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Today: Anthropic shipped Claude Sonnet 5 with performance close to Opus 4.8 at half the price, making agentic automation affordable for small businesses. Salesforce dropped $3.6 billion on Fin to automate 76% of customer support queries, and the Trump administration finally lifted export controls on Anthropic's most powerful models after weeks of negotiations.
Anthropic just released Claude Sonnet 5, and it matters because this is the first time you can get near-flagship AI performance at midrange prices. The model runs autonomous tasks like browsing, terminal work, and multi-step workflows at a level that previously required Opus 4.8, but at $2 per million input tokens through August 31 (then $3), compared to Opus pricing. TechCrunch, Simon Willison
What this means for you: if you've been priced out of using AI for automation, this levels the field. Sonnet 5 can finish two-part jobs like "update Salesforce account tiers, send launch announcements to enterprise contacts" end-to-end without stalling halfway through, according to testers at Zapier. It also hallucinates less, refuses malicious requests more consistently, and checks its own output without being asked.
The catch: Anthropic changed the tokenizer, so the same text produces roughly 30% more tokens than before. For English text, that means roughly 1.4x the effective cost. Still cheaper than Opus, still cheaper than GPT-5.5, and now the default model for Claude free and Pro plans. If you're using AI agents for anything from email automation to inventory management, Sonnet 5 is the new baseline you should test against.
Acti keyboard brings AI agents directly into your smartphone keyboard. Singapore-based startup Acti launched on iOS and Android, embedding AI (powered by Gemini) into the interface you already use. Instead of switching between apps, you can long-press a key to translate a message, share a meeting link, or pull live stock prices directly in chat. Users can create custom "Skills" without coding by describing what they want in plain language. The app is free with a subscription tier planned for advanced models and higher usage limits. TechCrunch
If you send the same types of messages repeatedly (client updates, pricing quotes, meeting confirmations), this could save you 10+ minutes a day. The Skills marketplace already has over 1,000 user-created shortcuts. Worth testing if you're tired of app-switching overhead.
OpenClaw AI agent now available on iOS and Android. The viral open-source AI agent that captivated the internet earlier this year is finally on mobile. You pair your phone with the OpenClaw Gateway to run agents from your pocket. Users report mixed results, with some succeeding at coding and meal planning while others get less-than-desirable outcomes. Free and open source. TechCrunch
This is still experimental. If you want to tinker with agentic workflows on mobile, it's worth exploring, but expect rough edges.
Google Nano Banana 2 Lite generates images in 4 seconds for $0.034 per 1,000 images. Google's newest AI image generator is optimized for high-volume workflows. It's significantly faster and cheaper than previous versions, making it practical for drafting and perfecting content at scale. Available through Google AI Studio, Gemini API, and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. TechCrunch, Simon Willison
If you're creating ad variants, product mockups, or social media visuals, this is cheap enough to generate dozens of iterations without worrying about cost. Google markets this for e-commerce videos and advertisements. The quality won't replace a designer, but for rapid prototyping, it's hard to beat the price.
Google NotebookLM now generates 60-second TikTok-style video summaries of your research. Rolling out to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers, this feature creates vertical video clips with AI-generated images and narration based on your uploaded sources. Select a notebook, choose "Video" from the Studio column, pick "Short," and hit generate. English only for now, free users coming soon. The Verge
This is useful if you need to communicate research findings quickly to teams or clients who won't read a report. The 60-second format forces clarity.
Salesforce acquires Fin for $3.6 billion to automate customer support. Salesforce is buying Fin, whose AI Agent resolves an average of 76% of support queries autonomously across live chat, email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, and Slack. Powered by Fin's proprietary AI model Apex, the technology significantly outperforms most top models available today. The acquisition brings over 30,000 existing customer deployments to Salesforce. Small Business Trends
What this means: if you're spending 20+ hours a week answering the same customer questions, AI agents can now handle three-quarters of that workload. Salesforce plans to offer everything from rapidly deployable support agents to advanced tailored solutions. The integration is expected to close in Q4 of fiscal 2027. If you're already in the Salesforce ecosystem, this will be worth watching. If you're not, look at Fin's existing customer base for proof of concept before you commit.
AI retail trends worth watching. Retailers are integrating AI for personalized product recommendations, dynamic pricing, and inventory optimization. 67% plan to adopt AI-driven personalization within a year. The push is driven by value-seeking consumers (40% of Americans are deal-driven shoppers) and the need for seamless omnichannel experiences. Small Business Trends
If you run an e-commerce business, AI can help you adjust pricing in real time based on demand and personalize recommendations without hiring a data science team. The barrier to entry keeps dropping.
Claude Sonnet 5 pricing: $2/million input tokens through August 31, then $3. Output tokens are $10/million (rising to $15). The new tokenizer produces roughly 30% more tokens for the same English text, so factor that into your budget. Still cheaper than Opus 4.8, GPT-5.5, and Gemini 3.1 Pro. TechCrunch
Google Nano Banana 2 Lite: $0.034 per 1,000 images. Four-second generation time. Available now through Google AI Studio and Gemini API. TechCrunch
Acti keyboard: Free with subscription tier coming. The subscription will offer advanced AI models, higher daily usage limits, and premium features. No pricing announced yet. TechCrunch
Trump administration lifts export restrictions on Anthropic's Mythos and Fable models. After weeks of negotiations, the Department of Commerce removed the requirement for Anthropic to obtain a license before exporting its most advanced AI models abroad. Public access to Fable 5 (the consumer-facing version of Mythos 5) resumes July 1. Anthropic agreed to proactively detect and address security risks, work with the U.S. government on protocols and standards, and inform the government of malicious activity. The Verge, TechCrunch
What this means: if you were locked out of Anthropic's most powerful models, you'll have access again. The erratic policy approach leaves companies with little clarity about what will govern future releases, so expect more volatility in what's available when.
Vinton Cerf retiring from Google after 20 years as chief internet evangelist. The 83-year-old co-creator of TCP/IP, credited as one of the architects of the internet, is stepping down. Cerf predicted that the rise of AI agents will force standardization and interoperability protocols, similar to the early internet protocol wars. TechCrunch
Cerf's prediction matters: if AI agents need formal standards to coordinate with each other, the companies that define those standards early will have outsized influence over how the agentic economy works. Watch for standardization efforts in the next 12 months.
Use Claude Sonnet 5 for multi-step automation workflows. If you've been avoiding AI agents because Opus was too expensive, switch to Sonnet 5 and test it on tasks like "research this topic, summarize findings, and draft an email to the team." Start with low-stakes workflows and scale up as you build confidence.
Try Google Nano Banana 2 Lite for rapid image iteration. If you're creating social media content, ad variants, or product mockups, use the $0.034/1,000 image pricing to generate dozens of options and pick the best ones. Don't use it for final production work, but it's unbeatable for drafts.
The agentic capability race is now a pricing war. Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are all pitching their midrange models as "good enough" for autonomous work at lower cost. For small businesses, this means AI automation is no longer a luxury reserved for enterprises with API budgets in the thousands. The question is no longer "can AI do this?" but "which model gives me the best cost-per-task ratio?" Expect more price cuts and more aggressive feature releases as the labs compete for the growing automation market. Watch for standardization efforts around agent-to-agent communication, as Vinton Cerf predicted. The companies that win that standards war will own the infrastructure layer of the agentic economy.