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Applied AI

By The Information Staff

Applied AI focuses on deep storytelling and reporting around the application of AI in business and beyond. From how companies drive innovation, support their customers, and foster collaboration with their teams, to how CEOs are applying AI to optimize their organizations.

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Recent Editions

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Applied AI

A 220,000-Person Company’s Tactics for Keeping AI Costs Down

By · Apr 29, 2025 10:00am PDT
Businesses looking to expand their internal use of artificial intelligence from a select few testers to a large number of workers are hypersensitive to increased costs. Over the last couple of years, that has meant many of their AI projects have never made it out of the pilot phase.Veolia, a 220,000-person provider of water treatment, waste... Businesses looking to expand their internal use of artificial intelligence from a select few...
Fritz Lanman, CEO of Classpass. Photo via Getty.
Applied AI

How ClassPass Got Its Support Bot on Par With Humans

By Jon Victor · Apr 24, 2025 10:00am PDT
When it comes to using artificial intelligence for customer support, businesses are learning that the technology isn’t something you set and forget. Instead, they need to keep an eye on how the AI is performing and make improvements even after it goes live.ClassPass, which operates a subscription platform for fitness classes, learned that lesson... When it comes to using artificial intelligence for customer support, businesses are learning that...
Art by Clark Miller
Applied AI

How Customers Get Around AI’s Poor Math Skills

By · Apr 22, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment
Healthcare providers and artificial intelligence vendors have touted AI’s potential to automatically interpret medical test results. But the technology still faces a major limitation: It struggles to do basic math. For example, Anthropic’s Claude AI chatbot often can’t answer correctly whether a certain number falls within a given range.That’s a... Healthcare providers and artificial intelligence vendors have touted AI’s potential to...
Art by Clark Miller
The 30 Most and Least Common Uses of AI
By Jon Victor · Apr 17, 2025 10:00am PDT
Art by Clark Miller
Applied AI

The 30 Most and Least Common Uses of AI

By Jon Victor · Apr 17, 2025 10:00am PDT
Executives’ growing willingness to say publicly that they are forgoing hiring in favor of artificial intelligence might be a sign of the times. Businesses are facing more uncertainty than they have in years, with tariff-related disruptions and a broader stock market pullback since the start of this year.As my colleague Aaron Holmes reported... Executives’ growing willingness to say publicly that they are forgoing hiring in favor of...
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Applied AI

At LinkedIn, the Line Between Engineer and Designer Is Blurring

By · Apr 15, 2025 10:05am PDT
In an era of vibe coding and artificial intelligence that can build a professional-looking webpage based on a simple prompt, the lines separating software engineers, designers and product managers are getting blurry.At LinkedIn, for example, company leaders are encouraging engineers to use AI to speed up design work and designers to use AI to... In an era of vibe coding and artificial intelligence that can build a professional-looking...
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Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google speaks onstage during Google Cloud Next “25: AI Exclusive at the Sphere” on April 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Image via Getty.
Applied AI

How Companies Are Approaching AI’s Cost-Benefit Analysis

By Erin Woo and Jon Victor · Apr 10, 2025 10:00am PDT
Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week to demonstrate that customers are getting good results from artificial intelligence services, speeding up production and offering new services to customers. But as tariffs roil markets and dampen the economic outlook, how much businesses spend on AI... Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week...
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Applied AI

Rivals Unite Behind New Software for Agents, Threatening App Makers

By · Apr 8, 2025 10:00am PDT
Before we get to AI agents, we wanted to make sure you saw our story from last night on how the effects of the new U.S. tariffs are already rippling across tech—even prompting some companies to pause new enterprise software deals. We’ll be watching closely for any more disruptions as companies continue to make sense of what the changes in... Before we get to AI agents, we wanted to make sure you saw our story from last night on how the...
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Why Customers Let Workday Train AI on Their Data
By Jon Victor · Apr 3, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment
Photo via Shutterstock
Applied AI

Why Customers Let Workday Train AI on Their Data

By Jon Victor · Apr 3, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment
Workday, a human resources software provider, is the latest example of a large public company using information from customers to improve its artificial intelligence.To develop AI that lets customers generate and analyze legal contracts, Workday has been using its customers’ own contracts as part of the training data, Chief Technology Officer... Workday, a human resources software provider, is the latest example of a large public company...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Applied AI

ChatGPT’s New Image Tool Is Big for Businesses

By · Apr 1, 2025 10:11am PDT
OpenAI’s latest image update to ChatGPT isn’t just a boon for Studio Ghibli fans. It’s also a gift to businesses of all sizes looking to generate visuals—from marketing photography, advertisements and more—on the cheap.Take Sola Wood Flowers, a Utah-based e-commerce company that sells replica flowers mostly used in weddings. The business... OpenAI’s latest image update to ChatGPT isn’t just a boon for Studio Ghibli fans. It’s also a...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Applied AI

Why Some AI Buyers Might Need to Hire More Engineers, Not Fewer

By Jon Victor · Mar 27, 2025 10:00am PDT
Many companies shelling out cash for artificial intelligence may be counting on the technology to reduce the number of software engineers they need. That’s not the case at Vanta, which sells compliance software to enterprises.As the $2.5 billion–valuation startup uses more AI to aid its 300-person sales organization, it’s hiring more engineers... Many companies shelling out cash for artificial intelligence may be counting on the technology to...
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A new The Information franchise that will take you inside how businesses are using AI to automate all kinds of work.
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Art by Mike Sullivan
Applied AI

