App Watch: What’s new, hot & updated in the first half of October

The app world never stays still for long.

The first half of October brought its share of fresh updates and clever improvements, and we’ve been keeping an eye on them.

Time to recap what’s been happening so far this month.

Microsoft Teams Up with Anthropic to Power Up Microsoft 365

Big news from Microsoft this month. The company is adding Anthropic’s Claude models — Sonnet 4 and Opus 4.1 — to Microsoft 365 Copilot, giving users more choice beyond OpenAI’s models.

That means you’ll soon be able to switch between OpenAI and Anthropic directly inside tools like Researcher and Copilot Studio, using whichever works best for your workflow. It’s all part of Microsoft’s plan to keep Copilot flexible and packed with the best AI brains out there.

👉 Learn more about Microsoft 365 + Anthropic.

Notion 3.0 Brings AI Agents That Actually Get Work Done

Notion just rolled out its biggest update yet with Notion 3.0, putting AI Agents right at the center of how you work. These agents can create pages, update databases, pull info from other tools, and handle full workflows all on their own.

You can even personalize your Agent, giving it instructions, context, and a bit of personality so it works the way you do. And soon, you’ll be able to create Custom Agents that run tasks automatically for your team, like a mini digital crew that never clocks out.

👉 Learn more about Notion 3.0.

Zendesk’s New AI Agent Aims to Solve 80% of Support Issues

Zendesk just introduced an autonomous support agent that it says can handle up to 80% of customer issues without human help. It’s part of a bigger shift in how Zendesk sees support: letting AI take care of most of the repetitive, time-consuming work so human agents can focus on the tough cases.

The new system also includes a co-pilot to assist technicians, plus specialized agents for admin tasks, voice support, and analytics — all built on Zendesk’s recent AI acquisitions. Early results show a clear boost in customer satisfaction, suggesting this new approach might redefine what customer service looks like.

👉 Learn more about Zendesk’s AI agent.

Figma + Google: Smarter Design with Gemini AI

Figma is teaming up with Google to give its design platform a serious AI boost. The update brings Gemini 2.5 Flash, Gemini 2.0, and Imagen 4 right into Figma, adding new image editing and generation powers for its 13 million users.

With Gemini 2.5 Flash, designers can now create and tweak AI images with simple prompts, and the process is faster too — early tests showed a 50% speed improvement in Figma’s “Make Image” feature.

This partnership keeps Figma closely connected to Google Cloud and shows how top AI tools are becoming part of everyday design workflows, helping teams move from idea to prototype even faster.

👉 Learn more about Figma + Gemini.

Google’s Gemini Can Now Help You Schedule Meetings

Google is adding a smart new feature to Gmail and Calendar that makes scheduling meetings much easier. The “Help me schedule” option, powered by Gemini, suggests the best meeting times based on your availability and adds them directly to your email.

You can review or adjust the suggested slots before sending them, and once the other person picks a time, the meeting automatically appears on both calendars. The feature works for one-on-one meetings and uses the context of your emails to offer smarter recommendations.

This update is part of a broader rollout of AI features across Google Workspace, which also includes new tools in Slides, NotebookLM, Google Vids, and even smarter reminders that now sync from Google Keep to Google Tasks.

👉 Learn more about Gemini’s scheduling feature.

Google Meet Launches AI Makeup Filters

Google Meet just added an AI-powered makeup feature for those days when you want to look camera-ready without actually getting ready. The update brings 12 makeup styles you can try from the “Appearance” section under “Portrait touch-up.”

The virtual makeup adjusts naturally as you move, so it stays perfectly in place even if you take a sip of coffee or turn your head. Once you pick a style, Meet remembers your choice for future calls.

This update helps Meet catch up with video apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, both of which already offer similar filters. The new feature started rolling out on mobile and web on October 8.

👉 Learn more about Google Meet’s makeup filters.

Plenty of updates already, and we’re just halfway through October. Stay tuned to our blog for the next round of highlights at the end of the month.

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