Saying no is a founder’s growth hack. It cuts the noise so the right yes gets daylight. Today’s roundup keeps it tight: who’s winning in consumer AI, how Perplexity pays publishers, xAI’s legal push, and a free summit to tune into.
In Today’s AI Simplified:
Founder’s Insight: Being an entrepreneur is like being a kid in a candy store—there’s always something shiny and new calling out. But chasing every idea leads to going in circles. The ultimate superpower? Saying “no” to yourself when necessary. Those hard “no’s” clear the path for focus and make room for the most powerful “yes.”
AI News: Google’s Gemini leads on web and mobile, Grok exceeds 20M monthly users, and China-based apps dominate niche categories. Meanwhile, Perplexity launches Comet Plus, sharing 80% of subscription revenue with publishers, and Elon Musk’s xAI sues Apple and OpenAI over anti-competitive practices.
AI Spotlights: This week’s tool of the week is Lindy.ai, a no-code AI agent platform for building and deploying custom agents across industries. In social buzz, Alexandr Wang, CEO of Meta AI, partners with Midjourney, highlighting technical and aesthetic excellence. Looking ahead, the upcoming Global AI Summit will bring together leading experts to discuss breakthroughs in AI, explore emerging trends, and share strategies for applying AI across industries.
Being an entrepreneur is like being a kid in a candy store.
There’s always something new, shiny, and exciting calling out to you. For me, that’s the future—dreaming up new features, crazy growth hacks, or even whole new businesses. The future is where the fun is! Everything shiny feels brighter than the work I’m doing today.
But here’s the kicker: if you chase every shiny thing, you’ll end up going in circles.
That’s why the ultimate superpower of an entrepreneur is being the NoMan (or NoWoman, let’s be fair).
Every single day, I have to fight the urge to say yes to all the ideas that pop into my head. Nope, not today, new project. Sorry, thrilling side quest. Even when my brain is doing cartwheels, screaming, “This one’s different! This is the one!” I have to stick to my guns and focus.
The hardest “no” I ever gave wasn’t to a coworker or a friend. It was to myself. Telling my own brain, “No, buddy, not today,” felt like grounding an overexcited puppy. Painful, but necessary.
And here’s the twist: that big fat “no” turned out to be freeing. It cleared the way to focus on what actually mattered—and that’s when the magic happens.
So, to anyone out there chasing big dreams: remember, saying no isn’t giving up. It’s doubling down on what’s most important. Sometimes, the most powerful “yes” hides behind a very firm “no.”
1. The Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps
The latest Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps ranking was released reflecting two and a half years of data on how everyday AI usage is evolving. The fifth edition shows signs of a stabilizing ecosystem, with fewer new entrants compared to earlier lists—11 on web and 14 on mobile.
Key Highlights:
Google’s Expansion: Google added four distinct products to the web list, now tracked individually. Gemini ranked #2 behind ChatGPT, while AI Studio debuted in the top 10, NotebookLM reached #13, and Google Labs landed at #39. On mobile, Gemini also ranked #2, with strong adoption on Android.
Grok’s Surge: X’s Grok climbed to #4 on web and #23 on mobile, boosted by the launch of Grok 4 and companion avatars in July 2025. The app now has over 20M monthly active users.
Meta’s Slower Start: Meta AI entered the web list at #46 but missed the mobile rankings. Growth has been muted following its May launch and an early misstep related to content visibility.
China’s Strong Presence: Three China-based products—Quark (#9), Doubao (#12), and Kimi (#17)—ranked in the web top 20. Overall, Chinese-developed apps make up a significant share of the list, especially in video and photo categories.
Vibe Coding Momentum: Platforms like Lovable (#22) and Replit entered the rankings, reflecting sustained user engagement and spend in AI-powered coding and app generation.
All Stars: Fourteen companies have appeared in every edition of the list, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Midjourney, Leonardo, Character AI, Eleven Labs, Quillbot, and Hugging Face.
