[AI SPRINT] ChatGPT o3/o4 and a Wave of Dizzying AI Updates

If it feels like you’re getting hit with a new wave of AI hype every single day—you're not imagining it. The pace of innovation is relentless, and the numbers behind it are staggering.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, according to Grok, an estimated $991 billion has been invested globally in AI:

• $300B in private startups

• $191B in government funding

• $500B in datacenters

And it's not slowing down. Just this week, NVIDIA announced another $100 billion investment—on their own.

For context, the only larger technology investment wave in history was the dotcom boom (~$1.3 trillion), which built the modern internet. What we’re witnessing now is the equivalent moment for AI—and it’s already reshaping the marketplace. Just take a look at the list of 20 AI announcements SMBs should care about at the bottom of this email, from just the last week!

Today’s Launch: OpenAI’s Newest o3 and o4 Models

After releasing GPT-4.1 for developers last week, OpenAI has now made their newest and best models available to ChatGPT users (except Enterprise and Education, which are coming next week). Here’s what you should know!

You may have used OpenAI’s earlier “o3-mini” or “o3-mini-high” models for reasoning tasks. Those are now gone—replaced with just “o3”. It’s faster, smarter, and more capable, with major upgrades:

• 10x the training compared to the o1 model

• Native image understanding

• Access to tools like web browsing, code generation, and data analysis

• Command-line integration for developers to automate tasks and build agents

For a quick example, I asked it to give me pricing options on purchasing a new vehicle for an electrical contractor—check out the results here.

OpenAI also released “o4-mini” and “o4-mini-high”—next-gen models that beat top benchmarks in reasoning, speed, and efficiency. “o4-mini” shows a record 99.5% accuracy on AIME 2025 math tasks, showing AI has now solved the math problem, and likely opening up tremendous innovation in science.

Together, o3 and o4 give you fast, tool-using, automatable, low-cost AI reasoning agents. GPT-4o is still the general-purpose model, but I think most people will end up preferring o3 for everyday use. It’s more consistent, more logical, and just more helpful. That said, OpenAI hasn’t published usage limits yet—so if you hit a cap, fall back to GPT-4o.

And here’s what might be the biggest shift on top of this: last week, OpenAI expanded ChatGPT’s memory. ChatGPT can now remember all your prior chats across sessions. That means better context, smarter follow-ups, and more personalized support over time. Memory + reasoning is going to be a game changer. You can manage or disable this in settings (only Plus and Pro users today)—but if you use ChatGPT often, it’s a huge step forward.

All of this feels like a major leap in AI capability. If you haven’t explored these models yet, now’s the time.

The Shift from Hype to Reality is Here

AI isn’t just a theoretical opportunity anymore. Businesses are already realizing serious benefits, and use continues to spread across every industry, job and task. According to TheresAnAIForThat, there are now 34,057 AI tools tackling 13,637 tasks across 4,990 jobs—and nearly all of them emerged in the last two years.

When I work with companies, I survey their employees: around 40% of employees are using AI already. If it weren’t providing benefit, that growth wouldn’t be happening.

Here’s a link to a great Harvard Business Review article showing the top 100 AI use cases. It’s worth a look if you are still trying to figure out ways of working with AI, or trying to decide if it is time for you to take it seriously.

Despite all this, when I speak with company leaders, I keep hearing the same thing:

“We’ve heard of AI. We’re curious. But we’re not sure how important it is—or how to start.”

Just yesterday, I met with the CEO of a regional creative and digital marketing agency. She asked whether now was the time to start thinking about AI.

My answer? Absolutely.

And I told her the truth: she probably has 12 months to figure it out and take advantage of it. Otherwise, her business risks being entirely disrupted.

That was a wake-up call. But in this climate, fear might be exactly what leaders need.

Creative work and digital marketing are among the highest-return areas for AI investment. And as companies start using these tools internally, many will find they no longer need external agencies to handle the same tasks.

Which brings me to my main point:

How are you keeping up with AI?

Every software platform you use now includes some form of AI. Thousands of tools are available today to boost productivity, automate tasks, and transform workflows.

But many business leaders still think of AI as an “IT investment”—something to slot into a 2025 roadmap behind cybersecurity, ERP upgrades, or hardware refreshes.

That mindset is exactly how Blockbuster and others got disrupted by the internet:
They treated a technology breakthrough as just another line item.

If you’re doing that, you may be optimizing for a business model that won’t exist in a few years.

Invest for the Business of Tomorrow

In 3–5 years, your company will look radically different. Here's what that future likely includes:

• AI copilots for every employee, and fluency in AI across all teams

• Autonomous AI agents handling routine work

• End-to-end visibility into operations—no more guessing

• Hyper-personalized customer experiences

• Robots and drones in physical environments

• AI oversight and management as a core leadership responsibility

To prepare for that, AI can’t be someone else’s job. It’s not just up to IT.

Every employee—from marketing to finance to HR—should be exploring how AI can enhance their work. Your role as a leader is to create the conditions that make this experimentation possible.

