies · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
- CloudNC says over 1,000 machine shops use its AI CNC programming tool
CloudNC said more than 1,000 shops and machinists use CAM Assist, which uses AI to generate CNC programming strategies. It launched CAM Assist 2.0 for Autodesk Fusion, Mastercam and Siemens NX users.
Robotics 24/7 · Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators, Machinists
- AES sends Maximo solar robot fleet to California Bellefield project
AES sent a fleet of its Maximo robots to phase two of the Bellefield solar project in Kern County, California. Maximo has installed more than 35 MW of solar modules to date, and AES says it can install panels in half the time and at half the cost.
Renewable Energy World · Solar Photovoltaic Installers, Construction Laborers
- Somerset social workers save about 11 hours a week with Magic Notes
A pilot of Beam's Magic Notes AI tool with 20 children's social care staff saved practitioners about 11 hours per week. Assessments and reports were submitted 65% faster, and 95% of pilot staff wanted to keep using it.
- Salesforce cuts support staff from about 9,000 to 5,000 with AI agents
CEO Marc Benioff said support staff fell from about 9,000 to 5,000 as AI agents took on work. He said: "I need less heads."
- Amazon's Zoox opens free robotaxi rides to the public in Las Vegas
Zoox began public robotaxi rides in Las Vegas to five designated locations, free for at least the first few months. It has about 50 vehicles across Las Vegas and San Francisco and plans Austin and Miami next.
Associated Press via ABC7 · Taxi Drivers, Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs
- Gartner: 70% of finance functions to use AI for real-time decisions
Gartner predicts that as early as 2028, 70% of finance functions will use AI analysis with connected device data for decisions on costs and cash flow. It also expects 15% of day-to-day work decisions to be made autonomously by 2030.
- C.H. Robinson launches logistics planner run by dozens of AI agents
C.H. Robinson launched its Always-on Logistics Planner, with dozens of AI agents embedded in customer operations. The agents handle shipment tracking, document processing and invoice auditing.
- Commonwealth Bank reverses 45 job cuts tied to an AI voice bot
CBA had declared 45 customer service roles redundant, to be replaced by an AI voice bot announced in July 2025. The bank said the decision was an error, apologised and said the roles were not redundant.
- Two police departments turned off checks for AI-written Axon reports
Records requests found Fort Collins, Colorado, and Lafayette, Indiana, had turned off the ability to check whether a Draft One report was AI-generated. Phoenix, Gilbert, Scottsdale and Tempe also use the tool.
KJZZ · First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
- JLL adds AI to Prism building operations platform
JLL launched Prism AI as an add-on to its Prism building operations platform. It turns property documents into a searchable knowledge base, automates administrative tasks, and analyzes service request patterns.
JLL · Facilities Managers, Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
- Walmart gives 1.5 million associates AI task and translation tools
Walmart launched an AI task management tool for overnight stocking that cut shift planning from 90 minutes to 30, plus AI translation in 44 languages. The tools are for its 1.5 million associates.
Intelligent CIO · Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons, First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
- Latham & Watkins deploys Harvey AI firmwide
Latham & Watkins licensed Harvey's enterprise platform for lawyers and business professionals worldwide. Uses include legal research, document review and drafting.
- PCI uses Okibo robots for drywall finishing at Netflix House project
Specialty contractor PCI used Okibo's painting and drywall finishing robots at the 100,000-square-foot Netflix House in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The robots delivered up to 5x productivity on Level 4 and 5 sanding, and the firms planned a data center project next.
Engineering.com · Painters, Construction and Maintenance, Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
- Virginia Tech uses AI to check admission essay scores
Virginia Tech, which gets about 55,000 applications a year, will use AI to confirm reviewer essay scores instead of a second human reader. If AI and the reviewer differ by two points on a 12-point scale, another person reviews the essay.
- Judge removes Butler Snow lawyers over fake ChatGPT citations
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco reprimanded three Butler Snow attorneys and removed them from an Alabama prison case. One attorney used ChatGPT to generate case citations and did not verify them.
- Sixt uses AI Car Gate scanners to check rentals at pickup and return
Sixt uses its Car Gate system to scan vehicles at pickup and return, and says staff review flags before claims. Two customers were billed for damage shown in pickup scan photos, and Sixt dropped both claims.
