🎉 “AI Made My To-Do List Disappear”

Happy Tech Tip Twosday! We’ve been on a little hiatus as even your friendly tech droid needs a little rest and relaxation from time to time. But we’re back and this week we’re serving up two big AI headlines business pros should know about, plus two handy AI-powered tools/tips to try out. Let’s dive in with an extra shot of enthusiasm:

Two Key Headlines to Know

1. ChatGPT Gets “Office-ified” – OpenAI just rolled out features that turn ChatGPT into an even smarter office sidekick. The new Connectors let ChatGPT plug into your work apps (from Gmail and Outlook to Google Drive, Teams, Dropbox, HubSpot and more), so it can pull in your actual files and emails when answering. No more copy-pasting data between windows – it’s like having an AI intern that already read all your docs. And if meetings drain your soul, ChatGPT’s got Record Mode to help: it can join your meetings (yes, really), transcribe the whole conversation, then auto-generate a neatly formatted summary with action items and time-stamped. It’s essentially a “second memory” for your team – recalling past discussions and even drafting follow-up emails or project plans based on what was. OpenAI is clearly aiming to make ChatGPT a one-stop productivity hub (watch out, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace!).

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot Can Draw You a Picture – Clipart is so last decade. Microsoft announced that starting this month, AI image generation is becoming generally available right inside Microsoft 365. That means you can literally ask Word or PowerPoint to “create a high-quality image of X” and watch an original image pop into your document or slide deck – perfect for spicing up that quarterly report or marketing plan. This built-in image creator uses Microsoft’s AI to whip up visuals on the fly, saving you a trip to stock photo sites. (It’s like having a mini graphic designer on call in your Word toolbar.) A Copilot license is required to harness this, and Microsoft says it will enhance creativity and streamline content creation for business. In short: your PowerPoint can now paint, so go ahead and add some artistic flair to those slides!

Two Tools or Tips to Try

1. Slack’s New AI Superpowers – Slack is leveling up as your office buddy by baking in AI features for everyone on paid plans. Later this month (on July 17), Slack will unleash conversation summaries and huddle meeting notes to all Pro, Business+, and Enterprise users at no extra charge. What does that mean? Imagine coming back from vacation and having Slack auto-summarize those 2,000 messages in #general into a tidy TL;DR. Or jumping out of a huddle (Slack’s audio meetings) and instantly getting a written recap of who said what. Previously, these AI perks were an add-on; now they’re becoming standard Slack features, so more teams can benefit from quick catch-ups and never missing key points. Tip: Keep an eye out for the “Summarize conversation” option in channels and threads – it’ll be your new best friend for staying in the loop (and for finally winning the battle against notification overload).

2. “Take Notes for Me” in Google Meet – Tired of frantically scribbling meeting notes or assigning someone to play note-taker? Google’s Gemini AI has you covered in Meet. The Take notes for me feature (available in many Workspace business tiers) will automatically capture meeting minutes in a Google Doc, and it just got even smarter. Now it not only logs what was discussed, but also highlights “Suggested Next Steps” – essentially action items – right in the notes. Even cooler, if you turn on transcription during the meeting, the AI-generated notes include links that jump to the exact spot in the transcript where that point was made. So if Dave volunteers to “handle the budget review,” you can click and see exactly what he promised. To try it, simply click the shiny new Take notes for me button in your Google Meet controls (your admin might need to enable Gemini first). It’s like having a diligent meeting secretary who never zones out – freeing you up to actually participate in the discussion while AI captures the details.

Keep rocking your week with these AI updates and tricks! Whether it’s ChatGPT doing the heavy lifting across your apps, Microsoft’s Copilot boosting your creative visuals, Slack auto-summarizing the chatter, or Google handling your note-taking, there’s plenty of fresh tech magic to make your work life easier. Have a fantastic (Tech Tip) Twosday, and see you next week for more twin tips and tech tidbits! 🚀✨

Sources:

• TechCrunch – “ChatGPT introduces meeting recording and connectors for Google Drive, Box, and more” (June 4, 2025) techcrunch.com

• OpenAI Help Center – “ChatGPT Record Mode” release notes (June 18, 2025) help.openai.com

• Microsoft Tech Community – “What’s new in Microsoft 365 Copilot | June 2025” (published last week) techcommunity.microsoft.com

• Slack Help Center – “Updates to feature availability and pricing for Slack plans” (June 17, 2025) slack.com

• Google Workspace Blog – “March feature drop: new Google Meet ‘Take notes for me’ enhancements” (April 2025 roll-out) workspace.google.com