Until now, anyone who wanted to replace the soundtrack on an existing post had to remove the post entirely and upload it again, losing the likes, comments, shares and reach it had already gained.

The new Instagram Replace Audio tool removes that limitation. Users can now swap the music on a post at any time while keeping all existing engagement.

Instagram said the feature aims to give creators better management over the content they share.

The update could prove useful for creators and brands that want to match their posts with trending songs or simply update older posts with different music without sacrificing performance.

To use the feature, users need to open the post they want to edit, tap the two-line menu in the top-right corner, select Edit, and then choose the option to replace the audio.

The feature builds on a series of editing tools Instagram has introduced in recent months to improve content creation.

In May, the platform rolled out several AI-powered editing features for Reels, including automatic video cuts, AI-generated B-roll, background replacement, smart captions and voice isolation.

A month later, Instagram also expanded the audio features in its standalone Edits app by allowing creators to import audio, automatically match sound levels and choose from more than 200 new sound effects. Earlier in March, the app also began suggesting sound effects based on the content of a video.

The company hopes the new feature will make editing published posts easier, particularly for creators who regularly update their content to reflect changing trends.

The launch also follows complaints over some of Instagram’s recent product experiments.

Last week, Meta removed a feature that allowed users to modify photos from public Instagram accounts using AI after receiving negative feedback.

The company said the feature “missed the mark” and decided to withdraw it.

Earlier this year, Instagram also launched Instants, a feature designed to let users share moments as they happened. However, many users misunderstood how it worked and accidentally sent images to everyone on their Friends list, prompting widespread complaints online.

The post Instagram Launches ‘Replace Audio’ for Published Posts Without Losing Engagement appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Speaking during an internal town hall on Thursday, Zuckerberg admitted that development had slowed despite the company’s major investment in AI infrastructure.

Looking back at the past four months, he said the “trajectory of the agentic development over at least the last four months hasn’t really accelerated in the way that we expected,” adding that the company’s bets on its new structure “haven’t come to fruition yet.”

Meta began a major overhaul earlier this year as it sought to shift more resources towards AI.

In May, the company cut about 10 per cent of its global workforce, affecting roughly 8,000 employees, while around 7,000 others were moved into AI-focused teams, including one known as Agent Transformation.

Zuckerberg also acknowledged that the restructuring itself could have been handled better.

He said the process was not as “clean” as it could have been because executives had misjudged the timing of the changes.

Explaining why the company moved ahead with the overhaul, Zuckerberg said discussions with senior leaders early in the year showed there was concern that Meta was not moving quickly enough.

“Conversations he was having ‘with our top people’ when they started planning the restructuring in January and February ‘were that they were worried that we weren’t going to move fast enough to adapt,'” he told employees.

He added that executives had been “super optimistic” about tools such as Claude Code, developed by AI startup Anthropic, and expected faster progress than the company has seen so far.

Even so, Zuckerberg said he believes Meta will begin to see stronger returns from its AI investments within the next three to six months.

The company is expected to spend as much as $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year, making it one of the biggest investors in the technology.

The spending is part of a bigger push by technology companies, which are projected to invest more than $700 billion in AI during the year.

During the same town hall, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, addressed concerns over the company’s controversial mouse-tracking software, which was suspended last month after a data security incident.

Bosworth said an internal review found that no employee data had been included in AI training.

He also said that if the software returns after the review is completed, employees will be able to choose whether to take part.

“For people who are comfortable, that’s great, they can contribute to this kind of great human survey. To people who are not, it is not an issue,” Bosworth said.

The software, introduced on employees’ computers in the United States in April, initially did not give staff the option to opt out. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the discussions at the town hall.

The post Meta Restructuring Fails to Deliver Expected AI Progress, Zuckerberg Says appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The update centres on a new search experience called AI Mode, allowing users to type questions in natural language and receive answers generated by Meta’s AI system.

Instead of returning a list of links, the tool pulls information from public posts, including content from Groups and Reels, and presents a combined response.

Meta says the aim is to show discussions happening across its apps. That means answers are drawn from user posts rather than traditional news or reference pages.

The company is also linking this approach to make search feel more conversational and not dependent on scrolling through results.

Alongside this, Meta has been testing a separate app called Forum. It carries a similar design idea to Reddit and includes an “Ask” feature.

