A newsletter by Ken Yeung

The AI
Economy

A sharp, curated look at the stories that reveal how AI is rewriting business, work, technology, and culture.

Ken Yeung

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What you get

Built for people who work with AI, not just read about it.

Reported, not aggregated

Enterprise AI coverage from a journalist who covered the space before “generative AI” was a mainstream phrase. Sourced, contextual, with a point of view.

Platform strategy focus

Beyond the product announcements. Analysis of how AI is restructuring enterprise workflows, editorial operations, and the economics of content at scale.

Written for practitioners

Not for the hype-chasers. For the people who have to act on it.

Archive

Every issue.

All issues published to date. New issues arrive every week.

Open on Substack ↗
  1. Issue

    HubSpot Buys Dashworks to Power Up Breeze’s Search and Content Tools

    HubSpot is expanding its AI capabilities with the acquisition of Dashworks, a startup known for its AI-powered search and knowledge management tools. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Dashworks team will be integrated to bolster HubSpot’s Breeze offering, specifically in areas such as search and content gathering. “What’s impressive about Dashworks is its simplicity—ask […]
  2. Issue

    ServiceNow Expands Its AI Ambitions With New Apriel Small Language Models

    ServiceNow, the enterprise automation platform, has released a family of small language models called Apriel, available in two variants: a 5B base model and an instruct-tuned version. The company lists that they are designed to handle general-purpose tasks, from answering questions and retrieving information, to content generation, code assistance, reasoning, and creative writing. Both models […]
  3. Issue

    Beyond UX: Why the Future of Tech Is About Creating Interfaces for AI, Not Humans

    IN THIS ISSUE: Unpack all the insights from John Maeda’s Design in Tech 2025 Report, where AI isn’t replacing designers—it’s redefining the entire discipline. From the rise of agents to the shift from UX to AX (Agent Experience), Maeda maps out how design must evolve to meet an AI-augmented world. The Prompt At this year’s […]
  4. Issue

    Americans Worry AI Will Cut Jobs — Just Not Theirs Yet: Quinnipiac

    Is AI helping or hurting society? A new national poll from Quinnipiac University reveals that Americans remain divided on the technology’s impact. Views on AI vary widely across generations, income levels, and education, underscoring the complexity of public perception. Still, there’s one area where consensus emerges: concern over AI’s influence on the youngest generation and […]
  5. Issue

    4 Steps to Building Smarter AI Agents

    IN THIS ISSUE: Dive into Salesforce’s new framework for CIOs, offering advice on how their organizations can effectively harness the power of AI agents. Explore the four steps necessary to develop mature, intelligent, effective bots, and discover how companies can align their AI strategies with business goals. Plus, catch up on the latest from Google […]
  6. Issue

    Ai2’s OLMoTrace Tool Reveals the Origins of AI Model Training Data

    Ai2 has launched a tool to help developers answer a critical question: Where do AI models get their data? Called OLMoTrace, it’s an open-source application offering fact-checking of information provided in prompt replies. This data traceability is vital for those interested in governance, regulation, and auditing. This feature is currently available on Ai2’s flagship model, […]
  7. Issue

    Google Pushes Agent Interoperability With New Dev Kit and Agent2Agent Standard

    Google is doubling down on enterprise AI. At Cloud Next 2025, the company unveiled new cloud capabilities designed to help businesses turn AI potential into real-world impact. That includes the arrival of Gemini 2.5 Flash on the Vertex AI developer platform and upgrades to its generative media models. And, as AI agents begin taking on […]
  8. Issue

    Meta Launches Llama 4 Scout and Maverick, Open-Weight Multimodal Models That Outperform GPT-4 and Gemini

    Meta has released the first two models in its new Llama 4 family, which it claims will power “more personalized multimodal experiences.” On Saturday, the company introduced Llama 4 Scout and Maverick, both with 17 billion active parameters. Their debut follows a report that Meta delayed Llama 4’s launch multiple times after failing to meet […]
  9. Issue

    Microsoft’s Copilot Just Got a Brain Boost—And It’s Ready to Work for You

    IN THIS ISSUE: Microsoft supercharges its Copilot assistant with new capabilities to help it become a companion for all. Is it the bot we’ve been waiting for? Plus, the head of open-source AI proponent Ai2 reacts to OpenAI possibly joining the open-source community. The Prompt Microsoft is ushering in a new era for its Copilot […]
  10. Issue

    Google’s NotebookLM Now Helps You Find Web Sources with ‘Discover’

    Google has launched a new feature for NotebookLM, its AI-powered tool for organizing and analyzing information, that automatically curates relevant websites for you. Called “Discover Sources,” it recommends up to ten relevant sources on a specified topic, each accompanied by an annotated summary explanation. Google said this feature is rolling out today for all users, […]

Peer review

What the AIs say.*

We asked the leading AI tools to weigh in on The AI Economy. Their ratings speak for themselves. (Results may vary depending on training data and general disposition toward newsletters.)

Claude — Anthropic

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“[Its] strength lies in its ability to cover both technical developments and business implications of AI, making it valuable for a wide audience ranging from tech enthusiasts to business executives.”

ChatGPT — OpenAI

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“Expertly combines in-depth interviews and industry analysis, making it a must-read for AI enthusiasts and professionals.”

Gemini — Google

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“Provides valuable insights and analysis, making it a great resource for anyone interested in AI.”

Copilot — Microsoft

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“A sharp, reporter‑caliber intelligence brief for the AI era—fast, authoritative, and genuinely ahead of the curve.”

* Disclaimer: My newsletter has not been actually endorsed by OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic. I solicited reviews from their respective gen AI services. Sounded cool though, huh?

Questions

Common questions.

  1. What is The AI Economy?

    A newsletter covering consumer and enterprise AI, platform strategy, and the companies reshaping how work gets done. Reported, not aggregated — written by a technology journalist who has covered the space since before generative AI was a mainstream phrase.

  2. How often does it publish?

    No fixed schedule—just coverage when something worth your attention happens. Plus, there's a Friday news roundup that's published exclusively on LinkedIn.

  3. Is it free?

    Yes. Every issue is free. Subscribe on Substack and it arrives in your inbox. No paywall, no premium tier. If that changes, subscribers will be notified well in advance.

  4. How is this different from other AI newsletters?

    Most AI newsletters cover product announcements and funding rounds. The AI Economy focuses on the downstream effects: how enterprise teams are actually deploying AI, where the editorial and operational models are breaking down, and what platform-level shifts mean for practitioners making decisions this quarter. It is written for people doing the work, not watching it from the outside.

  5. Where can I read past issues?

    The full archive is listed above on this page. All issues are also available on Substack. The plan is to host the canonical archive here on thelettertwo.com as the publication grows — independent of any platform.

  6. Can I republish or cite content from the newsletter?

    Yes, with attribution. Short excerpts with a link back to the original issue are fine. For longer republication or syndication, reach out via LinkedIn.

The AI Economy

AI Moves Fast. I Separate Signal From Spin.

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