AI Capability Releases: What's New in July 2026
Cheaver's monthly guide to the latest updates from Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini
Introduction
July 2026 delivered a packed month for AI platforms.
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5 and introduced the Reflect dashboard for tracking personal AI usage habits.
OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Work, a productivity-focused product powered by GPT-5.6, and launched a dedicated health experience.
Microsoft Copilot hit a major milestone with over 40 new features, including Vision for screen-aware assistance and multi-model support in Excel.
Google DeepMind released three new Gemini models, including a cybersecurity-focused variant, and expanded Workspace integrations with faster deck generation and macOS voice support.
Claude (Anthropic)
Claude Opus 5
On July 24, 2026, Anthropic released Claude Opus 5, the successor to Opus 4.8. It maintains the same pricing tier at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, while introducing a Fast Mode that runs 2.5x faster at 2x the base cost. Claude Opus 5 is positioned as a thoughtful and proactive model that approaches the intelligence ceiling of Claude Fable 5 at roughly half the cost, giving enterprise users a compelling mid-tier option.
Reflect Dashboard
Anthropic introduced Reflect, a new built-in dashboard accessible at Settings > Reflect. Currently in beta, Reflect gives users a Monthly Recap of the topics they have spent time on and how they tend to work with Claude. The feature requires Memory to be enabled and is designed to help users understand and optimize their own AI habits over time.
Mid-Conversation Tool Changes (Beta)
Anthropic added a new developer capability that allows tools to be added or removed mid-conversation while preserving the prompt cache. This feature is available in beta on Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Opus 4.8, and Claude Opus 5. Automatic safety fallbacks to alternate models and visual output generation for agentic workflows were also released.
MCP 2026-07-28 Specification
Anthropic expanded support for the newly published MCP 2026-07-28 specification. The updated protocol brings a stateless core, stronger OAuth and OIDC authorization, and versioned extensions for Apps and Tasks. New connector features include embedded UI, enterprise-managed authentication, observability tools, and private network tunnels.
Claude Code and Cowork Updates
Claude Code added emoji shortcode autocomplete, clearer transcript write warnings, and tighter controls for subagent budgets and background sessions. Cowork expanded to web and mobile with remote sessions in beta, syncing files and session state across devices.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
ChatGPT Work
On July 9, 2026, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work, a new product powered by GPT-5.6 that pulls context from team tools to turn notes and drafts into finished deliverables. Users can produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, websites, and scheduled tasks from a single interface.
ChatGPT Health
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health for eligible U.S. users 18 and older. The experience lets users connect supported health records and Apple Health data, view a personal health dashboard, and ask questions grounded in their own health context. Available on web and iOS.
ChatGPT for Academic Researchers
OpenAI introduced a dedicated workspace offer for eligible faculty and postdoctoral researchers, providing 12 months of complimentary access to ChatGPT for a small, verified team.
Voice Powered by GPT-Live
ChatGPT Voice was rebuilt on GPT-Live and integrated into the desktop app across Chat, Work, and Codex. Users can speak naturally, interrupt mid-sentence, and ask Voice to initiate or coordinate tasks using the full tool set available in whichever experience they are working in.
GPT-5.6 Pricing Reductions and Fast Mode
OpenAI reduced prices for GPT-5.6 Luna and Terra and added Fast Mode for GPT-5.6 Sol. As of July 30, 2026, Terra is priced at $2/$12 per million input/output tokens, and Luna at $0.20/$1.20 per million input/output tokens.
Atlas Deprecation
OpenAI announced the deprecation of Atlas, its browser-based agentic product, scheduled to stop working August 9, 2026. Its capabilities are being folded into ChatGPT and Codex.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot Cowork: General Availability
Microsoft's Copilot Cowork feature reached general availability in July 2026 after a public preview in June. It enables collaborative AI-assisted work sessions within Microsoft 365, allowing teams to work alongside Copilot in a shared context.
Vision in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Vision brings screen-aware AI assistance to Copilot. Users can show Copilot a dashboard, document, image, error message, or real-world object through their screen or phone camera and ask questions in a natural voice conversation. Copilot combines visual context with work and web context to explain, surface insights, and guide next steps.
Excel Copilot: Multi-Model Support and New Skills
Copilot in Excel now supports two frontier models: OpenAI's GPT-5.6 and Anthropic's Claude Opus 5 — one of the first instances of Claude embedded inside a Microsoft product. Additional enhancements include inline citations, synced connectors, Power BI grounding, brand and theme design skills, and support for workbooks with AutoSave turned off.
Agent Publishing and Governance
Customers can now submit agents built in Agent Builder for admin review and approval in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center before they reach the Agent Store. This gives enterprises a controlled path to deploying custom AI agents at scale without bypassing IT oversight.