Users can post questions and receive responses built from conversations happening inside Facebook Groups. The overlap between Forum and AI Mode shows how the company is pushing community content further into search tools.

Still, the reliability of AI summaries when they rely on public posts is an issue of concern. Content shared in groups or comment threads is not always verified.

Some of it may be outdated or based on opinion rather than fact. That points to how clearly the system will separate useful information from noise.

Users on Facebook can now edit photos and videos with the help of AI, including collage-style layouts and transition effects that turn simple clips into shareable montages.

These suggestions appear when users access their camera roll, though Meta says the feature is optional and can be switched off at any time.

There are also new photo editing presets that allow users to adjust appearance in images, including clothing, hairstyles, and accessories.

One of the more noticeable additions lets sports fans digitally place themselves in team jerseys. This can be done through an “AI Edit” option in Stories or by selecting a profile picture and using the restyle feature.

The changes extend further into personalisation. Facebook is now offering tools that can automatically suggest edits based on recent photos, helping users turn everyday images into more polished posts without manual editing.

At the same time, Meta continues to expand its AI integration across Facebook. Earlier updates included animated profile pictures that add simple movement to still images, as well as automated responses for sellers using Facebook Marketplace.

More recently, creators have been given AI-assisted tools that suggest posting times and summarise audience feedback from comments.

With these updates, Meta is strengthening the link between artificial intelligence and everyday use of Facebook, from search to posting and messaging.

The company is also exploring new ways to monetise these tools. It has already introduced subscription plans across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, starting at $3.99 a month. These plans unlock additional features, and further AI-based tiers are expected to follow.

Meta has described the rollout as part of its initiative to make the platform more useful and easier to navigate. The company also places emphasis on user control, noting that features like camera roll suggestions are optional and can be disabled.

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According to a Bloomberg report, the layoffs are expected shortly after Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30. While the number of affected employees has not been disclosed, the planned cuts are expected to go beyond staffing, with reductions also being considered across marketing and other operational budgets.

The restructuring will be the first major overhaul since Asha Sharma became chief executive of Xbox in February.

Sharma reportedly outlined the challenges facing the gaming business in an internal message to employees. She said Xbox’s accountability margin had fallen to just 3% despite the company spending more than $20 billion over the past five years on content, platforms and hardware subsidies. During the same period, annual revenue declined by almost $500 million.

The Xbox chief told staff the business would need to rebuild parts of its platform infrastructure and reassess its portfolio in the months ahead. Bloomberg reported that Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty have described the current period as an “Xbox Reset”, aimed at putting the division on a more sustainable path.

The planned changes come as Xbox works to overcome challenges across several parts of its business. Microsoft’s drive into subscription gaming and cloud services has not delivered the growth needed to offset weaker console sales.

At the same time, the company has faced complaints over a lack of major exclusive titles capable of driving hardware demand.

Growth in Game Pass subscriptions has also stalled. In April, Microsoft cut Game Pass prices and announced that future Call of Duty titles would no longer launch on the service on day one, marking one of the first major strategic changes under Sharma’s leadership.

The company is also dealing with high hardware costs. Reports say increasing component prices have significantly raised storage costs, creating additional pressure on Microsoft’s long-term console plans, including work linked to its next-generation gaming platform, codenamed Helix.

As part of the reset, Xbox is expected to place greater emphasis on its biggest gaming franchises, including Halo, Gears of War and Forza.

The company recently confirmed that upcoming titles such as Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will not launch on competing platforms including PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, while it focuses on strengthening the Xbox ecosystem.

Microsoft has not publicly commented on the reported layoffs.

The post Microsoft’s Xbox to Initiate “Reset”: Layoffs and Spending Cuts Loom Under New Leadership appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The platform expects the unit to reach an annualised run rate of about $100 million in the next fiscal year, according to a source familiar with the plan.

The Microsoft-owned company introduced BrandWorks internally in March 2026. Since then, the team has expanded by roughly 60%, with new hires coming from TikTok, Meta and X.

It now focuses on building higher-performing campaigns for enterprise clients, including SAP, IBM and ServiceNow.

BrandWorks also runs programmes that link advertisers with creators. One of them, Top Voices 360, supports sponsored content partnerships and has generated over $20 million between May 2025 and May 2026.

“We’re developing services that are designed to meet the marketer where they are,” said Alex Josephson, vice president of BrandWorks, who previously built a similar offering called Twitter Next.

