ChatGPT Projects Go Free, Branching Lands. Big NoteBookLM Update | This week in AI

OpenAI takes the week. Projects go free (with bigger file limits), project-only memory lands, and Branching finally becomes a first-class feature. Google ships NotebookLM Audio Overview modes (deep dive / critique / debate) and an on-device embedding model. xAI pushes Grok with PDF mark-and-explain, code cadence, talking videos, and Kids Mode. Anthropic news and Claude upgrades round it out. Here’s the fast breakdown.

What you’ll learn (quick payoff)

How project-only memory changes context control in ChatGPT

Where to find Branching in any reply (and why it matters)

NotebookLM’s new Audio Overview options for studying long docs

What’s new across Grok (PDFs, videos that “talk,” Kids Mode)

Timestamps / Chapters

00:00 – This week’s winner: OpenAI
00:36 – ChatGPT Projects update (free tier, file limits, icons/colors)
01:20 – Project-only memory: how to toggle it (new projects only)
02:30 – Branching: start a new chat from any message (incl. past replies)
03:01 – OpenAI: hallucination research + “certified for workers” (in progress)
03:39 – NotebookLM update: why Audio Overview is so useful
04:01 – Audio Overview modes: Deep Dive / Critique / Debate
04:33 – Embedding Gamma: open, on-device embedding model (for devs)
05:05 – DeepMind paper buzz: better observing extreme space events (context)
05:43 – Anthropic funding headlines + Claude can reference past chats (Pro)
06:35 – xAI Grok: upload a PDF, highlight text, ask for an explanation
07:25 – Grok code ships: rapid cadence notes
07:36 – Grok videos can talk (customize + re-animate)
08:09 – Grok Kids Mode (PIN-locked; on paid tier)
08:55 – Outro + call for which company to feature next week