Adobe plugs AI in Acrobat to turn boring PDFs into workspaces: What's new

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 7, 2026 | Technology

Adobe has introduced AI-powered features for Acrobat that change how people create, share, and interact with PDFs. The company has launched a new productivity agent along with upgraded PDF Spaces tools that allow users to turn regular PDFs into shareable AI-powered workspaces with summaries, audio overviews, and customised AI assistants.

As part of Adobe’s broader push into AI productivity tools, the update allows users to combine PDFs, notes, links, and documents into one interactive workspace for research, collaboration, and content creation.

The new features are now available through Acrobat AI plans and the recently launched Acrobat Express Studio.

What is Adobe’s productivity agent?

According to Adobe, the new productivity agent combines Acrobat’s document intelligence with AI tools to help users understand and organise information more easily. It can generate text, presentations, podcasts, social posts, and even edit PDFs through conversational prompts.

Adobe noted that the productivity agent is part of a larger AI strategy focused on changing how people work.

The tool is designed to work with Adobe’s own AI systems as well as third-party AI agents, helping users manage documents, data, and tasks more efficiently across different platforms and workflows.

The agent works inside PDF Spaces, an AI-powered workspace where users can combine PDFs, notes, and web links into one place for research, collaboration, and content creation.

New sharing tools in PDF Spaces

With the latest update, users can create shareable experiences instead of simply sending PDF files.

Adobe noted that the system can automatically generate titles, summaries, and audio overviews for shared documents.

Users can also rearrange files, add context, and customise an AI assistant that answers questions related to the shared content.

Additionally, the company stated that shared PDF Spaces can update automatically when documents are changed, ensuring recipients always access the latest information.

The platform also allows users to:

Create a personalised space: Combine PDFs, documents, links, and notes in one place. The AI agent organises the workspace automatically, while users can add context, structure, and multimedia content. Shared spaces also update automatically whenever files are changed.

Customise an AI assistant: Users can tailor the AI assistant based on their audience and goals, allowing it to answer questions, provide suggestions, and guide recipients through the content.

Generate audio overviews: The platform can automatically create audio summaries to help recipients quickly understand the shared information before exploring it in detail.

Add branding elements: Users can include logos and colour themes to create a more polished and professional-looking experience.

Track engagement insights: Adobe also provides interaction insights, helping users understand how recipients engage with the shared content and when follow-ups may be needed.

Availability

The new productivity agent, along with the sharing and publishing features, is now available through Adobe Acrobat AI plans, including Acrobat Studio and the new Acrobat Express offering.

Adobe said shared PDF Spaces can also be viewed by anyone without requiring an account.

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US Supreme Court rejects Apple's stay request in Epic Games lawsuit

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 7, 2026 | Technology

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday Apple’s request to temporarily block a judicial order that found the iPhone maker in violation of sweeping court-mandated changes to its lucrative App Store as part of an antitrust lawsuit by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games.

Justice Elena Kagan, on behalf of the court, declined to pause a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that deemed Apple in contempt in the Epic lawsuit contesting App Store fees.

The Supreme Court’s action means Apple will return to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, to quarrel over what commission the company can lawfully charge for certain app-related transactions. Apple’s bid at the Supreme Court had been aimed at staving off returning to the trial court while it pursued its legal challenge before the justices.

Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said in a statement that “the Supreme Court has considered Apple’s delaying motion and found it unworthy.”

Apple did not immediately provide a comment. Apple and Epic have clashed for years over the rules governing Apple’s App Store. The contempt ruling and the scope of Apple’s court-ordered obligations are the latest issues in the dispute to reach the Supreme Court. Apple has said the 9th Circuit decision would affect how millions of app purchases are made.

Epic Games won the contempt order last year as part of litigation it brought in 2020 seeking to loosen Apple’s control over transactions in applications that use the company’s iOS operating system and its restrictions on how apps are distributed to consumers.

Apple mostly defeated Epic’s lawsuit, but was required in the judge’s 2021 injunction to let developers include links in their apps directing users to non-Apple payment methods.

Apple allowed the links but adopted new restrictions, including a 27 per cent commission on developers for purchases made on payment systems outside the App Store within seven days of clicking a link. Apple charges developers a 30 per cent commission for purchases within the App Store.

Epic argued that the new 27 per cent commission flouted the earlier injunction. In 2025, the judge found Apple in civil contempt for violating the injunction.

