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Timely takes on technology and systems that matter for small and mid-sized businesses.

OpenAI's always-on agent is live in ChatGPT, Slack, and Teams, and the cheapest way in is a $100 plan. Pro is excluded in the UK, Switzerland, and the EEA at launch. Business Premium is the route in Spain. Extra dots are still unpriced.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · SoloTest

OpenAI Dots is a $100 always-on agent, and Plus does not include it

Test one Dot on a recurring ops job. In Spain, Pro does not include it yet.

ChatGPT for Word opened in the sidebar on 1 October for managed workspaces unless an admin had already switched it off. Drafting stays inside the file you send, but usage draws from the same token pool as Codex, and Microsoft 365 still has to allow the add-in.

Agents · Brief · 3 min · AgencyAdopt

ChatGPT for Word is on by default, and the admin switch is the real decision

If you already pay for ChatGPT Business, check the Word switch before staff install it themselves.

Microsoft will turn usage-based billing on for new Copilot Business purchases, not for seats you already own. The purchase can create the tenant billing rail and a default spending policy. Cowork and other credit features then meter on top of the seat.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyWatch

New Copilot Business seats switch usage billing on, with a 4,000-credit default

Do not buy a new Copilot Business seat until the spending policy is yours, not Microsoft's.

On 1 October 2026 Shopify opened Canvas, a workspace where every page sits on one surface and Sidekick writes theme changes you can see land. The classic editor stays. A theme edited in Canvas does not get theme updates, and app blocks, Markets, rollouts, and translations are unsupported at launch. Trial a duplicate. Leave the live theme alone.

Agents · Brief · 3 min · ShopifyTest

Duplicate a theme into Shopify Canvas. Do not publish it over the live store.

Duplicate one theme into Canvas. Do not publish it over the live store.

From October 30, ChatGPT Pro 200 still costs $200 a month but includes half the ChatGPT Work and Codex allowance it does today, and half the weekly GPT-6 Pro chat messages. A new $500 Pro 500 tier adds Ultrafast and 25x Plus usage. Existing $200 subscribers keep the old limits through October 29 and get a one-time credit grant that expires at year end.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyWatch

Your $200 ChatGPT plan buys half the Work and Codex jobs from October 30

Same $200. Half the Work and Codex allowance from October 30. Do not upgrade until you count jobs.

Google’s Gemini 4 Argon is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with cached input at 95% off. Output can run to 1 million tokens. Paid API and AI Ultra access have not opened yet, so this is a watch item, not a stack change.

Agents · Brief · 3 min · AgencyWatch

Gemini 4 Argon prices like a mid-tier model. You still cannot run it this week.

Queue one bake-off. Do not move production agents until paid API access actually opens.

The UK National Cyber Security Centre published interim advice on agentic AI after recent unsanctioned agent activity. The useful part is not model “safety.” It is blast-radius control: unique agent identities, short-lived credentials, default-deny network access, and logs of tool calls and connections. If you already run n8n, MCP or a coding agent, those controls belong on this week’s stack, not next quarter’s policy deck.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyAdopt

Agent security is credentials and egress, not model safety

Stop handing n8n, MCP and coding agents your personal logins and open internet.

WebMCP is an emerging web standard that lets websites expose structured tools that AI agents can use directly.

Agents · Brief · 3 min · AgencyAdopt

Point production agents at GPT-6.1 Sol this week

Same $2/$10 sticker as last week’s Sol, better work, cache reads now $0.10.

WebMCP is an emerging web standard that lets websites expose structured tools that AI agents can use directly.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyTest

ChatGPT will recommend your tool mid-chat. MCP events can start the job

If you sell a tool or run event-driven ops, ship a plugin surface this week. Consumers can wait.

WebMCP is an emerging web standard that lets websites expose structured tools that AI agents can use directly.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyChange now

OpenAI killed GPT-6.1 Astra the day before DevDay. Treat your agents like juniors.

October’s model is dead. Put a human on send, publish, and logged-in browser this week.

WebMCP is an emerging web standard that lets websites expose structured tools that AI agents can use directly.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyAdopt

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is the new default. Switch it this week.

Same list price as Sonnet 5. Make 5.5 the daily default this week.

WebMCP is an emerging web standard that lets websites expose structured tools that AI agents can use directly.

Agents · Brief · 4 min · AgencyTest

n8n agents now sit next to your workflows, so messy jobs no longer need a new flow

Try one messy job this week. Keep approvals on anything that sends or spends.

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