Meta Platforms’ Wednesday release of Spark, the first model in its broader Muse model family, doesn’t blow other frontier models out of the water, according to developers and researchers I talked to. But at least puts the company back in the AI conversation.

The model is already powering the Meta AI app and website but it’ll take some time to roll out to Meta’s social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. That’ll be the true test of how well Spark performs, because what consumers want the model to do in social apps is pretty different from what’s being tested in academic benchmarks.

Onto today’s column…

In a world of startups claiming to use AI to discover new materials or revolutionize software development, New York City-based Chapter has a notably un-sexy mission: using AI to make it easier for seniors to enroll in Medicare.

Chapter is one of a growing number of startups that are aiming to use AI software to reinvent existing services and outcompete legacy providers. (Examples in other industries include Crosby in law and Hanover Park in fund management.)

It’s got the numbers to back it up too: Chapter tripled its annualized revenue last year to $100 million without adding to what it calls its “corporate headcount,” or the number of core employees in areas like product, engineering, finance and HR, that totals 33, according to cofounder and CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz.