Investors predict AI is coming for labor in 2026

✨TodayOnAI’s Daily Drop

• Investors predict AI is coming for labor in 2026

• Amazon Expands Alexa+ to Compete with App Stores

• Lemon Slice nabs $10.5M from YC and Matrix to build out its digital avatar tech

• 💬 Let’s Fix This Prompt

• 🧰 Today’s AI Toolbox Pick

AI News

Investors predict AI is coming for labor in 2026

🚀 TodayOnAI Insight: AI’s impact on the workforce is becoming unavoidable. A growing chorus of venture capitalists and researchers warn that 2026 may mark a tipping point, as AI begins to automate not just tasks—but entire jobs—across the enterprise sector.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• A recent MIT study estimates 11.7% of jobs could already be automated by AI, particularly entry-level roles.

• VCs from firms like Hustle Fund, Sapphire, and Battery Ventures expect workforce reductions as companies shift budgets from labor to AI.

• “2026 will be the year of agents,” said Battery’s Jason Mendel, noting a move from augmenting workers to replacing them in some areas.

• Some companies may use AI as a justification for layoffs, regardless of true readiness or integration success.

• While AI advocates frame the tech as enabling higher-skilled work, skepticism remains as job displacement concerns intensify.

💡 Why This Stands Out: This is more than automation—it’s a strategic realignment of enterprise priorities. As AI matures from a productivity tool into a workforce disruptor, executives will face difficult decisions and accountability pressures. Will AI truly elevate the labor market—or become a convenient scapegoat for cost-cutting?

Amazon

Amazon Expands Alexa+ to Compete with App Stores

🚀 TodayOnAI Insight: Amazon is expanding Alexa+ with integrations for Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp, pushing its AI assistant closer to becoming a full-service digital concierge. The move signals Amazon’s intent to position Alexa+ as a serious alternative to mobile apps for everyday services.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• Expanded functionality: Alexa+ users will soon be able to book hotels, schedule salon appointments, and request home service quotes via Angi, Expedia, Square, and Yelp.

• Conversational AI interface: Users can engage in multi-step, natural language conversations to refine requests—e.g., asking for pet-friendly hotels in Chicago.

• Launch timeline: These integrations are set to roll out in 2026.

• Existing ecosystem: Alexa+ already works with OpenTable, Uber, Ticketmaster, Suno, Thumbtack, and Fodor.

• User behavior insights: Amazon notes strong early engagement with service-focused partners like Thumbtack and Vagaro.

💡 Why This Stands Out: The battle to turn AI assistants into app platforms is heating up, with Amazon, OpenAI, and others racing to redefine how users interact with digital services. Alexa+ is Amazon’s bet that voice-based, AI-driven workflows can replace—or at least compete with—traditional app usage. The challenge now isn’t technical capability, but user adoption: will consumers shift from tapping apps to talking to AI?

Lemon Slice

Lemon Slice nabs $10.5M from YC and Matrix to build out its digital avatar tech

🚀 TodayOnAI Insight: Lemon Slice has introduced Lemon Slice-2, a diffusion-based model that generates real-time digital avatars from a single image, adding a video layer to AI chat interfaces. The model aims to elevate avatars from stiff novelties to expressive, customizable agents in live conversations.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• Lemon Slice-2 is a 20B-parameter diffusion model that streams avatars at 20 FPS using a single GPU.

• Avatars are built from one image and layered on top of an AI knowledge base for use cases like customer service, tutoring, and mental health support.

• The platform offers an embeddable widget and API for easy integration with just one line of code.

• Avatars are fully editable post-creation — including background, style, and character design.

• Supports both human and non-human avatars, with voices powered by ElevenLabs.

💡 Why This Stands Out: Lemon Slice is betting that video-native AI agents will unlock more engaging, emotionally resonant user experiences. By making avatar generation efficient and visually dynamic, the company addresses a key friction point in current solutions: the uncanny valley. As AI interfaces evolve, could expressive avatars become the new standard for digital interaction?

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🧰 Today’s AI Toolbox Pick

• 🍋LemonSqueezy (Finance Tool): An AI-powered stock picker that makes smart data-driven investment decisions to boost your portfolios.

• 🧻Softr (Apps Tool): Creates stunning websites in seconds.

• 📈Danelfin (Finance Tool): An all-in-one content creation platform that allows you to craft your content effortlessly and streamline your workflow.