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Today in AI, Oct 12: agents move into your text messages

AI agents you run by text, Microsoft's call for an AI off switch, data center backlash, weak consumer sentiment and Delta's lower outlook.

Work for business owners · by Orion Jones

The headline "Agents move into your texts, and Microsoft asks for an off switch" beside two figures: 7,500 plus businesses Szn says use its text-message agent, and consumer sentiment of 46.3.

Today's AI news is about agents that now live in your text messages, while the CEO of Microsoft asks for a way to stop them. Here is the day in pictures, each with its source.

AI agents you run by text message are multiplying

TechCrunch listed more than twenty agents that live in iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram or SMS and book, schedule, shop and make calls for you. Pricing ranges from free tiers to about $25 a month for plans such as Pally and Ollie. TechCrunch also notes that privacy and security concerns have followed the more autonomous ones.

The figure shows the count, the price and one company's own claim about its users.

Two figures: more than 20 agents that live in text threads, and about $25 a month for plans such as Pally and Ollie. Below, a note that Szn, aimed at business calls and email, says more than 7,500 businesses in 16 countries use it, which is the company's own claim.
Two figures: more than 20 agents that live in text threads, and about $25 a month for plans such as Pally and Ollie. Below, a note that Szn, aimed at business calls and email, says more than 7,500 businesses in 16 countries use it, which is the company's own claim.

What it means: A text-message agent is the lowest-effort way to try this, but decide first which accounts and cards you will let it touch.

Microsoft's CEO called for an AI "emergency brake"

In a post on X on Saturday, Satya Nadella said AI models should be kept separate from the software that runs their work, with safeguards outside the model (TechCrunch). He said to assume a model is compromised and contain it from the start.

His three asks are easier to read side by side.

Three things Satya Nadella asked for: keep the model separate from the software that runs its work, tamper-proof readable records of every meaningful model action, and a way for an authorized person to pause or shut a model down mid-task.
Three things Satya Nadella asked for: keep the model separate from the software that runs its work, tamper-proof readable records of every meaningful model action, and a way for an authorized person to pause or shut a model down mid-task.

What it means: It is a good checklist for any agent you deploy: a log of what it did, and a way for a person to stop it.

Opposition to data centers is becoming a midterm issue

CNBC reported that public opposition to data center construction and negative feeling about AI are growing, which could make AI a defining issue in the midterm elections on November 3. One political analyst quoted said the backlash may get worse, not better, after the election.

The figure $5 trillion: what Wall Street expects spending on the AI buildout to top by 2030, with the note that the midterm elections are on November 3.
The figure $5 trillion: what Wall Street expects spending on the AI buildout to top by 2030, with the note that the midterm elections are on November 3.

What it means: If your plans depend on new local AI or data center capacity, expect more public hearings and slower approvals.

Consumer sentiment hit its second lowest reading on record

The University of Michigan sentiment index fell to 46.3 in early October, down 3.7% from September, against 47 expected (CNBC). Households now expect prices to rise 4.7% over the next year, the highest since May. The survey director said lower-income consumers and those with smaller stock portfolios were hit hardest.

The figures 46.3, the second lowest sentiment reading on record, and 4.7%, the price rise households expect over the next year. Two bars drawn from zero on one scale compare the 47 economists expected with the 46.3 actual.
The figures 46.3, the second lowest sentiment reading on record, and 4.7%, the price rise households expect over the next year. Two bars drawn from zero on one scale compare the 47 economists expected with the 46.3 actual.

What it means: Shoppers who feel squeezed trim spending first, so expect price-sensitive customers and plan your promotions around it.

Delta cut its 2026 profit outlook because of fuel prices

Delta reported third-quarter earnings of $1.72 a share on $17.59 billion of revenue, its first miss in two years (CNBC). It now sees 2026 earnings of $5.10 to $5.60 a share, down from $6.50 to $7.50 in July, and pointed to higher fuel prices.

Two bars drawn from zero on one scale: Delta's July outlook of $6.50 to $7.50 a share for 2026, and its new outlook of $5.10 to $5.60, with the note that the third quarter was its first miss in two years.
Two bars drawn from zero on one scale: Delta's July outlook of $6.50 to $7.50 a share for 2026, and its new outlook of $5.10 to $5.60, with the note that the third quarter was its first miss in two years.

What it means: Fuel costs are reaching companies' forecasts, so check how much of your own shipping and travel budget moves with diesel and jet fuel.

Stocks rose on Friday to finish a volatile week higher

The Dow gained 0.83% to 51,654.95, the S&P 500 rose 0.59% to 7,811.54 and the Nasdaq added 0.64% to 27,366.17. Thursday's AI stock sell-off followed reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue was about $20 billion below earlier figures, and oil fell on Friday (CNBC). Long-term Treasury yields are near multi-decade highs and the Middle East remains unsettled, so moves like this can reverse. This is a picture of the day, not investment advice.

A bar chart of Friday's percent changes, all on one scale from the same zero line: Dow up 0.83%, Nasdaq up 0.64%, S&P 500 up 0.59%, and during the session Humana up 12% and Verizon down more than 9%. Not investment advice.
A bar chart of Friday's percent changes, all on one scale from the same zero line: Dow up 0.83%, Nasdaq up 0.64%, S&P 500 up 0.59%, and during the session Humana up 12% and Verizon down more than 9%. Not investment advice.

The pattern

The agents are moving into text messages while the CEO of Microsoft asks for a way to stop them. Households are also feeling squeezed and public patience with data centers is thinning. All three point the same way: AI that acts for you needs a record of what it did and a person who can stop it.

The full issue, with every source, is in today's AI Brief. If you want an agent working in your business with a log and an off switch, book a call below.

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