NEWS/26 OCT

AI news for small business, Monday, 26 October 2026

12 stories worth five minutes. What happened, and what to do about it.

HIGHLIGHT

A tester put Meta's free Muse and OpenAI's $100 dots agents to work on five chores

The free agent app that is the most downloaded phone app right now can book, reply and plan for you. Here is what it did well.

THE INDIAN EXPRESS (FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES)|26 OCT
That is mon 26 oct, all of it.

These are short summaries of other people's reporting, with our own commentary. Each story names its source and links to the original. How we source and credit

0 of 12 read

Questions readers ask

Is ChatGPT free?
Yes, ChatGPT has a free plan. Tech Insider's comparison of 25 October says OpenAI's GPT-6 reached ChatGPT Free and Go users on 8 October, and that the free plan gets a Luna-class model. OpenAI's own help pages describe a staged rollout, so the exact model depends on your account: open the model picker and read the label. Exact free message limits for Ireland are not published.
Is AI free?
Several AI chatbots have free plans, and Tech Insider compared ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Mistral's Le Chat on 25 October. ChatGPT Free has the widest rollout of a new model family, while Claude, Gemini and Grok each hold their best models for paying users. OpenAI also said on 5 October that it would test a new ad format during image generation for Free and Go users.

Top 3 finds.

EVERY NEW AI TOOL WE PICKED
Privacy Meridian logoTool of the day

Privacy Meridian

A free world map of national privacy laws: pick a country to see its law, then compare countries side by side. It says it uses no cookies, trackers or analytics.

26 OCT 2026
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  1. solves
    Paying for several separate AI subscriptions and losing work when a chat or file is overwritten.
    for
    Freelancers and small teams who use more than one AI model and want one balance, one history and the option to restore any version.
    VISIT SITE
  2. solves
    Needing a simple booking page, member sign-up or small internal tool without hiring a developer or learning to host it.
    for
    Sole traders and clubs who can describe what they want in plain words and already pay for an AI chat plan.
    VISIT SITE
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