LinkedIn is enhancing its focus in B2B advertising, even as it competes with much larger companies in digital ads. Its advertising business brought in $8.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to rise to $9.7 billion in 2026, with a further increase to $11.3 billion expected in 2027.

Even with that growth, LinkedIn is still smaller than Meta and Google in overall ad scale. Still, it has carved out a strong niche, with about 80% of B2B marketing budgets now flowing into search and social platforms.

“We estimate that 80% of B2B budgets go into search and social media, with Google and LinkedIn the primary beneficiaries of those B2B dollars,” said Luke Stillman, managing director at trend advisory firm Madison and Wall.

LinkedIn’s ad footprint is also expanding in relative terms. It accounts for about 3.2% of US digital ad spend, 2.4% in the UK, and less than 2% across markets such as Brazil, France, Canada and Germany.

Video has become an important part of its strategy. The company reports that vertical video uploads rose by 36% in 2025. CEO video posts have also increased by 68% over the past two years.

Younger users are driving some of that transition. LinkedIn says Gen Z is its fastest-growing audience, with higher engagement in video content and creator-led posts.

BrandWorks by LinkedIn also supports BrandLink, a video-focused advertising programme. The company expects BrandLink revenue to nearly triple in the current fiscal year, although it has not disclosed the base figure.

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Following the long-awaited overhaul, the company says the system will bring deeper intelligence across its devices, but it will not launch everywhere at the same time.

The update focuses on a more conversational assistant that can understand context across apps and screens. It also allows users to interact with Siri in a more continuous way, including through a dedicated interface that stores recent interactions privately.

Apple says Siri AI can now search across Messages, Mail, Photos and Calendar to surface personal information when needed. It also reads what is on a device screen and responds based on that content. The assistant is also designed to work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro.

A camera-linked feature adds another layer, where users can point their device at objects and ask Siri to interpret them. Apple says this can include tasks such as analysing food items or helping split shared bills.

At the core of the system is what Apple calls “Apple Intelligence”, built on its own Foundation Models. The company says some tasks will run on-device, while more complex requests will use Private Cloud Compute.

Apple stated that “Privacy at Every Step,” is still very much central to the design, explaining that external support from Google’s Gemini model helps with some cloud-based functions. However, the company maintains that user data is not stored in a way that links back to individuals.

Despite the rollout, access will be restricted in key markets at launch. Users in the European Union will not receive Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when iOS 27 and related updates arrive later this year. China will also miss the initial rollout.

Apple links the European restriction to regulatory demands under the Digital Markets Act. The company argues that it cannot safely integrate the system under current conditions.

In its statement, it said regulators require “direct access to users’ private data – and the ability to directly control other installed applications – as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU without the necessary safeguards to ensure user and data safety”.

The company also referenced its earlier proposal to regulators, describing a “Trusted System Agent” approach, which it says was not accepted. Apple maintains that the rejected model would have allowed safer integration with competing assistants.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said EU users will not get Siri AI on iPhone or iPad with the new operating system releases this year. He confirmed the restriction during the announcement window.

The company also stated that “extreme interpretation of the DMA” influenced its decision to hold back the feature. It added that it sees “clear dangers to EU users” under the current framework.

Even so, Apple confirmed that EU users will still access Siri AI on Mac computers and Vision Pro headsets. Those platforms will run macOS 27 and visionOS 27 with the feature included.

In China, Apple says approvals are still in progress, and no timeline has been confirmed for a full rollout. The company has not announced Siri AI availability for mainland China at launch.

It added that Hong Kong may receive earlier access, depending on language support and regulatory clearance. English-language beta testing is expected to begin in select regions later.

Apple’s strategy places Siri AI at the centre of its software ecosystem. The assistant will be integrated across iOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27 and tvOS 27. The company is positioning this as a shift towards a more AI-led operating system design.

Developer access is already open through beta releases, with public testing expected around July 2026. A full release is expected later in the year, likely alongside the next iPhone cycle.

The post Apple Unveils “Siri AI” Upgrade with Cross-App Intelligence, Limited EU and China Rollout appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This places the artificial intelligence firm among the world’s most valuable private technology companies ahead of a possible stock market debut.

The Series H round drew backing from investment firms including Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, Sequoia Capital, Capital Group, Coatue and D1 Capital Partners.

