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Daily Briefing

Top AI Headlines

AI tools are getting more powerful, more affordable, and easier to trial — the barrier to entry for SMBs has never been lower.

1

Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5 Brings Flagship-Level AI at a Lower Price

Claude Sonnet 5 is Anthropic's new mid-tier model that now performs close to their top-tier Opus models — but at a significantly lower cost, launching at $2 per million tokens. It can autonomously browse the web, write and run code, and handle multi-step tasks that previously required more expensive models. For SMBs using AI for research, content, coding, or workflow automation, this means more capability for less spend starting today.

2

Microsoft Launches Free 30-Day Copilot Trial for SMBs — No Credit Card Required

Starting July 2026, Microsoft is offering a free 30-day trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) for organizations with up to 300 users — no payment information needed. The trial gives full access to Copilot's AI features across email, documents, and calendar, letting teams experience AI-assisted work inside tools they already use. If you've been on the fence about Copilot, this is the lowest-risk way to find out if it's worth the subscription for your team.

3

U.S. Government Briefly Shut Down Access to Anthropic's Most Powerful AI Models — Here's What That Means for Your Business

In June 2026, the U.S. government applied sudden export controls to Anthropic's top models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, forcing Anthropic to cut off all user access immediately with no advance warning. The controls were lifted on June 30, and access is being restored — but the episode is a wake-up call for any business relying heavily on a single AI provider or model. Business owners should treat AI tools like any other critical vendor: have a backup plan and avoid single points of failure in AI-dependent workflows.

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