Just to illustrate the pace of change, here’s a quick recap from Grok of the top 20 AI announcements for SMBs—just from the last week.

Take a look. And as you do, ask yourself:

Who at your company is paying attention to this?

Last Week’s AI Recap from Grok

1. OpenAI’s o3 Model

• Description: Launched on April 10, 2025, o3 offers advanced reasoning capabilities, enabling SMBs to automate tasks like financial forecasting or customer query analysis, boosting efficiency without requiring large tech teams.

• Source: BleepingComputer, April 10, 2025

2. OpenAI’s o4-mini Model

• Description: Also announced on April 10, 2025, o4-mini is a lightweight, cost-effective model ideal for SMBs to scale customer support chatbots or process data affordably.

• Source: BleepingComputer, April 10, 2025

3. OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 Models

• Description: Released on April 15, 2025, GPT-4.1 enhances coding capabilities, allowing SMBs to create custom apps or automate workflows via API, reducing reliance on expensive developers.

• Source: TechCrunch, April 15, 2025

4. OpenAI’s Memory Upgrades for ChatGPT

• Description: Announced on April 10, 2025, this upgrade lets ChatGPT retain conversation context, improving personalized customer service and project management for SMBs.

• Source: TechRadar, April 11, 2025

5. Microsoft’s AI Skills Fest

• Description: Kicked off on April 8, 2025, this free training program (running through May 28) offers SMBs AI certifications and vouchers, helping them build in-house expertise cost-effectively.

• Source: Microsoft Learn Announcement, April 8, 2025

6. Amazon’s Nova Sonic Voice AI Model

• Description: Unveiled on April 15, 2025, Nova Sonic enhances voice interactions, enabling SMBs to deploy advanced voice assistants for customer support or order processing.

• Source: X Post, April 15, 2025

7. Moonshot’s Kimi VL Thinking Model

• Description: Launched on April 16, 2025, this open-source model excels at document analysis and query resolution, offering SMBs a low-cost way to automate administrative tasks.

• Source: Moonshot AI Blog, April 16, 2025

8. Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Enhancements

• Description: Announced on April 11, 2025, these updates include predictive analytics and automated workflows, helping SMBs optimize sales and personalize customer outreach.

• Source: Salesforce Newsroom, April 11, 2025

9. HubSpot’s Breeze AI Agents

• Description: Released on April 10, 2025, Breeze automates sales prospecting, support, and content creation, streamlining operations for SMBs with limited staff.

• Source: HubSpot Spring Spotlight, April 10, 2025

10. Zoom’s AI Companion 2.0

• Description: Launched on April 14, 2025, this tool provides real-time transcription and action item tracking, boosting productivity for remote SMB teams.

• Source: Zoom Blog, April 14, 2025

11. Intuit’s QuickBooks AI Advisor

• Description: Introduced on April 11, 2025, this tool offers real-time financial insights and tax strategies, simplifying accounting for SMBs.

• Source: Intuit Newsroom, April 11, 2025

12. Shopify’s AI-Powered Product Recommendations

• Description: Announced on April 13, 2025, this feature uses customer behavior analysis to boost e-commerce sales, helping SMBs increase revenue.

• Source: Shopify Newsroom, April 13, 2025

13. Cisco’s AI Cybersecurity Suite

• Description: Released on April 9, 2025, this suite provides real-time threat detection, safeguarding SMBs from cyber threats—a growing concern for smaller firms.

• Source: Cisco Newsroom, April 9, 2025

14. SAP’s Joule AI Assistant

• Description: Launched on April 9, 2025, Joule automates procurement and HR tasks, reducing administrative burdens for SMBs using SAP systems.

• Source: SAP Newsroom, April 9, 2025

15. Zoho’s AI Upgrades to CRM

• Description: Announced on April 14, 2025, these upgrades include predictive lead scoring and automated follow-ups, enhancing SMB customer relationship management.

• Source: Zoho Blog, April 14, 2025

16. Atlassian’s AI Features for Jira and Confluence

• Description: Released on April 15, 2025, these features automate task prioritization and content summarization, improving SMB project management.

• Source: Atlassian Newsroom, April 15, 2025

17. Snowflake’s AI-Driven Data Cloud Features

• Description: Introduced on April 12, 2025, these features enable advanced analytics, making data insights accessible to SMBs without complex infrastructure.

• Source: Snowflake Blog, April 12, 2025

18. Agentic AI’s Platform for Custom AI Agents

• Description: Launched on April 16, 2025, this platform lets SMBs build tailored AI agents for unique needs, like automating workflows or customer interactions.

• Source: Agentic AI Website, April 16, 2025

19. Adobe’s Firefly AI Integration

• Description: Announced on April 10, 2025, Firefly integrates into Creative Cloud, enabling SMBs to create and edit marketing visuals efficiently.

• Source: Adobe Newsroom, April 10, 2025

20. Midjourney v7 Image Generation

• Description: Released on April 15, 2025, v7 generates high-quality visuals, allowing SMBs to produce professional marketing materials in-house.

• Source: Midjourney Announcements, April 15, 2025

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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