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Matt Mullenweg says he has resumed his role as Automattic CEO just two days after the company's board placed him on paid leave and named CFO Mark Davies interim chief. Mullenweg claims the board is now 'back in agreement' with him in control, and reports indicate Davies' Slack account was deactivated while other admin accounts were stripped of access.
Slack is rolling out Slackforce Surfaces, a feature letting users ask Slackbot to build interactive dashboards, reports, polls, and presentations directly within a chat conversation. The AI pulls data from relevant messages and connected apps like Google Drive or Salesforce to generate these tools, which can then be pinned to channels for teams to view, interact with, and comment on.
Adobe has launched a new Slack integration bringing over 70 tools from apps including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Acrobat, InDesign and Firefly directly into the messaging platform. The feature is available now to Slack Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, letting users message Slackbot to complete creative tasks using content from Slack channels, Canvases and Adobe Creative Cloud assets. An Adobe account is not required, though logging in unlocks fuller access to the tools.
Adobe announced that Slack users can now invoke apps like Firefly, Photoshop, Premiere, Acrobat and Illustrator directly through Slack's AI assistant, Slackbot, which interprets requests and calls the right Adobe tool while factoring in conversation context. Separately, more than 70 Adobe tools are being made available through a new Adobe for Slack MCP app. The integration launches first for Slack Business+ and Enterprise+ customers.
Adobe has released an Adobe for Slack MCP app that connects Slackbot to more than 70 creative and productivity tools, including Photoshop, Firefly, Acrobat, Premiere, Illustrator and InDesign. The integration lets teams generate, edit and search creative assets directly inside Slack conversations, using context from messages, files and channels to trigger the right Adobe tool. It is available now to Slack Business+ and Enterprise+ customers globally, with basic use possible without an Adobe account and full features unlocked by signing in.
Almanac, a startup from Y Combinator's Summer 2026 batch, has launched an AI system designed to understand a company's internal operations, tools and communications rather than general web knowledge. In a demo, the assistant monitored a customer Slack channel, identified duplicate bug reports, and automatically filed GitHub issues with reproduction steps and linked conversation threads. The product positions itself as an operational AI layer that can act on a company's existing data and workflows rather than just answer questions about them.
Circleback, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is introducing a free subscription plan offering unlimited meeting transcription with 30-day history access, mobile and Apple Watch apps, and integrations with Linear and Slack. Previously the company had no free option, with paid plans starting at $20.83 monthly; those now start at $14 per month for full features. The move comes as rivals like Granola, Wispr, Calendly, Read AI, and Fireflies crowd the meeting note-taking market.
A term coined by developer Niklas Guhn in an August 3 blog post has gone viral online: 'meat proxy,' describing someone who copies and pastes chatbot output like ChatGPT or Claude into conversations without adding their own understanding or value. Guhn's original complaint was about receiving verbatim AI replies on Slack, and the phrase quickly spread on social media with a broader definition covering anyone who forwards AI text or code without reading or validating it themselves.
Plaud, known for AI note-taking devices like the Note and NotePin, has unveiled the Plaud One Explorer Edition earbuds ahead of IFA. The $249.99 earbuds can capture and summarize conversations independently of a phone, and use a feature called Plaud Agent to carry out tasks across apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack. They're available for pre-order now, ship in late September, come with $200 in credits, and require no subscription.
Plaud, previously known for AI notetaking gadgets like the NotePin and Note Pro, is now selling AI earbuds called the Plaud One Explorer Edition, available for preorder at $250. The earbuds can be worn normally or left in their case on a table to record meetings, calls, or solo brainstorming sessions, feeding that audio to an assistant called Plaud Agent. That agent connects with tools like Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack to draft emails, documents, and presentations based on spoken commands.
Plaud has launched the Plaud One Explorer Edition, an earbud-style AI wearable that can capture, transcribe, and summarize conversations either worn as earbuds or through its charging case. The case has built-in 4G connectivity for uploading and processing audio without a phone or Wi-Fi, plus its own microphones, speaker, and storage. The device costs $249.99, is available for preorder in select markets now, and will ship in late September.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff dismissed concerns that AI would erode demand for traditional software subscriptions, telling CNBC's Jim Cramer that top AI firms actually rely heavily on Salesforce tools. He cited a 435% year-over-year jump in usage of Salesforce and Slack among nine of the ten leading AI companies, framing this as proof that AI complements rather than replaces CRM software. The comments came after Salesforce posted strong quarterly results and guidance, sending shares up more than 12%.