Your Competitors Are Not Using AI (Most of Them, Anyway)

One in five companies has touched AI at all. You're already ahead. Here's how to get further ahead this week.

Jun 15, 2026

There’s a number buried in new Census Bureau data that might actually relax your shoulders a little. Only about 1 in 5 U.S. companies uses AI in any business function at all. Not 1 in 2. Not half.

ONE IN FIVE.

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re already in the early-mover minority. The competition is not as automated as the headlines make it sound.

That doesn’t mean you should slow down. It means the window to pull ahead is still open, and two updates this week are worth moving on right now.

ChatGPT Business Just Got Meaningfully More Useful

OpenAI quietly shipped three new capabilities in one update.

First, you can now create and edit PowerPoint presentations directly inside ChatGPT. If you’ve been copying AI output into slides by hand, that stops now (or just use www.Lovable.dev and let PPT finally die).

Second, workspace agents can be triggered via API. In plain English: an API is just a pipe between two pieces of software. So now your ChatGPT agents can be kicked off automatically by your CRM, your scheduling tool, your support inbox. A lead comes in, an agent qualifies it without you touching anything.

Third, and most important given the other two, the free period for workspace agents runs until July 6. After that, credit-based pricing starts. You have a few weeks to build and test automations at no cost. Use them.

A Local Newsletter Company Is Running 400 AI-Written Publications With No Staff

6AM City kept 19 markets with human editors and launched 400 more run entirely by AI. Co-founder Ryan Heafy told A Media Operator that sending each newsletter costs less than a dollar a day, and a single ad click makes each one profitable. The company hit 10 to 20% profit margin in Q1 2026.

I’m not telling you to fire your writers. I’m telling you that if you’ve been running a half-dead email newsletter because you “don’t have time,” this is a proof point that the economics have changed. One ad click to break even per issue is a low bar. If you run any kind of local content or client email marketing and you’re still doing it by hand, there’s a real question to ask yourself this week.

One More Thing Before You Sign Any AI Vendor Contracts

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that OpenAI is considering significant price cuts on API access, anticipating a similar move from Anthropic. Here’s the context that makes that number real: research firm SemiAnalysis found that a $200/month Claude Max plan can cost Anthropic up to $8,000 in compute to serve. ChatGPT Pro can run OpenAI up to $14,000 per heavy user per month.

Both companies are burning money to hold subscribers, and that can’t last. A price war is coming. If you’re currently evaluating AI tools or building on top of these APIs, now is a genuinely bad time to lock into a long contract. Prices are likely to fall. Soon.

New Tools Worth Knowing

Lovable (May 2026 update) — AI app builder now runs parallel subagents for faster builds, adds reusable “Skills” playbooks, automatic security scans before publishing, branded workspace URLs, and a Salesforce connector. For owners building internal tools or client dashboards, Lovable is fantastic (I use it daily). Business/Enterprise plan required for branded URLs and Salesforce.

DigitalOcean Inference Router — Routes each AI API call to the cheapest model that can handle the task, no code changes needed. Simple tasks like summarizing or classifying don’t burn expensive frontier-model budget. Pay-per-token, no separate router fee.

Claude Fable 5 — Anthropic’s strongest publicly available model, top scores in coding, long reasoning, and vision tasks. Available to paid-plan users through June 22 at no extra cost. (Except currently blocked by the US governement!)

Google Business Profile Recurring Posts — Schedule repeating posts directly inside your Google Business Profile dashboard, no third-party tool required. Free.

Google Local Service Ads Content Enhancement — LSAs now pull from your website to enrich ad placements automatically, beyond your static profile. For plumbers, lawyers, cleaners, and other local service businesses. Standard pay-per-lead pricing.

Also in the News

1. Apple unveils smarter Siri powered by Google Gemini at Tim Cook’s final WWDC