The 9th Circuit in December upheld the judge’s contempt finding but allowed Apple to make new arguments about what commission it should be allowed to charge for digital goods bought in apps distributed through the App Store but paid for using third-party payment systems.

In the district court, Sweeney said, Apple must now disclose the costs involved in reviewing apps that use competing payment systems so developers can be billed accordingly.

Apple has denied violating the judge’s order and has argued that the injunction should not be applied to millions of developers beyond Epic Games.

“Regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States,” Apple told the Supreme Court in a filing.

Epic has argued that Apple should not be allowed to sidestep the judge’s original injunction, saying this would “give Apple more time to continue unfairly profiting at the expense of consumers and app developers.”

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Google offers changes to Search spam policy to avert EU antitrust fine

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 7, 2026 | Technology

2 min read Last Updated : May 07 2026 | 10:13 AM IST

Alphabet’s Google has offered to change its spam policy criticised by publishers, according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters, in a move that may help it stave off an EU antitrust fine.

The U.S. tech giant found itself in EU regulators’ crosshairs after publishers complained about its site reputation abuse policy. It targets the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site in an attempt to abuse search rankings by taking advantage of the host site’s ranking signals, commonly referred to as parasite SEO.

That prompted the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, to open an investigation in November under the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein in the power of Big Tech.

Google has proposed changes to comply with the DMA, the document said, giving interested parties until next week to offer feedback.

The EU watchdog has said that its monitoring showed that Google’s spam policy demotes news media and other publishers’ websites and content in Google search results when those websites include content from commercial partners.

It said the policy directly impacts a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetise their websites and content.

DMA breaches can cost companies fines of up to 10 per cent of their global annual turnover.

The Commission declined to comment. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Bloomberg was the first to report on Google’s proposal.

First Published: May 07 2026 | 10:13 AM IST

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India, Japan boost tech ties with pacts on medical devices, quantum science

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 7, 2026 | Technology

India and Japan strengthened their strategic partnership in science and technology with the exchange of key agreements in the fields of healthcare innovation and emerging technologies during a high-level bilateral meeting in the national capital.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Science & Technology, on Tuesday, the meeting took place in the presence of Japan’s Minister for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Space Policy, Kimi Onoda and Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh.

The discussion expanded cooperation across critical and frontier technologies, with the exchange of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of health and medical devices between the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST).

A Letter of Intent (LoI) on cooperation in Quantum Science and Technology was also signed between Japan’s Cabinet Office and India’s DST, marking a significant step toward collaboration in next-generation technologies such as quantum computing and secure communication systems.

Speaking at the meeting, Singh said India and Japan share a “natural synergy in science and technology”, noting that Japan’s advanced capabilities and India’s talent pool create strong potential for joint innovation. He added that the partnership has entered a “new phase” following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in 2025.

The Japanese minister appreciated India’s rapid economic growth and innovation ecosystem, particularly the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors.

She also highlighted Japan’s strengths in advanced manufacturing and quantum technologies, expressing confidence in deeper collaboration between the two countries.

Both sides discussed strengthening cooperation under India’s National Quantum Mission, including quantum computing, communication, sensing, and materials research, and also explored expanding researcher exchange programmes, joint innovation platforms, and industry internships.

In the healthcare sector, the two countries agreed to enhance collaboration through joint research projects, capacity-building initiatives, and funding support mechanisms to accelerate the development of medical technologies.

The engagement also reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and Japan to advancing science and technology cooperation as part of a broader vision for a free, open, and innovation-driven Indo-Pacific region.

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SpaceX signs deal giving Anthropic access to powerful AI supercomputer

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 7, 2026 | Technology

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced a new agreement with AI company Anthropic, granting the latter access to its powerful AI supercomputing system, Colossus 1, bringing together two of the most prominent players in the artificial intelligence sector.

According to a statement released by SpaceX, Anthropic is expected to leverage this expanded compute capacity to enhance performance and availability for its premium offerings, including Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers.

The move comes amid rapidly increasing demand for AI compute resources, as companies race to build more capable and scalable systems.

The Colossus 1 system ranks among the world’s largest and fastest-deployed AI supercomputers.

Built in record time, the system is designed to handle high-intensity workloads, including AI model training, fine-tuning, inference, and scientific simulations, the statement stated.

The infrastructure features more than 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs, including advanced H100, H200, and next-generation GB200 accelerators, and the setup enables large-scale parallel processing capabilities tailored for cutting-edge applications such as large language models, multimodal AI systems, and generative technologies.

