Welcome to Get The Gist, where every weekday we share an easy-to-read summary of the latest and greatest developments in AI—news, innovations, and trends—all delivered in under 5 minutes! ⏱

In today’s edition:

• Microsoft Reverts Bing AI Image Generator

• Google Tests AI-Powered "Daily Listen" Podcast

• Grok AI Launches as Standalone iOS App

• Microsoft Releases Phi-4 Language Model

• And more AI news….

Top Developments

Microsoft

Microsoft Reverts Bing AI Image Generator

The Gist: Microsoft is rolling back its Bing AI Image Creator to a previous model after users reported poor results and unrealistic images from a recent upgrade. The company aims to address these issues before reintroducing the updated model.

Key Details:

• Complaints arose after the December update to DALL-E3-based PR16, citing less-detailed and unrealistic images.

• Microsoft plans a gradual 2-3 week rollback to the earlier PR13 model for improved results.

• Users reported issues such as poor artistic rendering, blurry details, and reduced accuracy in prompts.

• The company acknowledges the feedback and aims to refine the model before reintroducing it.

Google

Google Tests AI-Powered "Daily Listen" Podcast

The Gist: Google is experimenting with "Daily Listen," an AI feature that turns your Search and Discover feed into a personalized five-minute audio podcast summarizing topics of interest.

Key Details:

• Available via Search Labs on Android and iOS in the US, it analyzes your search and feed interactions to select relevant news stories.

• The feature provides an audio summary with a transcript and playback controls, including options to skip, rewind, or rate stories.

• Found in the personalized widget carousel in the Google app, it allows users to explore related topics and refine content preferences.

• No timeline has been given for a broader rollout, but similar features from Search Labs have previously reached general audiences.

Grok

Grok AI Launches as Standalone iOS App

The Gist: xAI’s chatbot Grok is now available as a standalone iOS app, freeing it from the X platform. The app boasts advanced capabilities rivaling ChatGPT and Gemini, with features like real-time web access and image generation.

Key Details:

• The Grok app is now available on the Apple App Store in the US, Australia, and India, with no Android version yet.

• Users can access Grok’s conversational AI, live web integration, and privacy-focused output without needing an X account.

• The app includes language and image models and was designed to be "maximally truthful, useful, and curious."

• Grok continues to be accessible within the X app for Android users until broader availability.

Quick Gist

Google Cloud launched a suite of AI tools for retailers, including Google Agentspace and Vertex AI Search for Commerce, aimed at enhancing personalized shopping experiences and boosting operational efficiency (Read More).

Foxconn partnered with NVIDIA to develop humanoid robots in Taiwan, diversifying its business and tapping into the growing market for AI and robotics (Read More).

PUBG: Battlegrounds will feature AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) supported by NVIDIA’s ACE generative AI, enabling real-time conversations and adaptive gameplay strategies with players (Read More).

Microsoft researchers unveiled rStar-Math, a self-evolving algorithm enabling small language models to achieve advanced mathematical problem-solving accuracy, surpassing larger models and enhancing accessibility in AI applications (Read More).

Microsoft released its 14-billion-parameter language model, Phi-4, on Hugging Face, outperforming larger competitors and supporting ten Indian languages as part of its $3 billion investment in India’s AI infrastructure (Read More).

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!