In partnership with
December closed with a bang. OpenAI dropped GPT-5.2-Codex for cybersecurity-first coding. Google's Gemini 3 Flash went global. Anthropic donated MCP to the Linux Foundation. The agentic AI era just became an industry standard.
📖 From PromptHacker
4 Groundbreaking Things You Can Do With Gemini Right Now – No matter what you want to do online, Google just made it easier than ever.
⚡ Quick Hits
- → OpenAI launches ChatGPT App Marketplace – developers can now submit third-party apps connecting Apple Music, DoorDash, and productivity tools directly within ChatGPT.
- → Anthropic donates MCP to Agentic AI Foundation – Model Context Protocol becomes open standard under Linux Foundation with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Cisco as founding members.
- → Google Gemini 3 Flash goes global – fastest Gemini model yet becomes default across Gemini app, delivering next-generation intelligence at lightning speed.
- → Salesforce adds 6,000 enterprise customers in Q3 – despite AI bubble concerns, company grew enterprise AI adoption 119% in first half of 2025 with Agentforce platform.
- → Zoom AI Companion joins third-party meetings – can now join Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls to provide summaries and transcripts across platforms.
- → Microsoft 365 Copilot December updates – voice commands, multi-window workflows, and deeper Teams integration rolling out to enterprise customers.
- → AI Cyber Week drives $67B in sales – AI agents influenced 20% of all purchases through personalized recommendations during 2025 holiday shopping.
A big 2026 starts now
Most people treat this stretch of the year as dead time. But builders like you know it’s actually prime time. And with beehiiv powering your content, world domination is truly in sight.
On beehiiv, you can launch your website in minutes with the AI Web Builder, publish a professional newsletter with ease, and even tap into huge earnings with the beehiiv Ad Network. It’s everything you need to create, grow, and monetize in one place.
In fact, we’re so hyped about what you’ll create, we’re giving you 30% off your first three months with code BIG30. So forget about taking a break. It’s time for a break-through.
🚀 Top AI Updates
OpenAI GPT-5.2-Codex: Cybersecurity-First Agentic Coding
OpenAI released GPT-5.2-Codex on December 18, positioning it as their most advanced agentic coding model specifically trained for professional software engineering and defensive cybersecurity. The model proactively suggests security hardening and flags vulnerabilities during code generation and refactoring.
- Performance: 71.8% on SWE-bench Verified (vs 74.2% for Gemini 3 Pro)
- Specialization: Built for long-horizon agentic workflows with enhanced security capabilities
- Availability: ChatGPT Pro and API for enterprise security teams
Why it matters: Security teams can run audits 3-5x faster by catching vulnerabilities at code generation stage rather than in pre-production reviews. Reduces security debt and eliminates entire classes of OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities before they hit production.
Google Gemini 3 Pro Tops SWE-Bench at 74.2%
Google's Gemini 3 Pro, released November 18, achieved the highest SWE-bench score at 74.2% and powers the upgraded Gemini Deep Research agent launched December 11. The new Interactions API enables developers to build custom autonomous research agents that plan, search, synthesize, and verify information across dozens of sources.
- Benchmark: 74.2% SWE-bench, 23.4% on challenging reasoning benchmarks
- New Capability: Interactions API for multi-step autonomous research workflows
- Integration: Powers Gemini Deep Research with context from Gmail, Drive, Chat
Why it matters: Tasks that took analysts 8-12 hours now run in 20-30 minutes. Quality matches or exceeds junior analyst output on competitive research, market analysis, and technical due diligence. API access means enterprises can build custom research agents for their specific workflows.
Agentic AI Foundation Unifies Industry Standards
The Linux Foundation announced the Agentic AI Foundation on December 9, establishing a neutral home for building agentic AI. Anthropic donated the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as the universal standard for connecting AI models to tools, data, and applications. OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, and NVIDIA signed on as founding members.
- Protocol: MCP becomes open standard for AI agent interoperability
- Members: OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Cisco, NVIDIA as founding contributors
- Adoption: Already integrated in Cursor, Windsurf, Claude, and major development tools
Why it matters: MCP eliminates vendor lock-in for AI integrations. One connection works across Claude, GPT, Gemini without rewriting code. Reduces integration development time from days to hours. This is the HTTP of the agentic AI era—it standardizes how all AI agents communicate.
