All posts tagged: automate

5 easy ways you wouldn’t think to automate your home – but you really should

5 easy ways you wouldn’t think to automate your home – but you really should

Published by skeptic

The most common bedtime automation or voice command is one that automatically turns off all your lights, but there are ways to get the most out of your other smart devices. A single command can automatically turn off the pertinent lights, sure, but it can also lock all your smart locks, close the garage if open, shut down idle devices, ensure that devices in common areas turn off, and close your smart blinds. Also: How I cut my power bill with IFTTT automation – in 4 simple steps The best bedtime automation is one that replaces your ritual of walking around the house, switching off lights, and locking the doors. I have a few devices that I forget to switch off, so I’ve added them to my bedtime routine. When I call the routine, my smart home doesn’t just turn off my lights; it performs the following actions with a single command: Single command turns off: Lights in the bedroom and living area Air purifier in my office Outdoor string lights (with a smart plug) …

What AI model should you use for revenue intelligence? Von says all the big ones, and it will automate mixing and matching for you

What AI model should you use for revenue intelligence? Von says all the big ones, and it will automate mixing and matching for you

Published by skeptic

Looking at enterprise AI adoption, VentureBeat has anecdotally observed a fairly wide divergence when it comes to specific roles: For those who build—engineers and developers—the arrival of AI has been transformative, moving through the workflow with the speed of tools like Claude Code and Cursor to automate the heavy lifting of syntax and architecture. Yet, for those who sell, the “revenue stack” has remained a fragmented collection of data silos, manual CRM entries, and anecdotal reporting. Von, a new AI platform emerging from the team behind process automation startup Rattle, aims to bridge this gap. By positioning itself not as another “point solution” but as a foundational “intelligence layer,” Von seeks to do for Go-To-Market (GTM) teams what the modern IDE has done for the developer: provide a single, reasoning interface that understands the entire business context. “AI has revolutionized the workflow for people who build things, but there is nothing that has revolutionized the workflow for people who sell those things,” Von CEO Sahil Aggarwal said in a recent video call interview with VentureBeat. …

Traza raises .1 million led by Base10 to automate procurement workflows with AI

Traza raises $2.1 million led by Base10 to automate procurement workflows with AI

Published by skeptic

For decades, procurement has been the back office that enterprise software forgot. Billions of dollars flow through vendor negotiations, purchase orders, and supplier communications every year at the largest manufacturers and construction companies in the country — and the vast majority of that work still runs on email threads, spreadsheets, and phone calls. Traza, a newly launched startup headquartered in New York, believes the moment has arrived to change that. The company announced today the close of a $2.1 million pre-seed round led by Base10 Partners, with participation from Kfund, a16z scouts, Clara Ventures, Masia Ventures, and a roster of angel investors including Pepe Agell, who scaled Chartboost to 700 million monthly users before its acquisition by Zynga. The funding is modest by Silicon Valley standards. But Traza’s pitch is anything but incremental: the company deploys AI agents that don’t just recommend procurement actions — they execute them autonomously, handling vendor outreach, request-for-quote generation, order tracking, supplier communications, and invoice processing without continuous human supervision. “AI is redesigning the procurement category from the ground up,” …

How to Automate Repetitive Business Tasks Using Claude Code

How to Automate Repetitive Business Tasks Using Claude Code

Published by skeptic

Claude Code provides business owners with a structured approach to managing tasks and improving efficiency. According to Simon Scrapes, this AI-driven system supports activities like content generation, workflow automation and integration with CRMs or project management platforms. A standout feature is the customizable Claude.md file, which allows users to specify preferences such as tone and style, making sure outputs align with their brand. By using natural language prompts, even non-technical users can delegate routine tasks effectively. Learn how to write prompts that enhance Claude Code’s functionality, integrate it with your existing systems and use its context window to manage segmented workflows. Gain insight into its predefined task-specific playbooks, called Skills, which simplify tasks like creating SEO-friendly content or drafting polished emails. This deep dive offers clear steps to help you incorporate Claude Code into your business processes. What is Claude Code & How Does it Work? TL;DR Key Takeaways : Claude Code is an advanced AI tool designed to automate repetitive business tasks, improve efficiency and enable focus on strategic priorities. Key features include natural …

Build Autonomous AI Subagents to Automate Code Workflows

Build Autonomous AI Subagents to Automate Code Workflows

Published by skeptic

AI-driven task automation is evolving rapidly and the integration of Antigravity’s mission control system with Arcade’s MCP runtime showcases a compelling leap forward. As highlighted by World of AI, this system enables the deployment of specialized AI subagents capable of breaking down complex workflows into manageable steps. For instance, onboarding new employees becomes a streamlined process, with subagents handling tasks like setting up accounts, assigning permissions and distributing training materials. By combining Antigravity’s orchestration capabilities with Arcade.dev’s secure execution layer, this approach bridges the gap between planning and action, creating a cohesive framework for automating intricate workflows. In this deep dive, you’ll explore how this integration facilitates multi-agent collaboration for tasks like software development and IT operations. Gain insight into the system’s ability to interact with over 7,500 external platforms, from managing repositories to scheduling meetings. Discover how its robust security infrastructure safeguards sensitive data while maintaining transparency through detailed audit logs. Whether you’re interested in automating repetitive tasks or scaling operations seamlessly, this guide provides actionable insights into building an autonomous AI engineering team. …

