(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Let’s Recap:
- Meta’s Muse is taking on small businesses
- OpenAI expands its use of plugins and partners
- McDonalds is leaning into AI
- LinkedIn’s CEO explains how AI is impacting hiring
- A new training offering helps with Claude workflows
Meta Expands Muse AI Agent for Small Businesses
Meta’s AI agent Muse has made an impressive debut since its September 8th launch. Now — and not surprisingly — Meta has announced its expanding Muse specifically for small business. Per Meta, usage will be mostly free but subscription plans will be available for extra features. Muse connects with tools including Shopify, Asana, Stripe, Canva, Zoom, Dropbox and many others. Intuit officially announced that its QuickBooks connector is live on Muse allowing customers to ask financial questions or request actions conversationally — and Muse will consult QuickBooks to provide the financial intelligence or perform specific tasks. With these updates, Meta is giving other AI platforms a run for their money and according to a report from TheVerge, OpenAI just introduced “Dots” — a new type of always-on AI assistant the company says “can do nearly anything through connected apps. According to the article, Dots is OpenAI’s response to Muse. Powered by its GPT-6 Astra, users communicate with a Dot through a messaging-style interface or by voice through ChatGPT on web, desktop and mobile. Dot learns users’ preferences overtime and OpenAI presents the various sophisticated functions Dot is capable of. (Source: Reuters; Intuit; The Verge)
Why this is important for your small business:
The age of the personal AI assistant is here and, with a growing list of integrations, these tools will allow the smallest of companies to do more work with their existing staff, or even less. Job fears? I think these tools will encourage more people to become entrepreneurs and become less reliant on employers.
OpenAI Expands ChatGPT’s Plug-Ins with App-Like Interfaces and Automations
At its DevDay 2026 event, OpenAI announced its expanding ChatGPT’s plugins which will allow developers to give their plug-ins a dedicated home in the ChatGPT sidebar and create interactive panels where people can use the connected software without leaving their ChatGPT conversation. (Source: TechCrunch)
Why this is important for your small business:
According to OpenAI, developers can also add specialized file viewers supporting their applications’ file formats. Existing plug-ins already connect ChatGPT with services such as Slack, SharePoint, Airtable and Google Drive. The company added that a new tool called Plugin Creator and making it easier for developers to build and discover plug-ins; plus an improved system for ranking and recommendations in the plug-in directory. All of these tools will allow your developers to get more done faster.
McDonald’s Turns to AI for Drive-Thru, Inventory Management, Order Accuracy
McDonald’s just announced a major update in its deployment of AI. “ArchIQ” is a new AI-powered operating system that unifies drive-thru AI, inventory management, equipment monitoring and order-accuracy technology into one system. Key developments include Archy — the AI voice-ordering system for drive-thru orders taken in English and Spanish. According to CIO Brian Rice, Archy performs above 90 percent accuracy and is expected to free up 50 employee labor hours. Bluetooth Low Energy tags will allow restaurants to monitor inventory in real time rather than having employees manually count products. Connected equipment and computer vision will monitor operations and equipment. McDonald’s says this could result in a 50 percent improvement in equipment and menu item availability at each restaurant which Rice describes as “unprecedented.” Executives have yet to confirm a date for complete rollout of ArchIQ but it’s a major development in the corporation’s Next strategy — an $8.5 billion modernization plan. (Source: Restaurant Dive)
Why this is important for your small business:
Ultimately this technology will make its way to smaller, independently owned restaurants. But I think we all know that there will be quite a few bumps along the way so let’s let the bigwigs at McDonalds use their resources to figure this out beforehand.
LinkedIn’s CEO on How AI is Reshaping Hiring
LinkedIn CEO Dan Shapero detailed the company’s plan to help resolve hiring mismatches, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to Shapero, the number of resumes submitted by job seekers has increased 30 percent since the pandemic — contributing to the challenges recruiters have in figuring out which candidates have the skills required for a job. “It’s gotten harder and harder for employers to know who can actually do the job anymore,” Shapero explained. The company’s newly announced Hiring Assistant 2 is an AI recruiting agent designed to identify promising candidates, evaluate their fit for specific positions and bring relevant information about applicants together for recruiters. “We can move from a search based on what you said to a search based on what you meant,” Shapero said. The Hiring Assistant not only adds stronger reasoning and personalization capabilities, but it’s also designed to manage the growing volume of applications. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Why this is important for your small business:
My question is: with all the talent out there, how come so many companies are finding it hard to find good people? AI, automation and technology can help but in the end it’s still a leap of faith whether or not an employee is going to step up and do the job well.
Build Better Claude Workflows With This $20 Training Program
For those ready to advance their daily AI usage, Anthropic is offering the Claude AI Professional E-Degree — an online training bundle for people who want to move beyond simply asking Claude questions and learn how to build repeatable AI workflows. The training includes four courses, 100-plus lectures, and over eight hours of video instruction. Among the skills covered are prompt engineering, workflow design, document analysis, and agentic coding and development. The training also moves into more specialized uses of Claude — e.g., Claude Cowork — giving learners experience applying AI to actual workplace projects. Originally priced at $159, the training is now being offered at $19.99 (Source: PCMag)
Why this is important for your small business:
People ask me all the time where they can go for training. Here’s another option.
Note: Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Don’t mind me sharing my opinion? Share it with me on X @genemarks.
