Editorial
When Not to Use an AI Writing Tool
Readers have learnt to spot AI filler, and they mark down whoever sent it. Here is where AI drafting costs an Australian business trust, where it is fine, and a three-question test to tell the difference.
The End of the $20-a-Month Era: AI Pricing Is Splitting in Two for Australians
For three years, US$20 a month bought the best AI on the market. In June 2026 that deal died. By October the meter had reached even the free, private, run-it-yourself tools. Here's how an Australian business should pay for AI now.
The Australian Gap: Two-Thirds of AI Tools Score 2 Out of 5 for Australians
We hand-scored 662 AI tools on Australian Fit, and 439 of them score 2 out of 5 or lower. The gap lands on the globally traded software categories, and barely touches the ones with local vendors.
AI in May 2026: the office tools grew agents — and meters
Notion 3.5, Atlassian Team '26, Linear Code Intelligence, ClickUp Brain² — May was when workspace AI matured, and the free agent trials began to meter.
AI in March 2026: Anthropic lands in Sydney, ChatGPT brings ads
A Sydney office for Anthropic, ads on ChatGPT in Australia, Claude inside Microsoft Copilot — March was the month the AU market got real attention, good and bad.
AI in June 2026: Gemini cuts AU prices, Anthropic ships Fable 5
A 36% Gemini price cut in Australia, the Mythos-class Claude Fable 5, and Copilot's usage-based billing going live — June moved prices in our favour and the frontier up again.
AI in January 2026: the month Australia got a price tag
ChatGPT Go, Google AI Plus in AUD, Claude Cowork, Replit Mobile Apps — January was the month Australia stopped being billed as an afterthought.
AI in February 2026: agents arrive and the models leap
Claude 4.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Perplexity Computer, Notion Custom Agents — February was a wall of frontier models and the first serious agents.
AI in April 2026: the month the billing fine print changed
ChatGPT Business price cut, GitHub Copilot's usage-based billing and data-training change, Claude Opus 4.7 — April was the month to read the fine print.
What changed in AI for Australians — the first half of 2026
Australia stopped being an afterthought, the free tier got cheaper and got ads, and 'AI that does things' became standard. Six months of change, read through an Australian lens.
What Australian Small Businesses Keep Getting Wrong About AI in 2026
After a year of reviewing AI tools for Australians, the same five mistakes come up again and again. None of them are about the technology.
The End of the $20-a-Month Era: AI Pricing Is Splitting in Two for Australians
For three years, US$20 a month bought you the best AI on the market — flat, unlimited, simple. In June 2026 that deal quietly died. Here's what replaced it, and how an Australian business should pay for AI now.