Investors such as Baillie Gifford, Blackstone, Brookfield, DST Global and Fidelity Management & Research also joined the round.

The funding package also includes $15 billion in previously committed investments from large cloud companies, including $5 billion from Amazon announced earlier this year.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron joined the round as strategic infrastructure partners.

With the funding, Anthropic plans to expand computing capacity, grow its Claude products and continue research into safety and interpretability.

The company announced the funding on the same day it released Claude Opus 4.8, its latest model focused on coding, advanced reasoning and what it described as stronger honesty and self-correction abilities.

Anthropic has expanded rapidly since its last fundraising round in February, helped by rising demand from business customers using Claude Code and other enterprise tools. The company said its annualised revenue run rate passed $47 billion earlier this month.

“Claude is increasingly indispensable to our growing global community of customers, and we work tirelessly to make tools like Claude Code and Cowork more helpful, more powerful, and more adaptable to their needs,” said Krishna Rao, chief financial officer of Anthropic.

“This funding will help us serve the historic demand we are experiencing, stay at the research frontier, and bring Claude to more of the places where work happens.”

The company also said it recently signed new agreements with Amazon, Google, Broadcom and SpaceX to secure more computing power as demand for Claude grows.

Under those agreements, Amazon will provide up to five gigawatts of additional capacity, while Google and Broadcom will supply next-generation TPU infrastructure. SpaceX will also provide access to GPU capacity through its Colossus systems.

Anthropic revealed that Claude is now available across Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, with AWS remaining its main cloud and training partner.

“Claude’s latest advancements have driven large-scale adoption among the world’s most demanding organisations. This momentum positions Anthropic to lead the next phase of AI innovation and capture the enormous opportunity ahead,” said Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital.

Marc Stad, managing partner at Dragoneer, said, “The technological progress we are seeing right now is breathtaking. And we believe that we are still in the earliest days of both the development and commercialisation of this technology.”

Neil Mehta, founder and managing partner at Greenoaks, added, “Rarely has a company’s culture, mission, and commercial momentum reinforced each other so completely. We are honoured to deepen our partnership.”

With competition increasing among leading artificial intelligence companies seeking more users, stronger computing infrastructure and fresh investment before entering public markets, Anthropic’s latest raise will strengthen its place.

Earlier this year, OpenAI secured a funding round valued at $852 billion after investment, while Elon Musk’s xAI, now merged with SpaceX, has reportedly targeted a $2 trillion valuation ahead of a future public offering.

The post Anthropic Raises $65 Billion as Valuation Climbs to $965 Billion appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The company said it will start using internal detection systems from May 2026 to identify videos containing what it described as “significant photorealistic AI” content.

When creators fail to disclose that material, YouTube will now add the label automatically.

The update also changes where viewers see those warnings. Instead of hiding them inside video descriptions, YouTube will place labels directly below long-form videos and over Shorts, making them easier to spot.

YouTube has required creators since 2024 to disclose content made with AI tools when videos could realistically be mistaken for real people, places or events. However, content that was clearly fictional, animated or unrealistic did not need the same treatment.

Now, the company says it wants a more reliable system as AI video tools become harder to distinguish from real footage.

“We’ve heard consistently from our community that they value transparency when it comes to generative AI content,” YouTube said.

“That’s why since 2024, we’ve been labeling content when creators disclose they’ve used AI tools.”

The platform said the policy itself has not changed, but enforcement is becoming more active as AI-generated video quality improves.

The announcement follows the launch of Google’s Gemini Omni models at the company’s developer conference last week. Google said the models can generate highly realistic videos while showing an understanding of subjects including physics, science, history and culture.

Under the new system, creators will still be expected to disclose AI-generated content themselves. However, YouTube explained it will step in when its systems detect realistic AI content that has not been labelled.

“If a creator doesn’t specify whether or not they used AI, but our systems detect significant photorealistic AI use, we will now automatically apply a label,” the company said.

Creators who believe their content was wrongly flagged will be able to update the disclosure status through YouTube Studio. Still, YouTube said labels will remain permanent in some situations.

That includes videos produced using YouTube’s own AI tools such as Veo and Dream Screen. The same applies to videos carrying C2PA metadata showing they were fully generated with AI systems.