How AI Is Changing Hollywood’s United Talent Agency

By · Mar 25, 2025 10:41am PDT
United Talent Agency, whose agents represent Hollywood stars like Will Ferrell and Cynthia Erivo, has struggled to give its staff real-time information on film and TV viewership or ratings because such data come from numerous sources. Agents have long wanted such data at their fingertips so they could share it with clients, said Joe... United Talent Agency, whose agents represent Hollywood stars like Will Ferrell and Cynthia Erivo,...
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Why Walmart Isn’t Sleeping on Agents
By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 20, 2025 10:00am PDT
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Applied AI

Why Walmart Isn’t Sleeping on Agents

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 20, 2025 10:00am PDT
Retailers have mixed feelings about web-browsing agents that can control a person’s browser to complete tasks for them.Some firms like DoorDash are concerned that an explosion of agents could overrun their sites with bots, lowering the value of their ads and creating distance between themselves and customers in the process. (That was the subject... Retailers have mixed feelings about web-browsing agents that can control a person’s browser to...
How ChatGPT Convinced Moderna to Merge its IT and HR Departments
Applied AI

How ChatGPT Convinced Moderna to Merge its IT and HR Departments

By · Mar 18, 2025 10:00am PDT
One of the most underappreciated applications of artificial intelligence in the corporate world involves its role in writing performance reviews.Take Moderna, the pharmaceutical giant. Late last year, Brice Challamel, its vice president of AI products and platforms, noticed a trend: ChatGPT usage by the pharmaceutical firm’s employees spiked... One of the most underappreciated applications of artificial intelligence in the corporate world...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Applied AI

CIOs Face a Glut of AI Sellers

By Jon Victor · Mar 13, 2025 10:41am PDT
Convincing professionals, software engineers and other application developers to open their wallets for new artificial intelligence that speeds up their work seems easier than ever. But selling AI to large enterprises is a different ballgame. That was painfully clear this week at the first annual HumanX conference in Las Vegas, which... Convincing professionals, software engineers and other application developers to open their...
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Applied AI

$120 Billion Fintech Firm Trains Chatbot—on Customer Data

By · Mar 11, 2025 10:21am PDT
Seemingly every week, a large company in an old, regulated industry is taking the cover off an artificial intelligence application that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.The latest example is Fiserv, a 41-year-old provider of software for thousands of financial firms to process payments, manage operations and provide banking... Seemingly every week, a large company in an old, regulated industry is taking the cover off an...
Applied AI Newsletter
A new The Information franchise that will take you inside how businesses are using AI to automate all kinds of work.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Spenser Skates, CEO of Amplitude. Photo via AP
How a 700-Person Software Firm Taps ChatGPT, Gemini and More—on the Cheap
By Jon Victor · Mar 6, 2025 10:00am PST
Spenser Skates, CEO of Amplitude. Photo via AP
Applied AI

How a 700-Person Software Firm Taps ChatGPT, Gemini and More—on the Cheap

By Jon Victor · Mar 6, 2025 10:00am PST
Last week, Spenser Skates, CEO of analytics firm Amplitude, met with executives from eBay, a major customer. EBay has periodically run into issues with Amplitude’s product, which helps companies understand the performance of their ads and how consumers use their websites, and has sent hundreds of support requests to Amplitude—too many for Skates... Last week, Spenser Skates, CEO of analytics firm Amplitude, met with executives from eBay, a...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Applied AI

Meta Plans New Push for Business Chatbots

By · Mar 4, 2025 10:00am PST
Meta Platforms is preparing a new push to woo businesses to set up and run artificial intelligence chatbots on Messenger and WhatsApp, according to a current employee.As a newcomer in a crowded market, Meta has pitched its business chatbots as tools to provide customer support, plus information and recommendations that will lead to sales, the... Meta Platforms is preparing a new push to woo businesses to set up and run artificial...
Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney
Applied AI

Software Startups Under Threat; Experian Finally Takes the Chatbot Plunge

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Catherine Perloff · Feb 27, 2025 10:00am PST
Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup boom are facing many obstacles as they look to jump-start growth. One is the threat from generative artificial intelligence.In our Enterprise Software Startup Takeover List, we’ve identified 92 promising candidates for acquisitions in the coming year.... Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup...
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Applied AI

Ozempic Maker Says AI Is Finally Reliable Enough to Produce Sensitive Documents

By · Feb 25, 2025 10:00am PST
Multinational companies in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and insurance have been somewhat reluctant to adopt generative artificial intelligence to handle legally sensitive documents due to the risk of AI-generated mistakes.That seems to be changing. Take Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind Ozempic. The company for years has... Multinational companies in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and insurance have been...
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo via Getty
Airbnb, HSBC Offer an AI Reality Check
By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 20, 2025 10:00am PST
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo via Getty
Applied AI

Airbnb, HSBC Offer an AI Reality Check

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 20, 2025 10:00am PST
It’s now common to hear CEOs talk about how they’re using artificial intelligence to cut costs. But here and there some are poking holes in their peers’ rosy statements. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, for instance, said on the company’s earnings call that AI-powered coding assistants haven’t led to a “fundamental step change in productivity yet.”... It’s now common to hear CEOs talk about how they’re using artificial intelligence to cut costs....