🛠 Pro Tip: Code with Defensive Cybersecurity Built-In
GPT-5.2-Codex isn't just another coding model. It's specifically trained on defensive cybersecurity patterns, meaning it proactively hardens your code against vulnerabilities without you having to explicitly ask. The key is frontloading security requirements in your prompts so the model knows to prioritize OWASP Top 10 defenses from the start.
Example Prompt:
Generate a REST API endpoint in Node.js/Express for user authentication with the following security requirements:
1. OWASP Top 10 defenses (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF)
2. Input validation and sanitization for email and password fields
3. Rate limiting: max 5 login attempts per IP per 15 minutes
4. Parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection
5. bcrypt password hashing with salt rounds of 12
6. JWT tokens with 15-minute expiration
7. Helmet.js security headers
8. HTTPS-only cookies with httpOnly and secure flags
Include inline comments explaining each security measure and potential attack vectors prevented.
Why it matters:
- Security teams can run code audits 3-5x faster because the model catches vulnerabilities at generation stage, not in pre-production security reviews
- Reduces security debt by eliminating entire classes of common vulnerabilities before they hit your codebase, saving weeks of remediation work later
💡 Productivity Gem: Microsoft 365 Copilot Voice Commands
Microsoft's December update adds hands-free Copilot control across Word, Excel, and Teams. Say "Copilot, summarize this document" or "create a pivot table from this data" and watch it execute. Works during Teams meetings for live note-taking, perfect for multitasking scenarios when your hands aren't free.
Setup:
- Enable voice commands in Microsoft 365 settings (Copilot tab)
- Grant microphone permissions for Office apps
- Use wake phrase "Hey Copilot" or keyboard shortcut (Alt+C) to activate
Why it matters: Eliminates the click-type-click workflow during video calls or when reviewing documents. Business productivity boost of 25-30 minutes daily from reduced context switching and hands-free document manipulation.
💡 Productivity Gem: Zoom AI Joins Your Teams/Meet Calls
Enable Zoom AI Companion to join Google Meet or Microsoft Teams meetings even when you can't use Zoom as the host platform. Get Zoom-quality transcripts and summaries regardless of which platform your clients or partners prefer. Consolidates all meeting notes in one place across your fragmented org's meeting stack.
Setup:
- In Zoom settings, enable "AI Companion for third-party meetings"
- Copy the AI Companion bot email address
- Add it as a participant to your Teams or Meet calendar invite
Why it matters: IT teams get one tool for meeting intelligence across platforms. No more toggling between Teams transcripts, Meet notes, and Zoom recordings. Everything centralized in your Zoom workspace regardless of meeting platform.
⚕ AI-Enabled Health Tip: Upload Apple Health CSV to Claude for Pattern Recognition
Claude Opus 4.5 has enhanced data analysis capabilities with a 200K context window that can process months of granular health data simultaneously. Export your Apple Health data as CSV and upload to Claude to identify patterns that humans typically miss.
How to do it:
- Open Apple Health app → profile icon → Export Health Data → wait for zip file
- Upload the CSV to Claude.ai (free account works)
- Ask: "Analyze correlations between my sleep duration, exercise minutes, and resting heart rate over the past 3 months"
What you get: Claude identifies patterns like "Your RHR spikes 15% on days with less than 6 hours sleep even when exercise is consistent" or "Your VO2 max improves most on weeks with 4+ cardio sessions, regardless of duration."
Why it matters: No coding required. Spots health correlations that would take hours of manual spreadsheet work. Helps you understand which lifestyle variables actually move the needle on your fitness metrics. Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only, not medical advice. Always consult healthcare professionals for medical decisions. (But I do use this personally.)
🧠 AI for Kids Tip: Google Read Along for AI-Powered Reading Practice
Google's Read Along app uses AI voice recognition to help kids practice reading aloud with real-time pronunciation help and encouragement. The AI provides immediate feedback without parents having to supervise every minute, making it perfect for building reading fluency in struggling readers.
Key details:
- Age Range: Designed for ages 5-9, particularly helpful for struggling readers
- Safety: Runs entirely on-device (no data sent to cloud), parents control all settings
- Setup: Free app from Google Play/App Store, works offline after initial download
Why it matters: Improves reading fluency through immediate AI feedback, building confidence in young readers. The on-device processing means zero privacy concerns—nothing leaves the device. Parents can review progress without constant supervision, freeing up time while kids get the practice reps they need.
📉 Your Weekly AI Comic Break
Got a workflow that's working for you? Hit reply and share it. I read every response and the best ones make it into future editions.
This space changes fast. Stay curious and keep learning daily!
— Pierre Bradshaw
PromptHacker.ai