Copilot Notebooks: Export to Office Formats
Copilot Notebooks gained the ability to export notes directly into Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint decks, eliminating the copy-paste step between thinking tools and output tools.
Google Gemini
Three New Models: Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber
On July 21, 2026, Google DeepMind released three new models. Gemini 3.6 Flash improves coding, knowledge work, and multimodal performance while reducing token usage by up to 17%. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the most cost-effective Flash model. Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber is a fine-tuned specialist built for finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Deck Generation in Google Slides
Users can now describe the presentation they need, reference an existing deck for brand style, and Gemini generates a complete presentation. This compresses hours of manual slide-building into a single prompt.
Gemini in Google Docs: 11 Additional Languages
Google expanded Gemini-powered document creation and editing in Google Docs to 11 more languages, broadening global access to AI-assisted writing within Workspace.
Omni Video Generation in Google Vids
Gemini Omni was added to Google Vids, enabling higher-quality video generation and text-based video editing. Users can improve realism, text rendering, and physics, change style and color grading, and remove background noise through natural language instructions.
macOS Voice Input for Gemini
The Gemini app added the ability to speak to Gemini on macOS to create, edit, and summarize content in any active window, turning Gemini into an ambient assistant across the macOS environment.
Personal Avatar Creation
Gemini users can create a personal avatar once and use it across AI-generated content without re-uploading their image each time, reducing friction for content creators who want consistent personal branding.
Gemini for Home: Extended Memory and Expanded Device Support
The conversational memory window across Gemini for Home was extended to 15 minutes. Gemini Live was also brought to the first-generation Google Home Mini and Nest Hub.
What Does This Mean for Users?
You Can Now Get AI Help Based on What Is on Your Screen
With Microsoft Vision in Copilot, you can point your screen or camera at anything and ask questions out loud. If you are looking at a confusing dashboard, an error message, or a printed document, Copilot can now see what you see and help you figure it out.
Presentations and Spreadsheets Can Be Generated in Seconds
Both Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot now offer AI-powered presentation generation. In Google Slides, describe what you need and reference a deck for style; Gemini builds it. In Copilot Notebooks, capture ideas and push them directly into a PowerPoint, Word doc, or Excel sheet.
AI Can Work With Your Health Data
ChatGPT Health allows eligible U.S. users to connect real health records and Apple Health data and ask personalized health questions. While not a replacement for professional medical advice, it gives users a more relevant starting point for health-related research.
Enterprise Teams Have More Controlled Ways to Deploy AI Agents
Microsoft's Agent Publishing and Governance workflow gives IT administrators oversight over which agents can be deployed across an organization. There is now an approval process before any agent reaches the Agent Store — an important guardrail for security and compliance.
Multi-Model Access Is Coming to Everyday Tools
For the first time, Microsoft Excel Copilot supports both GPT-5.6 and Claude Opus 5. This signals a broader trend toward AI model selection becoming a feature of enterprise software rather than a developer-only concern.
Voice Is Becoming a Full Task Coordinator, Not Just a Dictation Tool
OpenAI's Voice powered by GPT-Live can now initiate tasks, coordinate between tools, and complete work based on spoken instructions. For users who find typing inefficient during high-volume work periods, this opens up entirely new interaction patterns.
AI Security Tools Are Becoming Accessible Outside the Security Team
Google's Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber model, fine-tuned for finding and fixing security vulnerabilities, suggests that cybersecurity-focused AI capabilities will soon move out of specialized platforms and into general-purpose tools — a meaningful shift for small and mid-sized businesses.
Did any of these updates catch your attention? Leave a comment below to share how you are using AI in your business this month, or subscribe to get this roundup delivered to your inbox every month.
Sources
Anthropic Release Notes - July 2026: https://releasebot.io/updates/anthropic
Claude Updates - July 2026: https://releasebot.io/updates/anthropic/claude
TechCrunch - Anthropic's new Claude feature: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/anthropics-new-claude-feature-is-quietly-selling-you-on-ai/
ChatGPT Release Notes: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes
ChatGPT New Features July 2026 (AI Business Weekly): https://aibusinessweekly.net/p/chatgpt-new-features-2026
Microsoft Copilot July 2026 (A Guide to Cloud & AI): https://www.aguidetocloud.com/blog/microsoft-365-copilot-july-2026-updates/
Google releases three new Gemini models (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/21/google-releases-three-new-gemini-models-but-no-3-5-pro/
Gemini Drop July 2026 (Google Blog): https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/gemini/gemini-drop-july-2026/
July 2026 Workspace update (Google Workspace Blog): https://workspace.google.com/blog/product-announcements/july-2026-workspace-feature-drop
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