00:00Not a lot of people is talking about it yet, but the new AI search platform, Upend, has just unveiled some impressive features.
00:10This Canadian startup has just come out of stealth mode, and they're ready to take on the big guns like Google and Microsoft with their AI-powered search.
00:18So it all started as a summer project by Jeevan Arora, a student at the University of Toronto.
00:23After getting some great feedback, he decided to turn it into a full-blown platform that businesses can sign up for, and I can confirm it's pretty impressive.
00:31At its core, Upend lets you choose from a whopping 100 different AI language models to search with.
00:36You've got all the big names like OpenAI, Claude, and Mistral, plus some specialized models for things like coding.
00:42You just type in your question, pick your model, and you get a detailed answer with citations, so you know exactly where the info is coming from.
00:49Now, if you think that this is kind of like perplexity, yeah, there are some similarities, but Upend has much more to offer.
00:55For one, they've got way more models to choose from, plus they let you base your answers on Wikipedia, which is pretty cool.
01:01But here's where Upend really stands out. Pricing.
01:04They want to make advanced AI accessible to everyone, so they charge based on your team's total usage, not per user.
01:10Their team plan is just $20 a month, which gives you access to all their models up to a certain limit.
01:15And if you're a student, you can snag a discounted plan for only $5 per month.
01:20Compare that to Perplexity's $40 per month per user, and you can see how Upend is really shaking things up.
01:26Now, Upend is still pretty new, so there are some kinks to work out, especially with the user interface.
01:30But the CEO, Jeevan Arora, has big plans.
01:34He wants Upend to eventually become a full-on task engine, where it not only answers your questions, but actually does things for you.
01:41Like, if you search for how to convert a PNG to JPG, Upend will just do it for you.
01:46Pretty sweet, right?
01:47Moving forward, Aurora plans to keep growing Upend's library of AI models and add some important features for businesses,
01:54like single sign-on to make onboarding teams much easier.
01:58He's even thinking about launching a mobile app and an API.
02:01But here's the thing.
02:02With companies like Upend and Perplexity making waves, traditional search engines might be in trouble.
02:07Gartner predicts that by 2026, traditional search volume will drop by 25%.
02:13With AI chatbots and virtual agents taking over, that means companies are going to have to rethink their whole marketing strategy
02:19as AI becomes more and more embedded in every aspect of business.
02:23So, there you have it.
02:25Upend, a huge library of models, affordable pricing, and big plans for the future, they're definitely one to watch.
02:32And speaking of Microsoft, though I haven't mentioned them yet, just segueing into a new topic,
02:36with their latest updates to Copilot for Microsoft 365, they're aiming to turn everyone into a prompt engineer.
02:43So, in the coming months, Copilot will get a new autocomplete feature.
02:48Essentially, as you start typing a prompt, Copilot will suggest ways to make it better.
02:52For example, if you start with Summarize, it might offer to summarize your last 10 unread emails or other office-related tasks.
02:59But that's not all.
03:00Microsoft is also working on a feature called Elaborate Your Prompt.
03:04This will basically rewrite your prompts to get the most out of Copilot.
03:07It's perfect for when you know what you want Copilot to do, but you're not sure how to phrase it for the best results.
03:12Microsoft is revealing these new features alongside their annual Work Trend Index,
03:17a joint report with LinkedIn on how AI is being used in the workplace.
03:21They surveyed a whopping 31,000 people across 31 countries and analyzed data from LinkedIn and Microsoft 365.
03:28And get this, 75% of people are already using AI at work.
03:33That's a huge number.
03:34In fact, 78% of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to the office rather than waiting for their companies to provide them.
03:42Microsoft even talks about the rise of the AI power user, workers who have embraced AI to save time and reimagine their workflows.
03:50These power users are apparently saving over 30 minutes per day compared to AI skeptics.
03:54Of course, it's worth noting that this report comes as Microsoft is under pressure to show that their big investments in AI are paying off.
04:03In their recent quarter, AI services contributed 7 points to their 31% revenue growth in Azure and other cloud services.
04:11Still, it's clear that AI is becoming an increasingly important part of the modern workplace.
04:16And with tools like Copilot getting smarter and more user-friendly, it'll be fascinating to see how companies and workers continue to adapt and innovate in the age of AI.
04:26Alright, don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more updates.
04:29Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you in the next one.
Comments