- Nasdaq Verafin launches AI digital workers for AML compliance
Nasdaq Verafin launched AI agents that handle sanctions screening alerts and enhanced due diligence reviews. It says its Digital Sanctions Analyst cuts a bank's alert review workload by more than 80% based on initial results.
- Los Angeles beta tests Archistar AI plan check for fire rebuilds
Los Angeles began beta testing Archistar's eCheck AI tool, which checks building plans against local building and zoning rules before submission. Use is optional for people rebuilding single-family homes after the Palisades Fire.
- Google's Big Sleep AI agent finds SQLite flaw before attackers use it
Google said its Big Sleep AI agent isolated CVE-2025-6965, a critical SQLite flaw known only to threat actors. Google called it the first time an AI agent directly foiled an exploit attempt in the wild.
- Mercedes-Benz Beijing body and paint center gets AI spray painting robot
Lianhe Sowell delivered an AI-guided spray painting robot to the Mercedes-Benz Body & Paint Center in Beijing. Sowell says it improves spraying efficiency by more than 30% and cuts paint use by more than 20%.
Collision Repair Magazine · Automotive Body and Related Repairers, Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Penske's Catalyst AI watches 200,000 trucks for coming breakdowns
Penske's Catalyst AI analyzes real-time data on more than 200,000 trucks and flags patterns that suggest imminent major maintenance issues. Penske collects 300 million data points a day.
Business Insider via AOL · Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
- CloudNC AI writes CNC programs for hundreds of machine shops
CloudNC's AI generates CNC machine programs and has hundreds of customers, mostly small and medium U.S. machine shops. At MSP Manufacturing, programming a part took about seven minutes plus 15 minutes of refinement, versus 90 minutes before.
- Gallup: about 6 in 10 U.S. teachers used AI tools last school year
A Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey of more than 2,000 U.S. teachers found about 6 in 10 K-12 public school teachers used AI tools for work. Weekly users estimate they save about six hours per week.
Fortune · Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers
- Tesla starts robotaxi rides in Austin with a safety monitor on board
Tesla launched robotaxi rides with roughly ten Model Y vehicles in a limited zone of South Austin at a flat $4.20 per ride. A Tesla employee sits in the front passenger seat as a safety monitor.
- Yum China launches Q-Smart AI assistant for KFC restaurant managers
After a pilot at select KFC restaurants, Yum China launched Q-Smart, an AI assistant for managers. It covers labor scheduling, inventory management and food safety inspections.
Nation's Restaurant News · First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
- Wix buys Base44, an AI tool that builds apps from plain language
Wix paid about $80 million up front for Base44, plus earn-outs through 2029. Base44 lets people build software and apps by describing them in plain language, with the chat handling databases, login and deployment.
Nasdaq (Wix press release) · Web Developers, Software Developers
- Miso's Flippy fry robots at 20 locations, weekly deployments planned
Miso said its Flippy Fry Stations are deployed at 20 locations, including Jack in the Box and White Castle, with weekly deployments scheduled through the end of September. It signed Roboworx to install and maintain the robots.
- Cisco introduces AgenticOps AI agents for network operations
Cisco introduced AgenticOps, a Deep Network Model and AI Canvas. Its AI Assistant diagnoses root causes and automates routine work such as switch migrations, which Cisco says cuts task time from hours to minutes.
Virtualization Review · Network and Computer Systems Administrators
- Starbucks pilots Green Dot Assist AI helper for baristas in 35 stores
Starbucks is piloting Green Dot Assist, a generative AI assistant on in-store iPads powered by Microsoft Azure's OpenAI platform, in 35 stores. It plans a broader rollout to U.S. and Canadian stores in fiscal year 2026.
- Walmart expands drone delivery to 100 stores in five new cities
Walmart and Wing will launch drone delivery at 100 stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. Walmart has made over 150,000 drone deliveries since 2021.
- IBM replaces about 200 HR positions with AI agents
IBM replaced about 200 HR positions with AI-driven agents. CEO Arvind Krishna said IBM's total employment has gone up.
Computing · Human Resources Specialists, Human Resources Assistants
- FDA launches agencywide generative AI tool Elsa for reviewers
The FDA rolled out Elsa weeks ahead of schedule to help review clinical protocols, summarize adverse events and generate database code. The agency said the tool is not trained on data submitted by drug and device makers.
