Daily roundup

AI agent news for small business: 9 November 2026

Garry Tan's open tests find agent tools tie on results but not on cost, Apple eyes an agent-style Siri, and LG opens a free agent-ready model.

1. Garry Tan's open-source tests: swapping the agent tool barely changed results, but cost about doubled on one

   Y Combinator's Garry Tan kept the AI model and 20 public coding tasks fixed and swapped only the harness, meaning the software wrapper around the model. Pass rates landed between about 71% and 79% and could not be told apart, while cost per solved task on the same model ran from $0.19 to $0.44, so before paying for a pricier agent tool, compare cost and speed on a few of your own tasks.

   Source: Garry Tan (g-harness-evals on GitHub). Related guide: How much does an AI agent cost per month?.

2. Apple could make Siri more like an agent as early as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports

   Gurman wrote that Apple wants Siri to keep track of goals and carry on with tasks without being told every step, the way agents like Dots and Muse do. It is a report, not an Apple announcement, so don't plan around it yet, but if your customers book or buy through iPhone apps, phone assistants doing that for them is getting closer.

   Source: 9to5Mac. Related guide: What is an AI agent?.

3. LG AI Research opens its K-EXAONE 2.5 model free of charge through an API

   Starting Monday, developers, startups and companies can use the model at no cost with an API key (an access code for software), and LG says it scores close to leading open models on agent tasks like using business software and browsing. A free model can cut the cost of a test agent, but read the terms on what happens to the data you send before you use it with customer information.

   Source: The Korea Times. Related guide: How to choose an AI agent platform.

4. "I want to use my AI assistant on your website": Rob Miles's post strikes a nerve

   AI researcher Rob Miles told companies he never wants to use their AI assistant on their website, he wants to use his own, and the post drew about 7,800 likes. If you run a website, keep prices, hours, policies and booking steps in plain, readable text so a visitor's own assistant can find them, instead of locking them behind your chatbot.

   Source: Rob Miles on X. Related guide: Agentic commerce explained.

5. Pinterest's AI-tool rules become part of its terms on November 12, with account loss as a penalty

   From November 12, breaking any of Pinterest's 17 banned uses of its AI tools, such as impersonation, misleading content or scraping, can cost you the AI features or your whole account, and Pinterest says staff may review what you type into those tools. If you market on Pinterest with its AI image or ad tools, skim the list this week.

   Source: PPC Land.

6. Animoca Brands names Yat Siu CEO and centers the company on AI agents that transact for people

   From December 1, co-founder Yat Siu becomes CEO, and the company says it is building the identity, permissions and payment pieces that let AI agents act and pay on someone's behalf, alongside its personal agent platform Minds. Agent payments are still early, so if any tool asks to let an agent spend for you, start with a small hard cap.

   Source: Animoca Brands. Related guide: Agent spend caps.

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