The AI Industry Wants to Automate Itself

The AI Industry Wants to Automate Itself

Published by José Betancourt

Late last month, a large crowd gathered in downtown San Francisco to demand that the AI industry stop developing more powerful bots. Holding signs and banners reading Stop the AI Race and Don’t Build Skynet, the protesters marched through the city and gave speeches outside the offices of Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI. The crowd demanded that these companies halt efforts to create superintelligent machines—and, in particular, AI models that can develop future AI models. Such a technology, attendees said, could extinguish all human life. At AI protests and happy hours, inside start-ups and major companies, the tech world is in a frenzy over the same thing: Computers that make themselves smarter. Over the past year, the top AI companies have taken to loudly bragging about internal efforts to automate their own research. OpenAI recently released a new model it described as “instrumental in creating itself.” Within the next six months, the company aims to debut what it has described as an “intern-level AI research assistant.” Meanwhile, Anthropic says that as much as 90 percent of …

Learn Gemini 3 Scheduled Actions to Automate Recurring Workflows

Learn Gemini 3 Scheduled Actions to Automate Recurring Workflows

Published by skeptic

Gemini 3.1 Pro, developed by Google AI, offers a range of features designed to simplify complex workflows and enhance productivity. In a recent guide by Parker Prompts, the focus is on using this system more effectively than the majority of users by understanding its advanced capabilities. For instance, the platform’s ability to analyze visual data, such as breaking down dense charts into actionable insights, can save hours of manual effort while improving decision-making accuracy. This guide emphasizes practical applications like these to help users unlock the full potential of Gemini 3.1 Pro. In this quick-start guide, you’ll learn how to use Gemini’s video and audio analysis features to streamline content review and transcription tasks. Additionally, the guide explores how its deep research capabilities can automate the process of compiling detailed overviews from diverse sources. Whether you’re looking to improve your content creation workflow or manage repetitive tasks more efficiently, this breakdown provides actionable strategies to help you integrate Gemini 3.1 Pro into your daily routine. Gemini 3.1 Pro : Core Features & Practical Applications TL;DR …

Mediahuis plans to automate ‘first-line news’ with AI agents

Mediahuis plans to automate ‘first-line news’ with AI agents

Published by Sam Flores

Mediahuis head of AI strategy Ana Jakimovska speaking at the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age event in London on 12 February 2026. Picture: FT Strategies Belgium-based news publisher Mediahuis is experimenting with automating the production of its “first-line” news. Under an experimental project AI agents are involved in the writing, fact checking, legal checking and editing of news stories under the plan but a human would always check the finished product before it is published. The proposal is to allow the 2,000 journalists at Mediahuis to concentrate on producing its “signature journalism”, the publisher’s head of AI strategy Ana Jakimovska told the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age event in London on Wednesday. Mediahuis publishes around 25 titles in Belgium (De Standaard), the Netherlands (De Telegraaf), Ireland (Irish Independent and Belfast Telegraph), Luxembourg (Luxemburger Wort) and Germany (Aachener Zeitung). [From 2023: How Mediahuis is easing generative AI into its newsrooms] Jakimovska said: “We’re really, really big on signature journalism, on talking to people, knocking on doors, interviewing, understanding our communities’ deep connection …

7 things you can automate at home without buying any new gadgets

7 things you can automate at home without buying any new gadgets

Published by skeptic

Smart plugs, smart bulbs, and Echo speakers—I’ve had all of it for years. And for most of that time, I treated the whole setup like a glorified light switch that responded to my voice. Even after consolidating all my smart devices under one app and building out routines I was pretty proud of, I kept tripping over features I’d completely ignored. The automations that eliminate the most daily friction aren’t new purchases—they’re capabilities hiding inside stuff already plugged into your walls. These seven use devices and apps you likely already own, and most take less than five minutes to configure. Echo sound detection triggers routines you never knew existed Your speaker already listens for more than wake words Your Echo is listening for way more than just its wake word. Starting with the 4th generation, these speakers can pick up on beeping appliances, running water, dogs barking, a baby crying, and even snoring. Almost nobody turns it on. It’s buried under Routines > When This Happens > Sound Detection in the Alexa app, and Amazon …

Anthropic’s Claude Cowork finally lands on Windows — and it wants to automate your workday

Anthropic’s Claude Cowork finally lands on Windows — and it wants to automate your workday

Published by skeptic

Anthropic released its Claude Cowork AI agent software for Windows on Monday, bringing the file management and task automation tool to roughly 70 percent of the desktop computing market and intensifying a remarkable corporate realignment that has seen Microsoft embrace a direct competitor to its longtime AI partner, OpenAI. The Windows launch arrives with what Anthropic calls “full feature parity” with the macOS version: file access, multi-step task execution, plugins, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors for integrating external services. Users can now also set global and folder-specific instructions that Claude follows in every session, a feature developers on Reddit described as “a game-changer” for maintaining context across projects. “Cowork is now available on Windows,” Anthropic announced on X. “We’re bringing full feature parity with MacOS: file access, multi-step task execution, plugins, and MCP connectors.” The release closes a critical platform gap that had limited Cowork to Apple’s operating system since its January 12 debut. The Windows expansion underscores a broader transformation already underway in enterprise AI, with Microsoft simultaneously selling its own GitHub Copilot …