🚀 Z.ai’s GLM-4.5, Edge Copilot, Cash App Pools

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🚀 Z.ai’s GLM-4.5, Edge Copilot, Cash App Pools

Plus: Google’s AI Search Sparks Publisher Concerns, Photoshop Adds Powerful Editing Tools.

Jose Montes de Oca

Jul 29, 2025

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Jul 29. Today we are covering:

Chinese startup Z ai launches powerful open source GLM-4.5 model family with PowerPoint creation
Microsoft revolutionizes Edge as an AI-powered web browser with new experimental 'Copilot Mode'
Cash App opens up to Apple Pay and Google Pay for the first time
Google launches new AI search feature in UK
Photoshop just made it shockingly easy to edit objects and people into photos

Let’s dive in

Chinese startup Z ai launches powerful open source GLM-4.5 model family with PowerPoint creation

By Carl Franzen via VentureBeat

Chinese startup Z.ai has released the open-source GLM-4.5 and GLM-4.5-Air models, which rival top proprietary LLMs like Claude 4 and Gemini 2.5 Pro across reasoning, coding, and agentic benchmarks while adding unique capabilities such as automatic PowerPoint generation from a single prompt.
Both models are available under the Apache 2.0 license, support self-hosting, fine-tuning, and integration via APIs, and offer competitive pricing—undercutting major rivals with token costs as low as $0.11/$0.28 per million tokens for GLM-4.5-Air under certain conditions.
Built on a Mixture-of-Experts architecture and optimized for efficiency (running on just eight Nvidia H20 GPUs), the models provide enterprise-friendly features including dual reasoning modes, streaming output, and compatibility with vLLM and SGLang, making them a compelling alternative to closed U.S.-based systems.

Microsoft revolutionizes Edge as an AI-powered web browser with new experimental 'Copilot Mode'

By Zac Bowden via Windows Central

Microsoft has launched an experimental Copilot Mode in Edge, transforming the browser into an AI-powered collaborator that can analyze pages, compare multiple tabs, and streamline web navigation using natural language.
Users can enable Copilot Mode via www.microsoft.com/edge/ai-powered/copilot-mode and toggle it anytime in Settings > AI Innovations > Copilot Mode; the feature is free for now but may later require a Copilot Pro subscription.
The update positions Edge ahead in the race for AI web browsers, with features like task automation, personalized suggestions, and privacy controls, signaling Microsoft’s push to redefine browsing and challenge competitors like Chrome, Perplexity, and OpenAI.

𝕏: Today is a big step towards an AI browser: Copilot Mode in Edge, built for how your brain actually works. Voice control, no digital clutter, and multi-tab context, all grounded in privacy and security. - Mustafa Suleyman (@mustafasuleyman)

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Cash App opens up to Apple Pay and Google Pay for the first time

By MacKenzie Sigalos via CNBC

Cash App, owned by Block, launched Pools, a new peer-to-peer feature that enables group payments through Cash App, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, allowing contributions from non-users via shared links.
The launch marks a strategic move to regain momentum against PayPal’s Venmo, which reported over 20% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 driven by increased debit card use, instant transfers, and online checkout integrations.
Pools aims to boost user growth and network expansion rather than immediate profits, reflecting CEO Jack Dorsey’s push to refocus on peer-to-peer engagement as the core of Cash App’s growth strategy.

Google launches new AI search feature in UK

By Zoe Kleinman via BBC

Google has launched an optional AI Mode in the UK, powered by its Gemini AI, which provides conversational answers with fewer links, shifting away from the traditional search results format.
The feature is raising concerns among publishers and businesses, as reduced link visibility could significantly cut web traffic and advertising revenue, with studies showing dramatic declines in click-through rates.
Critics also highlight issues of accuracy, potential harm to news organizations, and the environmental impact of AI, while Google defends the tool as enabling more natural and complex information-seeking.

Photoshop just made it shockingly easy to edit objects and people into photos

By Jess Weatherbed via The Verge

Adobe Photoshop has rolled out new generative AI features including Harmonize, which automatically blends added objects into photos by adjusting color, lighting, and tone with minimal user skill required.
Additional updates include an AI-powered image upscaling tool for enhancing low-resolution images up to eight megapixels and improved object removal that cleans up photos with greater precision.
While these tools lower the barrier for professional-quality edits, they raise concerns about misuse, prompting Adobe to implement Content Credentials and enforce strict content safety policies.

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