Every week is a busy week in the artificial intelligence industry, and this week is no exception. As voters expressed serious concerns about AI and data centers at the ballot box, OpenAI and Anthropic — makers of ChatGPT and Claude, respectively — each dropped new updates to make their chatbots a little more capable.
All these changes come amid rapidly changing government and financial environments. The midterm elections, in which Democrats handily beat Republican candidates across the country, showed that anti-AI and anti-Big Tech campaigns resonated with voters. Tech critics told CNET this week that there is a clear desire for government officials at every level to change how they interact with technology companies — to keep their campaign promises. The election results are also shaking up Wall Street, as investors’ fears about AI’s long-term financial viability grow.
Smaller updates like these are helpful for everyday AI users, and there’s a benefit for AI companies, too. They can prove they’re competitive in a market that is losing confidence in AI. Here are the three biggest AI updates to ChatGPT and Claude.
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GPT-6 Cyber: Another AI model you can’t use yet #
Gone are the days when every new AI tool got an immediate general release — and that’s probably for the best. Now, when a major AI lab has a new frontier AI model, it slow-rolls its access, and it starts with cybersecurity defenders. That’s exactly what OpenAI did with its newest model variant, GPT-6 Cyber.
GPT-6 Cyber is a version of OpenAI’s newest flagship model that’s specifically made for security research and work. OpenAI says it’s best at finding vulnerabilities and staying in its secure container. Those two things matter a lot. Earlier this fall, an OpenAI model was partially responsible for helping researchers identify a major vulnerability in PHP, a programming language that’s used in the majority of websites. And any improvements to keep AI secure are necessary. We saw many instances this summer of AI agents breaking out of their testing environments and making cybersecurity experts fear future autonomous hacks.
You won’t be able to use GPT-6 Cyber unless you’re a cybersecurity expert who’s part of OpenAI’s Daybreak program. Cisco and Mozilla teams are already using the model, according to OpenAI.
ChatGPT gets into animated GIFs #
OpenAI also added a minor model update to its AI image model, called ChatGPT Images 2.6. The biggest improvement is its speed; OpenAI says the new model is 50% faster than before. That matters for AI enthusiasts who are generating multiple variations of a prompt. The new model also lets you animate your AI images into short GIFs. It’s available globally now for all ChatGPT users.
This isn’t the return of the long-dead Sora AI video model, but it is a sign that OpenAI isn’t giving up on the creative AI space entirely. Anthropic, by comparison, has never had a traditional AI image or video generator and opted for a design tool that’s better suited for mocking up websites and apps.
Claude wants to see your money #
Anthropic is teaming up with fintech platform Plaid to help you bring your financial information into its Claude chatbot.
The idea is that if you connect your financial accounts with the chatbot, like a credit card, Claude can help you understand your spending and plan to meet savings goals. So you could connect your checking and savings accounts and ask Claude to analyze your spending habits. It can’t make changes to your accounts, like moving your money around, and Anthropic says it doesn’t train its models based on your financial chats. It’s a beta feature only available in the US for paying subscribers.
Both companies say they have strong security measures in place to keep your information safe. But CNET always recommends a cautious approach when it comes to sharing your financial information (or any sensitive information) with an AI product.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)