Perplexity is introducing a new subscription model, Comet Plus, designed to compensate publishers when their content is used across its AI-powered browser. Backed by a $42.5 million pool, the program allows publishers to earn revenue not only from direct visits and indexed traffic, but also from AI agent usage — a category that has previously gone uncompensated.
Under the model, Perplexity keeps 20 percent of subscription revenue while the remaining 80 percent is distributed among publishers in its program, which includes outlets such as Time, Fortune, The Independent, Der Spiegel, Gannett, and Blavity. Payouts are based on three factors: direct browsing traffic, citations in Comet search answers, and content leveraged by Comet’s AI assistant.
Jessica Chan, Perplexity’s head of publisher partnerships, said the approach was built on feedback from publishers already in its ad revenue share program. “Perplexity only succeeds if journalism succeeds. We’re really committed to building and funding more sustainable, thriving news ecosystems for the AI age,” she told Digiday.
While checks have already gone out to publishers, Perplexity declined to disclose specific revenue figures or user numbers for Comet. The initiative comes as AI companies face increasing scrutiny over how they source and compensate content creators, with Perplexity positioning Comet Plus as a way to align incentives more directly with the publishing industry.
Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of colluding to block rivals in the smartphone and generative AI markets. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Texas, claims Apple deprioritizes competitors like xAI’s X and Grok in the App Store while giving preferential treatment to OpenAI. Musk’s team argues that Apple’s deep integration of ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs amounts to anticompetitive conduct that strengthens Apple’s hold on smartphones and OpenAI’s lead in AI chatbots.
Both companies pushed back. OpenAI dismissed the lawsuit as “Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” while Apple insisted the App Store remains fair, pointing to challengers like DeepSeek and Perplexity that have reached the top rankings. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman countered that Musk himself has used X to manipulate visibility for his own products.
This clash is the latest escalation in Musk’s long-running feud with OpenAI, the company he co-founded in 2015 and left in 2018. It also highlights the growing battle over who controls distribution in the AI era—platform giants like Apple or emerging rivals like xAI.
Lindy.ai is an AI platform designed to make automation more accessible. Users can create AI agents without coding, enabling businesses to manage tasks automatically and improve operational efficiency. The platform’s interface and functionality allow teams to deploy agents quickly, integrate them with existing systems, and tailor solutions to specific workflows.
Key Features
Custom AI Agents: Build agents for tasks such as customer support or medical scribing, tailored to specific needs.
No-Code Platform: Enables non-technical users to develop AI solutions independently.
Seamless Integration: Connect agents with existing systems for smooth workflow adoption.
Quick Deployment: Create and launch AI agents efficiently to save time and resources.
Versatile Applications: Supports a range of industries and use cases, helping teams streamline repetitive tasks.
Alexandr Wang, CEO of Meta’s AI division, announced a new collaboration with Midjourney, highlighting the company’s commitment to working with top partners in the industry. In a series of posts, he praised Midjourney’s “technical and aesthetic excellence” and emphasized that delivering the best AI products will require a broad strategy—combining world-class talent, ambitious compute infrastructure, and collaborations with leading players.
Wang noted that the partnership reflects Meta’s “all-of-the-above” approach to AI development and hinted that more updates will be shared soon.
AI Event Pick
Global AI Summit
📅 September 24-25
The Washington Post is hosting its inaugural Global AI Summit in New York. The event will bring together leaders from technology, academia, government, and civil society to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping business, education, health, the workforce, and broader society.
Speakers include Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Manas AI; Siddhartha Mukherjee, co-founder and CEO of Manas AI; Father Paolo Benanti, AI consulter to the Pontifical Academy for Life and professor at Luiss Guido Carli University; Kate Kallot, CEO and founder of Amini, etc,
The summit will explore the opportunities and risks of AI on a global scale, with a focus on shaping policies and practices that balance innovation with responsibility.
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