AI Has Left the Lab and Entered the Interface
7 May 2025 edition of The itmatters AI Leadership Briefing,
The itmatters AI Leadership Briefing
AI insights built for decision-makers, not spectators.
AI Has Left the Lab and Entered the Interface
Today’s updates show that AI is no longer just powering backend systems or enterprise pilots.
It’s now embedded in the apps, tools, and assistants that millions use daily—silently shaping search, creativity, communication, and commerce. The interface is becoming the battleground for trust, traction, and control.
Reflective Human Insight
When AI becomes invisible, its influence becomes harder to challenge. Leaders must ask: who designs the experience, who owns the output, and who benefits from the illusion of simplicity?
OpenAI’s GPT Store Crosses 3 Million Custom Bots
OpenAI has confirmed that its GPT Store has surpassed 3 million published custom GPTs, with rapid growth among SMEs, education providers, and e-commerce operators. The top-performing bots now include CRM tools, personal tutors, and legal form assistants. OpenAI plans to introduce monetisation tiers next quarter.
Why it matters: The GPT Store isn’t just a playground—it’s a prototype for the next app economy, shaped by prompts instead of code.
Google Expands Gemini API to Compete with OpenAI
Google has announced wider access to Gemini Pro 1.5 APIs for enterprise developers, including features for structured memory and context-aware retrieval. The move is seen as a response to OpenAI’s lead in developer adoption. Early adopters include several media groups and financial data platforms.
Why it matters: Google isn’t trying to out-model OpenAI—it’s trying to out-integrate it. The race now centres on who owns the daily developer workflow.
Meta Expands AI Assistant to WhatsApp and Instagram
Meta has rolled out its AI assistant to all WhatsApp and Instagram users in English-speaking markets. The assistant handles summarisation, message drafting, product recommendations, and basic task management. It’s built on Meta’s open-weight Llama 3 models, with responses generated on-device for certain tasks.
Why it matters: AI isn’t a destination—it’s a layer. The companies embedding it seamlessly into existing behaviour will win both scale and loyalty.
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Apple Rumoured to Launch ‘Apple Intelligence’ Suite at WWDC
Leaked internal documents suggest Apple will announce a privacy-first AI assistant suite in June under the name “Apple Intelligence.” It reportedly includes device-based summarisation, task suggestions, and cross-app memory, powered by a new lightweight language model trained entirely in-house.
Why it matters: Apple’s move will shift the narrative from capability to control—expect new pressure on AI privacy standards.
TikTok Adds Generative Video Captioning Tools
TikTok is testing a generative captioning tool that rewrites user-uploaded videos into stylised, emotion-matched summaries. The feature uses ByteDance’s internal LLM, trained specifically for short-form storytelling and sentiment framing. It’s currently being piloted in Southeast Asia.
Why it matters: Generative media is no longer just synthetic—it’s selective. Who controls the summary, controls the story.
Field Note: Interfaces as Infrastructure
A decade ago, the command line was how you controlled a system. Today, it’s the chat window. Interfaces are no longer cosmetic, they’re directional. They steer behaviour, gate outputs, and shape which truths surface first.
When we overlook the interface, we don’t just miss usability. We miss power.
Summary
AI is becoming a surface, not just a system.
The leaders who will shape this moment are those who understand that product design is now governance—and that every prompt, button, and automation hides a choice worth interrogating.
Historical Leadership Quote
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence—it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
— Peter Drucker
Orders of the Day
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Tomorrow’s Preview
Tomorrow’s edition will explore AI’s role in reshaping education and learning systems, including new tools in higher education, fears of deskilling, and the rise of AI tutors in national curricula.