In a notable aspect of the agreement, Anthropic has also expressed interest in collaborating with SpaceX on developing orbital AI compute infrastructure.

The concept involves deploying computing systems in space to overcome terrestrial limitations such as power constraints, land availability, and cooling challenges.

“Anthropic plans to use this additional compute to directly improve capacity for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers. As part of this agreement, Anthropic also expressed interest in partnering to develop multiple gigawatts of orbital AI compute capacity,” the statement read.

SpaceX highlighted that the growing computational demands of next-generation AI systems are outpacing what Earth-based infrastructure can support within critical timelines.

The company emphasised its unique position in enabling such ambitions, citing its launch frequency, cost efficiency, and experience in managing satellite constellations.

“SpaceX is the only organisation with the launch cadence, mass-to-orbit economics, and constellation operations experience to make orbital compute a near-term engineering program rather than a research concept. If engineering challenges can be overcome, space-based compute offers near-limitless sustainable power with less impact on Earth,” the statement added.

The partnership marks a major step toward scaling AI infrastructure and signals a broader shift toward unconventional solutions to meet the industry’s accelerating computational needs.

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With iOS 27, Apple may open Siri and AI features to third-party models

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 6, 2026 | Technology

With iOS 27, Apple is reportedly planning to open its Apple Intelligence ecosystem to rival services from companies such as Google and Anthropic. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple will allow users to select different AI models for tasks such as writing, image generation, and editing. This will expand on Apple’s existing partnership with OpenAI, which currently integrates ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence.

iOS 27: How the new system could work

Inside iOS 27, Apple is reportedly referring to the feature as “Extensions”. It will allow users to choose which AI service powers different features directly from the Settings app. These AI models could be used across key functions such as Siri, Writing Tools, and Image Playground, enabling users to route tasks to different services depending on their needs.

Apple is also expected to introduce a dedicated section in the App Store to highlight compatible AI apps.

The update is also expected to bring deeper changes to Siri. Users may be able to replace ChatGPT with other AI chatbots within Siri, effectively turning the voice assistant into a gateway for multiple AI services.

Another reported change includes the ability to use different voices depending on which AI model is responding. For example, responses generated by Apple’s own system could sound different from those handled by third-party tools such as Anthropic’s Claude.

However, the report noted that Apple plans to clarify it will not be responsible for content generated by third-party AI models, even as it continues offering its own in-house AI capabilities alongside external options.

Other expected iOS 27 additions

Other reported additions include AI-powered photo editing tools, a Siri mode within the camera app, and new ways to create custom passes in the Wallet app.

Apple is also planning to add a new Siri option alongside existing camera modes such as Photo and Video. This new mode is expected to replace the current standalone Visual Intelligence experience and integrate it directly into the main camera interface.

In terms of design, iOS 27 is not expected to bring a major visual overhaul, though Apple may continue refining the Liquid Glass interface introduced with iOS 26.

Google-Apple collaboration

In January, Apple and Google announced a multi-year partnership under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models. These models will power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalised Siri expected later this year.

Recently, Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian, speaking at Google Cloud Next 2026 on April 22, said Apple remains on track and that the revamped Siri is expected to arrive in 2026 itself.

For the uninitiated, Apple outlined its upgraded Siri vision at WWDC 2024, focusing on a more integrated and intelligent assistant experience.

The new version is expected to bring contextual awareness and cross-app functionality, enabling Siri to understand on-screen activity and execute multi-app tasks through natural commands.

It may also introduce more conversational voice interaction and multimodal capabilities, allowing Siri to process text, voice, and visual inputs together.

EU pressure on AI openness

On April 27, the European Commission issued preliminary findings asking Google to open key Android features to third-party AI services under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The proposed measures aim to allow rival AI tools to interact more deeply with apps on Android devices, enabling tasks such as sending emails, sharing content, or placing orders while using a user’s preferred apps instead of relying mainly on Google’s own AI systems.

The Commission said this could give users greater choice by allowing competing AI services, including alternatives to Google’s Gemini, to integrate more easily into Android, including support for features such as custom wake words.

The EU is expected to finalise binding measures within six months, potentially reshaping how AI services operate across Android devices in the region.

It is possible that Apple may also be moving towards a more open AI ecosystem by allowing third-party AI models within Apple Intelligence.

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