The Genie is out of the bottle

Welcome back to The Shift. Let’s get straight to what matters in AI today…

Today we have:

🌍 Google’s Project Genie Lets You Build Worlds Inside AI

 🛍️ How You Can Use Google Genie 3 to Build Interactive Product Worlds

🔍 Yahoo Scout Wants to Be the “Answer Layer” of Search

🔨Tools and Shifts you cannot miss

🌍 Google’s Project Genie Lets You Build Worlds Inside AI

Google DeepMind is taking its world model research from demo to something people can actually play with. Project Genie is a new experimental prototype that lets users generate, explore, and remix interactive worlds in real time. Access starts now for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. 

The Decode:

1) Project Genie Expands Access to Genie 3 - Google is rolling out Project Genie as an early research prototype for AI Ultra users (18+) in the U.S. It is powered by Genie 3, built to simulate dynamic environments instead of static video worlds.

Users can create worlds using text plus uploaded or generated images, then define how they want to move through them. Nano Banana Pro adds more control by letting you preview and fine-tune visuals before entering.

2) Exploration Happens in Real Time - Unlike fixed 3D snapshots, Project Genie generates the path ahead as you move, simulating physics and interactions on the fly. You can also adjust camera movement while navigating through the environment.

Users can remix existing worlds into new variations, explore curated gallery worlds, or use a randomizer for inspiration. Finished explorations can be downloaded as short videos up to 60 seconds long.

Project Genie is an early step toward AI world models that could eventually power everything from creative media to robotics simulation. Google admits the prototype still has limits in realism, control, and duration, but the direction is clear: worlds are becoming generative, not just images.

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 🛍️ How You Can Use Google Genie 3 to Build Interactive Product Worlds

Genie 3 lets you generate an entire interactive 3D environment from a single prompt or image, which is a massive unlock for ecommerce marketing.

Interactive Product Showrooms

1. Start with one product photo or prompt: Example: “Luxury skincare bottle on a glowing bathroom counter at sunrise.”
   

2. Generate a full branded world around it: Genie 3 builds a navigable 3D scene, not just a static render, so customers can explore context.
   

3. Turn it into a shopping experience: Use it for virtual storefronts, product drops, or immersive landing pages where the product lives inside a story.
   

4. Create endless ad creatives from one world: Every camera angle, scene variation, and environment becomes new content for ads, Reels, and PDP visuals.

This is the next evolution of product marketing: not images, but worlds customers step into. You can try it here.

🔍 Yahoo Scout Wants to Be the “Answer Layer” of Search

Yahoo is stepping into the AI search race with Yahoo Scout, a new answer engine designed to move beyond blue links into real, conversational guidance. It is now live in beta across Yahoo Search and the broader Yahoo ecosystem for nearly 250 million U.S. users.

The Decode:

1) Yahoo Scout Turns Search Into Direct Answers - Scout synthesizes information from the open web, Yahoo’s own data, and Yahoo content to deliver clear responses with structured lists, rich media, and transparent sources people can actually trust.

2) Built on Yahoo’s Massive Data Advantage - Yahoo is shaping Scout using 30 years of search behavior, including 500 million user profiles, a knowledge graph of 1 billion entities, and 18 trillion consumer events each year.

3) Scout Becomes an AI Platform Across Yahoo Products - Yahoo is embedding Scout into Mail, News, Finance, and Sports, with features like AI summaries, game breakdowns, key takeaways, comment summaries, and interactive research tools inside articles.

Yahoo partnered with Anthropic’s Claude as Scout’s core model for speed and safety, while also leveraging Microsoft Bing’s grounding API. This blend helps Yahoo deliver trustworthy AI answers at a massive consumer scale. 

^{TOGETHER WITH WINTR FLOW}

Stop typing prompt essays

Dictate full-context prompts and paste clean, structured input into ChatGPT or Claude. Wispr Flow preserves your nuance so AI gives better answers the first time. Try Wispr Flow for AI.

See a demo

🔨AI Tools for the Shift

🛠️ DevLensPro – Bridge your browser and Claude Code, Option+Click any element and Claude instantly knows what to fix, enabling faster and more autonomous development.

👗 AI Clothes Changer.ai – Instantly change outfits in photos with realistic AI try-ons, making virtual styling and content creation effortless.

🎨 Flowstep – Communicate visually, collect user feedback, and ship faster with fully editable designs built for rapid product iteration.

💬 Engain – Get your brand mentioned on Reddit to drive more leads and sales by tapping into real conversations where buyers already trust recommendations.

🌈 The Color Quiz – Discover your personality blend and learn how to communicate better, lead with more confidence, and build stronger connections.

🚀Quick Shifts

💰 Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest $50B in OpenAI’s next mega-round, a deal that could push OpenAI’s valuation toward $830B and create a striking twist given Amazon’s deep investment ties to Anthropic.

⏳ OpenAI will retire GPT-4o and several GPT-4.1 variants from ChatGPT on February 13, saying only 0.1% of users still select GPT-4o daily after GPT-5’s rollout.

🍏 Apple acquired Israeli AI audio startup Q.ai in a deal reportedly near $2B, bringing back the founder behind Face ID’s PrimeSense era and strengthening Apple’s push into advanced on-device audio intelligence.

💰 Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are reportedly in talks to invest up to $60B combined in OpenAI’s next funding round, potentially pushing its valuation beyond $700B.

🎵 Anthropic is facing a lawsuit from major music companies alleging Claude was trained on over 20,000 songs without permission, with claimed damages exceeding $3B.

🧩 Prompt of the Day

How to Collect High-Quality Beta Testing Feedback Using One Prompt 

Turn scattered tester opinions into structured insights you can use to improve the product before launch.

Paste the prompt: Drop this into ChatGPT, then fill in who your testers are and what you need to learn most.

Prompt to paste

Create a beta testing feedback collection process for [Product]. Include tester criteria (who to recruit), 5 to 7 survey questions focused on usability and value, and a simple feedback analysis plan showing how responses will be prioritized and turned into product improvements. Keep it concise, practical, and action-rea

🤳AI Nugget of the Day

That’s all for today’s edition see you tomorrow as we track down and get you all that matters in the daily AI Shift!

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