- Business Insider cuts 21% of staff as it speeds up AI adoption
CEO Barbara Peng said Business Insider would cut about 21% of its workforce. The memo said the company is accelerating AI adoption and cited AI news summaries as a cause of lower traffic.
- Business Insider cuts 21% of staff while fully embracing AI
Business Insider cut about 21% of staff across every department. CEO Barbara Peng said the company is fully embracing AI and that roughly seven in ten employees already use Enterprise ChatGPT.
Fox Business · News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists, Editors
- Chicago Sun-Times apologizes for AI reading list with fake books
A licensed summer reading list in the May 18 Sun-Times included 10 books out of 15 that do not exist, written by a freelancer using an AI agent. The paper apologized, said it is updating its policies, and will not charge subscribers for the edition.
CBS News Chicago · News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists, Editors
- Walgreens opens 12th robotic prescription fulfillment center
Walgreens opened a micro-fulfillment center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, projected to process 13 million prescriptions a year. Its 12 centers support more than 5,000 stores and fill more than 3.5 million prescriptions per week.
- Fortune Brands rolls out Augury AI machine monitoring across plants
Fortune Brands used Augury's AI Machine Health system at its Fiberon decking plant in North Carolina and reported 2.5x ROI within eight months. It is rolling it out across North American and European operations.
- Court lets age bias case over Workday AI screening proceed collectively
A federal judge granted preliminary collective certification in Mobley v. Workday for applicants aged 40 and older. The plaintiff says Workday's AI screening tools rejected him at more than 100 jobs.
- Microsoft cuts more than 6,000 jobs, aiming for fewer managers
Microsoft cut 3% of its workforce, more than 6,000 jobs, with a focus on reducing management layers. Microsoft has not said whether the cuts are tied to AI efficiencies.
TechRepublic · General and Operations Managers, Project Management Specialists
- Software engineers were over 40% of Microsoft's Washington layoffs
Microsoft cut about 6,000 workers, including roughly 2,000 in Washington. Software engineers made up more than 40% of the Washington cuts, the largest single category.
- Amazon puts touch-sensing Vulcan robot to work stowing items
Vulcan is in full operation stowing items in Spokane, Washington, and can handle about 75% of the roughly 1 million unique items there. A picking version is being tested in Hamburg, and Amazon plans more U.S. and German sites in 2026.
CNBC via NBC New York · Stockers and Order Fillers, Hand Packers and Packagers
- Wendy's FreshAI drive-thru ordering live at 160+ restaurants
Wendy's FreshAI drive-thru ordering system is live at over 160 restaurants across the U.S. The company plans digital menu boards and AI drive-thru ordering at over 500 restaurants by the end of the year.
Restaurant Dive via Yahoo Finance · Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers
- Hawaii courts launch AI chatbot for court users
The Hawaii State Judiciary launched KolokoloChat, an AI chatbot giving court users 24/7 access to FAQs, online forms and self-help resources. It was built with the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
University of Hawaii News · Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
- Starbucks pauses Siren equipment rollout and focuses on staffing
Starbucks paused the rollout of its Siren System drink-making equipment. CEO Brian Niccol said the equipment does not solve the customer experience problem, staffing the stores does, and a new staffing model launches at 2,000 U.S. locations.
- Zocdoc launches Zo, an AI phone assistant that books patient appointments
Zocdoc launched Zo, an AI assistant that answers patient scheduling calls around the clock. Practices pay $2 for each appointment Zo schedules on its own.
Newsweek · Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Receptionists and Information Clerks
- Klarna brings back human customer service agents
After cutting about 700 support roles and leaning on AI chat, Klarna began rehiring human agents for a hybrid model: AI for simple cases, people for the rest.
- Microsoft says 20% to 30% of its code is written by AI
CEO Satya Nadella said 20% to 30% of code in Microsoft's repositories was written by software. The week before, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said AI generates more than 30% of Google's code.
- Harvest CROO strawberry robot matches human pace in field trials
Harvest CROO, co-founded by Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki, said field trials reached performance on par with human harvesting in a commercial operation. The company still needs funding before a commercial rollout.
