(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in business technology news that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
This Week in Business Technology News
Business Technology News #1 — Google Translate takes on Duolingo with new language learning tools.
Google is rolling out AI-powered language learning tools within the Translate app, aiming to rival platforms like Duolingo. These tools include tailored practice sessions for listening and speaking, personalized to your skill level and goals; and daily progress tracking to help users stay on course. Google Translate now supports live, back-and-forth conversations in over 70 languages with:
-Audio and on-screen translations
-Recognition of pauses, accents, and intonations for natural flow
-Functionality in noisy environments like restaurants or airports
The initial rollout will support English speakers learning Spanish and French; Spanish, French and Portuguese speakers learning English. These updates are powered by Google’s advanced AI and Gemini models, enhancing translation quality and multimodal capabilities. (Source: TechCrunch)
Why this is important for your business:
Is it even necessary to learn another language when AI is basically translating calls and in-person conversations on the fly? I’m kidding of course. AI will never replace human interactions in a common language and if your business relies on foreign customers, partners and suppliers and your employees need to learn new languages, Google is stepping up to offer a service that rivals the leading companies in the field.
Business Technology News #2 — Claude AI Chrome extension: Anthropic’s browser agent goes live.
Anthropic has officially released a Claude AI browser extension for Chrome, designed to bring its conversational agent directly into users’ browsing experience. Features include context-aware assistance where Claude can analyze the content of the current webpage and offer summaries, explanations, or follow-up questions. Users can interact with Claude using text, voice, or even upload documents for analysis. This launch positions Claude as a direct competitor to other browser-integrated AI tools like Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini, expanding its utility beyond chat into real-time web interaction. (Source: Technology Org)
Why this is important for your business:
If you’re worried about security Anthropic says the extension is only activated when prompted and doesn’t track browsing history unless explicitly allowed. Acknowledging the vulnerabilities with browser-connected AI agents, Anthropic also says it added safeguards to help decrease the rate of attacks — and Claude will not have automatic access to financial services websites. This is the very beginning of agentic AI taking over our browsers. In the next few years, as training gets better and voice enablement becomes more common we’ll be telling our AI bots to do things on our devices that we — and other employees — were formerly doing. This was save time and increase productivity and yes…it could result in some losing their jobs.
Business Technology News #3 — Google’s Gemini AI image generator gets massive upgrade.
Google has enhanced its Gemini 2.5 Flash model also known as “nano-banana.” Users can create characters and integrate them with high-quality scenery. “Character consistency” has been enhanced across multiple prompts where details can be easily added/edited. An example of this was an image of a red-haired woman where Gemini was instructed to add bangs, altering her hairstyle. Characters can also be placed in different environments with editing prompts using natural language. Gemini Flash also includes different templates that can be used for business content — Google noted an increase in “business cards and product mock-ups” created by Gemini 2.5 Flash. (Source: Cybernews)
Why this is important for your business:
More news from Google, this time impacting designers and marketers both within and outside of your company that are creating images that you are using in and to promote your business. Prompted image creation remains far from perfect but these tools continue to push the evolvement of this technology into something useful.
Business Technology News #4 — Walmart’s AI assistant will be ‘primary vehicle’ for shopping, CEO says.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced that “Sparky” — the company’s customer-facing AI assistant — is set to become the “primary vehicle for discovery, shopping, and managing everything from reorders to returns.” Sparky is being enhanced to feel smarter and more tailored to individual shopping habits. The AI will help Walmart better understand why customers shop — whether for routine replenishment or casual browsing — and respond accordingly. According to the company, Sparky has received positive feedback, and they plan to add more agentic capabilities going forward. Walmart has committed to AI as a core driver of customer experience and operational efficiency. “We see Sparky becoming an indispensable part of how people shop with us,” McMillon said. (Source: CX Dive)
Why this is important for your business:
Like many big brands rolling out AI enabled assistants to help customers the challenge will be balancing the bot and the human experience. I hope McMillon understands that a percentage of his customers only prefer to deal with humans and that others would like to get connected to a human whenever they request. I hope he also realizes that bots like “Sparky” can be great tools for customers but have their limits. Five years from now, will these bots still be customer-facing? Or will they be supporting their customer-facing employees. Jury’s out for now.
Business Technology News #5 — Boston Dynamics and Toyota Research Institute demonstrate humanoid robot powered by ‘large behavior model.’
Boston Dynamics and Toyota Research Institute have unveiled a major leap in humanoid robotics: the Atlas robot now runs on a Large Behavior Model, enabling it to perform complex tasks with whole-body coordination — without manual programming. The LBM treats hands and feet as unified tools, allowing Atlas to walk, crouch, lift, and manipulate objects seamlessly. Atlas responds to unexpected challenges mid-task, like adjusting when a box lid is closed or repositioning items on the fly — and can readjust itself. This breakthrough is the result of an October 2024 research project between Boston Dynamics and TRI with the goal of accelerating smart robot capabilities. With LBMs, robots can learn and generalize behaviors across tasks — bringing us closer to general-purpose humanoid assistants that can operate in real-world environments. (Source: Robotics & Automation News)
Why this is important for your business:
If you want to have some terrifying fun, check out Boston Dynamic’s website and YouTube page to see what kind of robots they’re developed — and where it’s going. It’s not mainstream yet. But you see where it’s going.
Each week I round up five business technology news stories and explain why they’re important for your business. If you have any interesting stories, please post to my X account @genemarks
