Hi! Welcome to the 30th edition of the TomorrowToday newsletter, and welcome to 2026! 🚀

We’re here to decode the AI chaos so you don't have to. Think of us as your friendly neighbourhood tech translators - we cut through the chaos, translate the jargon, and spotlight new AI tools that matter for founders, builders, and curious minds.

Buckle up, because the future's moving fast and we're here to make sure you don't get left behind! ⚡

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/Agents /Acquisition /Geopolitics

Meta just dropped over $2 billion to acquire Manus, and whilst big tech acquisitions aren't exactly rare, this one's fascinating for reasons that go well beyond the price tag.

First, what makes Manus special? Think of it as your ridiculously capable AI colleague. Manus builds AI "agents" that can carry out complex, multi-step digital tasks with minimal human input. We're not talking about simple chatbots here - Manus can screen CVs, plan entire trips, analyse stock portfolios, and handle other sophisticated workflows that normally require proper human judgement. The startup hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue in just three years, which is genuinely impressive.

But here's what makes this deal properly interesting: Manus was founded in China (originally as part of Butterfly Effect/Monica.im in Beijing) before relocating to Singapore earlier this year. This marks one of the first major instances of a US tech giant acquiring a startup with Chinese roots, making it a litmus test for cross-border AI deals in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Meta's been explicit about the terms: there will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus following the transaction, and Manus will discontinue its services and operations in China. It's a strategic move that highlights how the AI race isn't just between Meta, Google, and Amazon domestically - it's a global competition where geography, politics, and technology all collide.

For Meta users, this acquisition signals that the Meta AI assistant running across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is about to get substantially more capable. Instead of just answering questions, expect your Meta AI to actually do things for you within the next 6-18 months - booking appointments, managing tasks, and handling complex workflows across the Meta ecosystem.

/Productivity /Gmail /Google

Google Labs just launched CC, an experimental AI productivity agent that lives in your Gmail and, honestly, it sounds like the personal assistant we've all been dreaming about - if you happen to live in the right country.

CC connects to your Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and the wider web to understand your day. Every morning, it sends a "Your Day Ahead" briefing to your inbox that synthesises your schedule, key tasks, and updates into one clear summary. Need to pay a bill? Prepare for an appointment? CC flags it and even prepares email drafts and calendar links so you can take action immediately.

The clever bit is that CC learns from you. Reply to its briefings, email it directly with custom requests, teach it things about yourself, or ask it to remember ideas and to-dos. It's like having an assistant who actually pays attention to how you work.

The catch? CC is currently only available to users 18+ in the US and Canada, with priority access for Google AI Ultra and paid subscribers. If you're reading this from another country, you're on the waitlist for now. But for those who can access it, the setup is straightforward: sign up at labs.google/cc, connect your Google services, and start receiving your daily briefings.

/Image /Editing /Innovation

Most AI image generators do one thing: spit out pretty pictures. But Alibaba's Qwen team just changed the game with Qwen-Image-Layered, and honestly, it's the kind of innovation that makes you wonder why no one thought of this sooner.

Instead of generating flat images, Qwen-Image-Layered decomposes any image into multiple RGBA layers - like automatically creating a proper Photoshop file with everything neatly organised. Each layer can be independently manipulated without affecting other content, giving you inherent editability that other AI models simply can't match.

Here's where it gets properly clever: want to recolour just the subject's shirt? Done - without touching anything else in the image. Need to replace a girl with a boy in a photo? Easy. Want to resize an object without distortion or delete something cleanly? It handles that too. The layered structure supports elementary operations that would normally require hours of painstaking masking and selection work.

What makes this genuinely exciting for designers and businesses is the speed. Instead of going back and forth with an AI model trying to get that one element right whilst it messes up everything else you liked, you can now iterate on specific components whilst keeping the rest intact. The model supports variable-layer decomposition - you can split an image into 3 layers or 8, depending on your needs. And yes, you can even decompose layers recursively for infinite granularity.

In this section, we aim to spotlight an incredible AI tool or use case and guide you on how you can try it.

You know that repetitive task you do every week? The one where you copy-paste the same context, adjust a few details, and send it off? There's a better way.

Custom GPTs (ChatGPT), Gems (Google Gemini), and Projects (Claude) all do the same thing: they let you create specialised AI assistants tailored to your specific tasks. Think of them as AI agents that remember your preferences, have access to your files, and understand exactly how you work.

The magic happens when you identify opportunities for customisation. If you're doing a task repeatedly - customer outreach, content creation, data analysis - you can build up a knowledge base once and reuse it forever. For instance, a Sales Gem could have all your customer information (how long they've been with you, their industry, pain points) and craft personalised outreach that actually sounds like you. A Content Project could understand your brand voice and reference your style guide automatically and more. The possibilities are limitless.

Here's how to create one:

Step 1: Choose your platform - ChatGPT (Custom GPTs), Gemini (Gems), or Claude (Projects) - they all work similarly.

Step 2: Navigate to the creation section:

Step 3: Add custom instructions describing what this assistant does, how it should respond, and what tone to use (150-250 words works well). Top tip: Use WisprFlow or SuperWispr to explain what the assistant should do and what info it has access to, copy this to any chatbot and ask it to write the instructions for you following best practices.

Step 4: Upload relevant documents - style guides, customer lists, product specs, past examples. Most platforms support 10-20 documents up to 50MB total.

Step 5: Test it with real tasks and refine the instructions based on results.

Common GPTs/Gems/Projects worth creating:

In this section, we're spotlighting real businesses using AI to solve actual problems.

Indeed's mission is simple: help people get jobs. But the execution? That's where AI comes in.

The global job platform faced a classic two-sided marketplace problem. Job seekers struggled with friction when searching, evaluating fit, and applying for roles. Employers wanted more qualified applicants for their open positions. Both sides needed deeper personalisation and clearer context about what makes a strong match.

Indeed launched a suite of AI-powered products to address this friction. Their proprietary AI matches job seekers and employers, but they coupled it with GPT-powered explanations that help people understand why they're a good fit. Indeed Invite to Apply uses AI to generate and send contextual, personalised job invitations at scale, helping candidates understand why a role suits them whilst improving employer reach. Meanwhile, Indeed Career Scout acts as an AI career coach, accelerating job discovery and streamlining the application process.

The results are genuinely impressive. In experiments, Invite to Apply with LLM-generated explanations increased started applications by 20% and improved downstream success (interviews and hires) by 13% versus traditional matching. Early results show job seekers using Career Scout find and apply to relevant jobs 7× faster and are 38% more likely to be hired, with 84% rating it valuable.

The lesson? AI works best when it doesn't just automate processes but makes them more human. By explaining the "why" behind matches, Indeed turns a transactional job search into a guided experience that benefits everyone.

Source: AI in enterprise 2025 report

AI is full of jargon, and we’re here to decode it. Each week, we’ll give you a plain-English definition of a buzzy term you’ve probably seen (but never fully understood).

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