Specialty Crop Grower · Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
- KPMG builds AI agents into its global audit platform
KPMG is adding AI agents to its global audit platform for more than 95,000 auditors. The agents target routine tasks such as expense reviews and searching for unrecorded liabilities.
Bloomberg Tax · Accountants and Auditors, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
- Sweetgreen plans to add 25 more automated Infinite Kitchens in 2025
Sweetgreen expects to add 25 more Infinite Kitchens by the end of 2025, after ending 2024 with 12. It says the automated stores deliver at least 7 percentage points in labor savings versus similar stores.
- Duolingo says it will stop using contractors for work AI can handle
In an AI-first memo in late April 2025, CEO Luis von Ahn said Duolingo would "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle."
Entrepreneur · Interpreters and Translators, Writers and Authors
- Microsoft unveils Security Copilot agents for phishing and alert triage
Microsoft announced Security Copilot agents including a Phishing Triage Agent and Alert Triage Agents, plus five partner-built agents, available for preview in April 2025.
- Yum Brands plans AI action plans for managers at 500 restaurants
Yum said AI agents will give restaurant managers personalized action plans and computer vision will support back-of-house labor management. It planned a rollout to 500 Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC and Habit Burger restaurants in Q2 2025.
- Gartner: AI agents will resolve 80% of common service issues by 2029
Gartner predicts agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues without human intervention by 2029. It expects operational costs to fall by 30%.
- Salesforce says it will hire no new engineers in 2025
CEO Marc Benioff said Salesforce would not hire any new engineers in 2025. He cited a 30% productivity increase in engineering from AI tools.
- Morgan & Morgan lawyers fined for AI-made fake case citations
A federal judge in Wyoming fined three lawyers over eight AI-generated citations to nonexistent cases in Wadsworth v. Walmart. One lawyer was fined $3,000 and two were fined $1,000 each.
- Fusion Risk Management launches AI tool to convert business continuity plans
Fusion Risk Management introduced BC Plan inFusion, which lets customers upload existing business continuity plans in any format for AI-powered conversion. The feature is available to all Fusion customers.
- Rotman professors' AI teaching assistant spreads to other universities
Rotman professors Kevin Bryan and Joshua Gans built an AI teaching assistant used in thousands of student interactions in their classes, and opened it to other professors in December. Human TAs are assigned to support the bottom 10% of the class.
- Mercy rolls out Aidoc AI to review most diagnostic imaging
Mercy began a phased rollout of Aidoc's AI platform across its hospitals to give most diagnostic imaging an additional review. It flags suspected conditions such as brain hemorrhage and pulmonary embolism to help radiologists prioritize cases.
Mercy · Radiologists, Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
- Philadelphia nonprofits use AI assistants for intake and eligibility
NoMo Foundation built an assistant that checks program eligibility, and Campaign for Working Families built one that handles intake forms and booking at any hour.
Technical.ly · Social and Community Service Managers, Social and Human Service Assistants
- Knightscope signs 10 new security robot clients in early January 2025
Knightscope reported 10 new client agreements in the first 10 days of 2025. They include a 2-year K5 autonomous security robot deal with a Dallas automotive group with three dealerships.
- WEF: admin assistants and graphic designers among fastest declining jobs
The Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists administrative assistants among the fastest declining roles, with graphic designers joining them. It projects 92 million jobs displaced and 170 million created by 2030.
World Economic Forum · Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Graphic Designers
- LG takes a 51% stake in serving robot maker Bear Robotics
LG Electronics acquired a controlling 51% stake in Bear Robotics. Its Servi robot delivers food to tables and busses tables.
Restaurant Technology News · Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, Waiters and Waitresses
- Scotland's CAVForth self-driving bus service to end over low ridership
The CAVForth autonomous bus project between Ferrytoll and Edinburgh Park ends on 14 February 2025 and will not be extended. Stagecoach East Scotland said passenger numbers were too low to continue; the buses ran with a safety driver on board.
- Palo Alto Networks cuts IT support staff nearly in half with AI
Palo Alto Networks reduced its IT support staff by nearly 50%, with an expected reduction of 80%. Gartner projected that by 2027 AI will provide more IT technical support than humans, at least in written form.
- 57% of CFOs expect smaller finance teams by 2026 due to AI
A Datarails survey of 270 U.S. CFOs found 57% expect smaller finance departments in 2026. 70% plan to invest in AI for the CFO's office in 2025.
- thyssenkrupp plans global use of Siemens AI copilot to engineer machines
thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering plans to use Siemens' Industrial Copilot at scale across its global locations to engineer machines starting in 2025. Siemens' Erlangen electronics factory uses a copilot that explains machine error codes and suggests fixes.
ARC Advisory Group · Industrial Engineers, Industrial Machinery Mechanics
- 71% of market researchers expect synthetic responses to dominate
In a Qualtrics survey of 3,198 market researchers, 71% agreed most market research will use synthetic responses within three years. 69% said they used synthetic responses in the past year.
Research Live · Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
- Gartner predicts 1 in 5 firms will use AI to cut middle management
Gartner predicted that through 2026, 1 in 5 organizations will flatten their structure through AI, eliminating more than half of current middle management positions.
CIO Dive · General and Operations Managers, First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Chipotle tests avocado robot and automated makeline in two restaurants
Chipotle is testing Autocado, which cuts, cores and peels avocados, in one Huntington Beach, California store. An Augmented Makeline built with Hyphen that assembles bowls and salads is in one Corona del Mar restaurant.
Chain Store Age · Food Preparation Workers, Fast Food Cooks, Fast Food and Counter Workers
- Danish study finds 13 electrician tasks suited to robots
A HowToRobot study for Dansk El-Forbund and TEKNIQ found 13 electrician tasks suited to automation, such as cable pulling and drilling. Off-the-shelf tools could cover 14% of a projected 6,700-electrician shortfall by 2030.
- Perceptive robot performs first fully automated dental procedure
Perceptive's AI-driven robotic system performed the first fully automated dental procedure on a human. The company aims to place a crown in 15 minutes, versus two visits of at least an hour each.
Dental Products Report · Dental Assistants, General Dentists
- Dollar General removes self-checkout from about 12,000 stores
Dollar General has eliminated self-checkout at about 12,000 locations, most of its stores. Five Below is removing self-checkout in some highest-risk locations and replacing it with employees.
- Morgan Stanley launches AI notetaker for financial advisors
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management launched Debrief, an OpenAI-powered tool that takes notes in client meetings, drafts follow-up emails and saves notes to Salesforce. 98% of advisor teams had adopted its earlier AI assistant.
- New Hampshire offers Khanmigo AI tutor to schools statewide
New Hampshire signed a $2.3 million contract to give educators and students in grades 5 to 12 free access to Khan Academy's Khanmigo AI tutor and teaching assistant. The contract runs through July 31, 2025.
New Hampshire Department of Education · Secondary School Teachers, Middle School Teachers, Tutors
- McDonald's ends its first AI drive-thru test
McDonald's removed AI ordering from its drive-thrus in 2024 after frequent order errors.
- Klarna uses AI image tools and cuts image production costs by $6 million
Klarna said Midjourney, DALL-E and Firefly cut its image development cycle from 6 weeks to 7 days and saved $6 million in image production costs. Spending on external translation and other agencies also fell.
Marketing Dive · Graphic Designers, Interpreters and Translators
- Walmart adds 19 autonomous forklifts at four distribution centers
Walmart is deploying 19 Fox Robotics FoxBot autonomous forklifts at four distribution centers in Florida, Texas, New York and Alabama. It followed a 16-month test at its Brooksville, Florida, facility.
- Gannett pauses AI-written high school sports stories after errors
Gannett paused its LedeAI experiment in all local markets after stories in papers such as the Columbus Dispatch contained template placeholders and repetitive phrasing. LedeAI's CEO acknowledged legitimate problems with the reports.
- Walmart targets automation for 65% of stores by early 2026
Walmart expected about 65% of stores to be served by automation and 55% of fulfillment volume to run through automated facilities by the end of fiscal 2026. It said headcount would hold steady or grow as roles change.
TipRanks / The Fly · Stockers and Order Fillers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
- Chili's deploys Rita server robot in 10 restaurants
Chili's has deployed Rita, a version of Bear Robotics' Servi robot, in 10 restaurants across the U.S. Chili's has over 1,600 locations.
The Spoon · Waiters and Waitresses, Nonrestaurant Food Servers