C2PA is an industry standard designed to help identify AI-generated and digitally altered media. Companies including OpenAI, Nvidia, Kakao and Eleven Labs have backed the standard in recent months.

YouTube is also changing how labels appear across the platform.

For long-form videos, labels will now be directly below the video player and above the description section. On Shorts, viewers will see them as overlays on the video itself.

The company said labels for unrealistic or lightly edited AI content will still appear only inside the expanded description section.

“By moving these labels on to the main stage, viewers get the context they need at a glance,” YouTube said.

The changes align with YouTube’s expansion of other tools aimed at detecting manipulated content. The company recently increased access to its AI deepfake detection system, allowing adults to scan the platform for videos that may contain their likeness.

At the same time, YouTube continues adding AI features across its services, including AI-generated video summaries, playlist tools for YouTube Music, interactive search functions and creation tools for creators.

Despite the labelling system, YouTube said the presence of an AI label will not affect recommendations or whether creators can make money from their videos.

“It’s important to note that a disclosure label alone does not change how a video is recommended or whether it’s eligible to earn money,” the company said.

The post YouTube to Automatically Label AI-Generated Videos and Shorts appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The company said the feature works through a new command-line interface tool, now in beta, which connects Spotify with external coding agents such as OpenAI’s Codex, Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenClaw.

Users can generate private audio briefings or podcast-style content from notes, schedules, articles and other personal material, then listen to them inside the Spotify app.

Spotify also explained that the podcasts will remain private and do not appear for other users on the platform.

“People are already starting to use their agents to create personal audio that guides their day: from summaries of class notes before an exam to briefings of what’s on their calendar. And they’re asking for a way to listen to it on Spotify, where they already listen to everything else,” the company said in a blog post.

The tool lets users create different types of audio content depending on what they need. Someone preparing for work can generate a short morning briefing with meeting reminders, weather updates and podcast suggestions for their commute.

A student studying philosophy could also create weekly audio lessons based on saved notes, articles and research material.

Users who already work with coding agents on desktop can install the beta tool through its GitHub page. After signing into Spotify through a browser, they can write prompts describing the kind of podcast they want and ask the agent to save it directly to their Spotify account.

For example, a user could request an audio session explaining the history of the World Cup, including major players, host countries and details about this year’s tournament. The system then creates the podcast and adds it to the user’s library with a Spotify link for playback.

The company further noted that the feature is available to eligible Free and Premium users globally, although limits may apply during the testing period.

Spotify plans to continue adjusting the personal podcasts experience as it receives feedback from listeners and expands the beta programme.

The post Spotify Launches AI Tool for Creating Personal Podcasts Inside Its App appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

On its online store, the Apple Mac mini no longer comes in 32GB or 64GB RAM variants. The higher option has gone, and the M4 Pro model now tops out at 48GB. If you go for the standard M4 version, you can only choose 16GB or 24GB.

The same pattern shows on the Apple Mac Studio, with the M3 Ultra model losing its top memory tiers. It now ships only with 96GB RAM, after Apple removed the 256GB option and other higher configurations.

On the delivery aspect, both machines now show shipping estimates of about nine to ten weeks, depending on the setup.

Another change affects pricing. Apple has dropped the 256GB storage option for the Mac mini. That means the entry model now starts at 512GB, pushing the base price from $599 to $799.

It’s worthy of note that Apple had already stopped taking orders for some higher-RAM Mac Studio and Mac mini models earlier in March and April. What we are seeing now is a difference in what remains available.

Speaking recently, Tim Cook said supply will stay tight for a while. “We think, looking forward, that the Mac mini and Mac Studio may take several months to reach supply-demand balance,” he said.

He also pointed to stronger demand than expected. According to him, more users are buying these machines to run artificial intelligence tools locally. That demand, combined with high memory costs, is forcing Apple to scale back certain configurations.

The pressure is coming from the global market. Demand for AI servers has driven up the cost of memory chips, especially DRAM and NAND. As a result, manufacturers are adjusting what they can offer.

Apple Mac is not alone in the challenge of memory shortage. Other PC makers, including Dell Technologies, HP Inc. and Lenovo, have also reported delays and fewer options for systems with large amounts of RAM.

As it stands, if you need higher memory on an Apple machine, options are limited. The company’s newer laptops, including models with its latest chips, still offer more flexibility. But on the desktop side, choices have narrowed, and it may stay that way for months.

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