Hi tech & AI enthusiasts, this week's highlights:
OpenAI Launches Codex App for Everyone (Including Free Users)
Claude Lands in Excel for All Pro Users
Google Offers Free SAT Practice Tests in Gemini
Plus: Qwen3-TTS Voice AI, Home Depot Material Builder, Clawdbot Goes Viral
The Lab: How to Use Claude in Excel
AI Image of the Week: Mid-century modern Japanese interior
Let’s get into it.
▲ AI CODING
OpenAI released a new macOS app called Codex
OpenAI released a new macOS app called Codex and made it free for everyone to try. It's basically ChatGPT for coding. You can run multiple AI coding assistants at once, and they won't mess up each other's work.
What you need to know
Now free for limited time: Previously cost $20-45/month. OpenAI is giving it away free temporarily to get people using it. If you have developers or work with technical teams, they can test it now without budget approval.
Connects to your tools: Works with Figma for design files, deploys straight to websites, and handles project management tasks. Your dev team stays in their workflow instead of switching between apps.
Plan before building: You can draft out what you want before the AI writes any code. Helps avoid wasted time building the wrong thing.
Key Ideas
▲ Why it matters: If you work with developers or agencies, their costs just dropped. Tasks that used to require hiring extra developers can now be handled by AI. That means faster turnarounds on website updates, landing pages, and technical projects. It also means you can test advanced AI tools without committing budget or even start building yourself.
▲ AI PRODUCTIVITY
Claude understands your entire workbook
Anthropic opened Claude in Excel to everyone with a Pro subscription. No more waitlist. If you work with spreadsheets, you can now ask Claude to analyse data, fix errors, and build reports directly in Excel. Written tutorial here.
What you need to know
Fixes broken formulas instantly: That #REF! error you've been ignoring? Ask Claude what's wrong and it explains the problem and fixes it. Works across multiple sheets.
Analyses complex spreadsheets: Point Claude at a multi-tab budget or campaign report. It reads everything and explains what the numbers mean in plain language.
Builds reports and models: Need a pivot table or financial forecast? Tell Claude what you want and it builds it from your data. Saves hours of manual work.
Key Idea
▲ Why it matters: If you spend time wrestling with spreadsheets, Claude just became your analyst. Campaign performance reports that take hours to build? Done in minutes. This is useful for anyone who touches Excel regularly - marketers tracking campaigns, finance teams building forecasts, anyone who needs insights from data without the tedious work.
▲ AI EDUCATION
Google partnered with The Princeton Review to offer free SAT practice tests in Gemini. Students can take full-length exams, get instant scoring, and receive study plans. No paid subscription required.
What you need to know
Complete tests with immediate results: Take a full SAT practice exam in Gemini. Get your score instantly with explanations for every question. See exactly where you need to improve.
Custom study plans created automatically: Gemini looks at your weak areas and builds a study schedule targeting those specific gaps. Personalised for each student.
Completely free: Anyone with a Google account can use it. Just type "I want to take a practice SAT test" in Gemini.
Key Idea
▲ Why it matters: SAT prep courses cost $300-3,000. Google just made that free. For everyone else, it's interesting because Google is capturing millions of students before they enter the workforce. Get them using Gemini for SAT prep, and they'll keep using it in college and careers. Smart long-term play.
▲ EVEN MORE NEWS
Other big ideas from the past week.
ClawdBot is now called OpenClaw
▲ Qwen3-TTS launch: Alibaba released Qwen3-TTS in January 2026, an open-source text-to-speech model supporting 10 languages with voice cloning capabilities. The 1.7B parameter flagship model runs locally under Apache 2.0 license.
▲ Home Depot Material Builder: Home Depot launched Material List Builder AI on January 26 for contractors. The tool generates complete project material lists within minutes, suggesting missed items and grouping by category.
▲ OpenClaw goes viral: Open-source AI assistant OpenClaw jumped from 5,000 to 150,000 GitHub stars in days. It runs locally on any device and connects to Telegram, Slack, Discord, and other platforms. Full tutorial coming next week.
The Lab
▲ AI EDUCATION
How to Get Started With Claude Cowork
Claude in Excel reads complex multi-tab workbooks, explains calculations with cell-level citations, and helps you build financial models without switching tools. Now available to all Pro users.
What you'll learn:
How to set up Claude in Excel and access the sidebar chat
How to analyse multi-tab workbooks and trace formula dependencies
How to fix common errors like #REF! and #VALUE! with Claude's help
Real-world use cases for finance teams, analysts, and marketers
🔬 Interested in learning about AI for business? Join The Lab waitlist.
▲ AI IMAGE SHOWCASE
Create this type of image with Midjourney
Mid-century modern interior inspired by traditional Japanese domestic space
Mid-century modern interior inspired by traditional Japanese domestic space, tatami flooring, natural light streaming through shoji screens from behind, minimal elements, single large, healthy green plant with subtle yellow tones, plant should be vibrant and visually prominent, 35mm Leica analog photography style, soft shadows, subtle shadow of a person cast on floor from backlighting, realistic textures, calm and airy, minimalism, carefully composed interior photography, high-quality photographImage Usage Suggestion: Interior design portfolios, architecture firm presentations, wellness brand marketing, mindfulness app imagery, real estate staging concepts
💌 Reply to this email with your AI image generation or suggestion of what you’d like to see and I'll feature it in a future newsletter.
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Thanks for reading, until next time.
Stay curious,
Matt Lok, Editor
Brought to you by Metalabs. Digital marketing consulting specialising in AI.