| Hi, it's Dina in Seattle. Microsoft just showed off new versions of its artificial intelligence apps for smartphones, although the software maker may already be falling behind rivals. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Apple plans a new iPhone SE that kills the home button
• OpenAI is letting businesses and developers use its AI voice assistant in their own apps
• Samsung plans to cut thousands of workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled the latest versions of its AI apps for mobile devices and new AI features for Windows, trying to use the emerging technology to reel in consumers who usually don't focus much on what the company has to offer. An updated app on iOS, Android and Windows for Copilot, its AI assistant, and a new version that's meant to work on Meta Platforms Inc.'s WhatsApp are Microsoft's latest attempt to see if its early lead in generative AI will let the company win over users who are more likely to experience such tools on their smartphones. Thing is, with Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Meta all unveiling their own AI apps and features, time is running short for Microsoft, and some fear it may already have squandered its first-mover advantage. Microsoft began the generative AI journey that's fueled a resurgence in enthusiasm around the company 20 months ago, ahead of rivals owing to its investment in startup OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Surprisingly for a company whose competitive advantages lie in enterprise offerings like Office, cloud and security software, Microsoft led with a consumer product where it has long failed to make a dent — search. Since then, the software giant says it has seen strong demand for its AI tools for Office and cloud products that let customers use OpenAI models. Its share of the search market, however, has remained largely unchanged. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, concerned that consumer AI efforts were moving too slowly, last March hired DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to shake things up. The product releases Tuesday provide the first view into Suleyman's vision for the business, but also just match some features rivals already have released or announced. Microsoft shares have taken a hit from some of these concerns around AI execution, dipping by about 1% over the past six months, compared with an almost 10% gain for the Nasdaq 100 Index. The stock is about 10% below its all-time high. Analyst Gil Luria at D.A. Davidson last week lowered his rating on the stock citing concerns that rivals have caught up in generative AI. Nadella likes to say that the dramatic shift around AI lets Microsoft relitigate older battles it had lost (he's also mindful that rivals will seek to use AI to unseat Microsoft from its own strongholds). Still Microsoft is playing with the hand it was dealt back in the aughts when the company failed to execute on its view of the promise of smartphones and completely whiffed on the search market. While Microsoft's AI apps are available for iPhones and Android devices, Apple and Google are going to push their own, leaving mobile and search as harder paths for Microsoft to reach consumers. Suleyman acknowledges Microsoft historically has "only been able to create tools that solve very straightforward, utilitarian problems" like documents and spreadsheets. He says the company needs to "exercise a totally new muscle" around emotional intelligence in its products, not to mention develop new business models and new ways for users to interact with the tools. Microsoft's AI offers "a new design material which actually invokes a feeling in you and makes you feel surprised or comforted or enlightened or educated," he says. "And our AI craft adjusts the tone and the style and the personality and the way that the model sort of is curious about you and learns about you over time, and so that starts to feel like a much more coherent, full suite of personality design skills and tools that we have, rather than simply designing in this kind of narrow frame of a utilitarian UI." The new upgrades include a more natural way to converse with the Copilot app and a preview of a feature that lets the assistant "view" what users are working on and make suggestions for further actions. "It's less about the consumer directly and more about building experiences that deeply empathize with what your ultimate user really needs," he said in an interview. Suleyman will have to figure out how to execute on that vision in a way that delights customers — and he'll have to do it quickly. The clock is ticking.—Dina Bass A Russian criminal gang secretly conducted cyberattacks against NATO allies on the orders of the Kremlin's intelligence services. Hurricane Helene halted North Carolina mining operations that produce high-purity quartz for silicon wafers used in semiconductors. GM's Equinox EV looks to be a hit with US buyers at a price of about $35,000. | 
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