Gustavo’s Corner: AI News for CFOs - #6
This edition of Gustavo’s Corner: AI News for CFOs, highlights how quickly the AI landscape is accelerating across consumer platforms, enterprise tools, and workforce analytics. From major model upgrades to new regulatory-ready data controls and emerging AI-driven shopping behaviors, the developments covered here signal meaningful shifts in how organizations will operate, compete, and allocate resources.
ChatGPT remains the leading AI chatbot with 85 million monthly downloads in October, but Gemini is rapidly closing in. Gemini jumped to 64 million downloads, up from just 16 million in August, and users are spending more time in conversation compared to ChatGPT and Claude. Much of this momentum is driven by Gemini’s stronger image-generation capabilities.
Perplexity is rolling out AI-powered shopping tools, virtual try-on, and improved memory features. The chatbot can now research and recommend products directly within the app, while its virtual try-on lets users test clothing on a digital avatar. The updates reflect a broader acceleration in AI-driven shopping, a category Adobe expects to grow 520% this holiday season compared to last year.
OpenAI is updating its enterprise controls and expanding ChatGPT’s functionality with integrated voice. The company now allows enterprise customers to store data in specific regions to meet local regulatory requirements, and ChatGPT Voice is being added directly into chats to make voice conversations more natural. Both features are rolling out now.
Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4.5, its newest model that outperforms competitors in coding, agentic tasks, and computer use, while offering a lower cost than Opus 4.1. The company also announced upgrades across Claude Code, Claude for Excel and Chrome, and the Claude Developer Platform. Opus 4.5 is available immediately.
ChatGPT is adding a free “shopping research” feature designed to help users make better purchase decisions. The tool asks clarifying questions, searches the web, and returns product options that refine as the conversation continues. The feature is rolling out to all users, with nearly unlimited usage available across all plans through the holidays.
MIT is reporting that today’s AI systems could already perform work equivalent to 11.7% of U.S. jobs, representing about $1.2 trillion in wages. The MIT–Oak Ridge study uses the Iceberg Index, a simulation of 151 million workers and 32,000 skills across 923 occupations, offering policymakers granular, zip-code-level insight into where disruption may occur.
Why this news is important to CFOs and their teams:
This set of AI developments is important for CFOs because it shows how quickly both consumer and enterprise AI capabilities are maturing—and how directly they will influence spending patterns, workforce structures, and operational strategy. Faster model improvements, new enterprise controls, and expanding agentic automation point to near-term opportunities to reduce cost, accelerate decision-making, and streamline workflows. At the same time, tools like MIT’s Iceberg Index underscore the scale of workforce exposure and the need for proactive planning around skills, training, and organizational design. For finance leaders, the message is clear: AI is no longer experimental. It is shaping markets, reshaping talent needs, and redefining productivity, making early strategic alignment essential.
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/Gustavo
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