[AI SPRINT] AI Becomes the Interface for Work, ChatGPT Updates

Across thousands of businesses I’ve spoken with, one question keeps coming up, the same one I heard three years ago: “How do I actually take advantage of AI?”

With billions of dollars pouring into the space, you’d think the answer would be clearer by now. But with over 41,000 AI products on the market, new features launching daily, and every other business challenge competing for attention, it’s never been harder for leaders to navigate this technology.

That’s also why I’ve missed a few issues of this newsletter. I’ve been busy helping leaders chart paths through that uncertainty: scaling our team, expanding services, and helping organizations use AI to drive growth for their businesses and their communities.

We also hosted our first large-scale AI Seminar, training over 300 businesses in a single industry across two days, with sessions from leading startups, hands-on labs, an on-site AI Helpdesk, and even a workshop where every participant built their first AI Agent using Lindy.

We’re now expanding our capacity to deliver on what those keynotes and workshops promise: real business results through AI.

This month, we welcomed Jim Henley as our newest Senior AI Advisor. We’re adding staff, scaling our development team, and preparing to launch new Community and Association offerings to make our support more accessible than ever.

Thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey, and supporting our mission to create growth and jobs through AI, enabling prosperity in the communities we serve! Now, onto AI updates that you should know about.

AI as Your Primary Work Interface

If you’ve heard me speak over the last two years, you’ve probably heard me say this:
AI will become your primary work interface.

It will replace your email client, word processor, browser, CRM, and more, because once AI can do the work, your role shifts to managing AI, not performing the tasks yourself.

That vision is materializing quickly. Just recently:

• OpenAI launched its Atlas web browser (Mac-only for now), competing with Perplexity’s Comet — embedding AI directly into your web experience.

• ChatGPT now integrates with any third-party system via new connector functionality available to developers. This expands the ability beyond built in integrations with well-known tools like Slack, Google Calendar, or Outlook to integrate with any system or data source you have, turning it into a true command center for your digital work.

• ChatGPT has now integrated shopping and third-party product availability within the user interface, making it easier for users to find and buy products through ChatGPT directly, with partnerships from Walmart to Zillow.

As Sam Altman put it, ChatGPT is moving from being “really, really useful” to feeling “a little bit more like an operating system within six months.”

Expect Anthropic, Perplexity, and Microsoft to follow the same path.

What This Means for Business

Your general-purpose AI will soon be the hub of your work — the interface through which you and your teams complete tasks, manage projects, communicate, and access company data.

Instead of switching between apps, you’ll issue instructions directly to your AI:

“Draft the client update and post it in Slack.”
“Summarize yesterday’s Intercom tickets.”
“Schedule a prep call with the team next week.”

Combined with connectors and automation, your AI app will beome the primary interface for digital execution, not just conversation. And Copilot, Claude, and others are following the same path.

How to Prepare

Some quick tips to prepare your organization for this future:

1. Make AI use an expectation of everyone. Every team member should be using AI to build literacy and understand its limits and capabilities.

2. Plan your operational model. Define how work changes when AI performs 50-60% of operational tasks, and people focus on ongoing improvement, AI management, and monitoring.

3. Enable it safely. Decide which systems AI can access, how permissions are handled, and how use will be monitored.

This isn’t a future vision — it’s a 2026 reality. The companies preparing now will have the advantage.

New ChatGPT Functionality

ChatGPT continues to add capabilities at a rapid pace. Here are the most relevant updates:

1. Projects and Project-Only Memory (Improved)

Projects let you train ChatGPT on a specific topic — such as a client, product, or business unit — and preserve that context across conversations.

They now act as collaborative AI workspaces, where teams can share, update, and co-create knowledge.

Recent enhancements:

• Shared Projects: Collaborate securely by sharing projects across your organization.

• Project-Only Memory: Restrict each project to its own memory, ensuring data from one client or department stays separate from others.

• Better Context Management: Projects remember documents, instructions, and prior work for continuity and accuracy.

Business value: Enables structured, confidential collaboration with AI — maintaining context without cross-contamination of information.

2. Memory Management (Enhanced)

ChatGPT (Plus/Pro only) can now automatically remove outdated or irrelevant memories, freeing capacity for new ones.

Business value: Keeps your AI current and focused, reducing the risk of stale or inaccurate responses, especially for long-running or repeat engagements.

3. ChatGPT Pulse (New)

Available for Pro users, Pulse sends a daily personalized email summarizing what ChatGPT believes you’ll find most useful — from meetings to relevant insights.

Business value: A proactive AI assistant that curates priorities and context before your day begins.

4. Connectors to Business Tools (New)

ChatGPT now integrates directly with Slack, Intercom, Google Calendar, and Outlook, and many other applications. Although these are generally slow, it’s worth paying attention to as the functionality will only improve.

In addition, you can now build connectors to any system you have via an MCP server.

Business value: Turns ChatGPT into an operational interface for your existing systems.

5. Enterprise Admin & Security Controls (Expanded)

Business and Enterprise tiers now include better security and management functionality:

• Centralized admin controls for all users and projects.

• Single Sign-On for account security.

• Role-based access for connectors, memory, and data sharing (Enterprise only).

Business value: Governance and compliance that meet enterprise standards — enabling safe, large-scale adoption.

The Bottom Line

AI is rapidly moving from a tool to a workspace — and soon, to your operating system for work. Leaders who start integrating it today will gain a compounding advantage in productivity, insight, and innovation.

Ready to get started?

If your organization is ready to move from experimentation to execution, we can help.
Our team works with business leaders and associations to design and implement AI strategies that deliver measurable results. From keynote talks to implementation, we can assist on your AI Journey!

About Trent: Trent Gillespie is an AI Keynote Speaker, CEO of Stellis AI, former Amazon leader, and advisor on building AI-Native, AI-Enabled businesses. Book Trent to speak to your group or book a call to discuss using AI within your business.

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