Hi {{first_name}},

Happy Holidays!

Before we dive into it, I wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you! It’s been an amazing year, from officially launching Ampra to starting the Ampra circle community and launching this weekly newsletter. I’m genuinely grateful you’re on this journey with me and I’m excited about what’s in store for 2026.

Since we’re in the midst of holiday celebrations, I’ll keep the AI news and updates short and focus the deep dives on a few creative ways you can use AI to have some fun with the family.

New and Noteworthy

  • ChatGPT's New Personalization Controls: You can now adjust how ChatGPT talks to you, warmth, enthusiasm, even emoji use. Find it in your "Personalization" settings. This matters because you can finally tune the AI's tone to match how you actually communicate with clients and team members, making outputs feel more authentically yours.

  • Google Sues SerpAPI: Google is going after SerpAPI, a web scraping company used by ChatGPT, Cursor, and Perplexity. This lawsuit could affect how these AI tools access web data in the future. For businesses relying on these platforms for research and content creation, it's worth watching how this develops.

  • Claude Chrome Extension Now Available: All paid Claude users can now access the Chrome extension that acts directly in your browser. Claude Code can even use it to test apps you're building. 

  • Meta's Answer to Nano Banana: Meta is developing "Mango," their response to Google's Nano Banana image generator. The AI image generation space is getting more competitive, which means better tools and more options for creating marketing materials, social content, and visual assets.

  • ChatGPT's Year in Review: OpenAI rolled out a Spotify Wrapped-style feature that summarizes your ChatGPT conversations from the year. It's available for free, Plus, and Pro users who have Memory enabled. Fun to see how you've been using AI, and surprisingly useful for identifying patterns in how you work.

  • Alibaba's Qwen-Image-Layered: Alibaba's new image model lets you edit specific layers of an image independently (like traditional design tools). You can recolor or swap one element without affecting the rest. Worth exploring if you're creating product mockups or marketing materials and need precise control.

  • Gemini's AI Video Detection: Google rolled out new capabilities for detecting AI-generated video content. As deepfakes and AI video become more common, this verification tool helps businesses confirm authenticity, important for brand protection and content verification.

  • Google Launches Gemini 3 Flash: Google released Gemini 3 Flash for instant AI responses at lower costs. Companies like Salesforce and Figma are already using it for real-time document processing and video analysis. Perfect for customer support and live data analysis where speed matters.

  • Nvidia Releases Nemotron 3 Models: Nvidia launched three open-source AI models (Nano, Super, and Ultra) that handle massive amounts of text at once. The smallest version processes information 4x faster than before with 60% lower costs and 15% better accuracy. Companies like Accenture, Deloitte, and Oracle are already testing them for coding assistants and complex workflows. Nvidia is giving businesses a powerful open-source alternative to closed systems (like OpenAI) that you can run on your own infrastructure.

  • Meta Uses AI Chats for Ad Targeting: Meta now uses your AI assistant conversations to personalize your Facebook and Instagram ads. There's no opt-out option. Not currently in EU, UK, or South Korea due to privacy regulations. Worth noting as you decide which AI tools you use and what you share with them. 

Ok now onto the fun stuff!

Create Your Family's Pixar Movie Poster

I tested something fun this week that my kids absolutely loved. I used Gemini's Nano Banana image generator to turn our family into a Pixar movie poster. And now with ChatGPT’s new image generation model ChatGPT is great at doing things like this too.

Using Gemini:

Step 1: Go to Gemini (gemini.google.com)

Step 2: Copy this  prompt and customize it with your preferences:

❝

Prompt:

"A Disney Pixar style movie poster titled '[Family Name]'. 3D render, 8k resolution. Create animated characters based on the people in the attached photo, capturing their general likeness, hair, and clothing style. They are [action, e.g., opening gifts]. Background is [setting, e.g., a snowy village]. Cinematic lighting, cute, vibrant, expressive."

Step 3: Hit generate and let Nano Banana work its magic

My kids immediately wanted to print it and hang it on the fridge.

Try it out and hit reply with what you create!

Using ChatGPT:

Even easier. Just upload your family photo and say "Turn this image into a Pixar style" and ChatGPT handles the rest. I tested both and they each have their own charm.

More Fun Prompts for the Holidays

1. The "Family Lore" Trivia Generator

Want to entertain everyone after dinner without another round of charades?

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Prompt:

"I want to play a trivia game about my family. Here are 5 facts about us: 1. [Fact 1] 2. [Fact 2] … Generate 10 multiple-choice trivia questions based on these facts. Add 5 general knowledge questions about Christmas movies. Act as a funny, over-the-top Game Show Host in your output."

Way more entertaining than you'd expect.

2. Santa-Powered Stories (5 minutes, instant magic)

Ask ChatGPT to create a short bedtime story where your kids are the main characters.

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Prompt:

“Write a short Christmas bedtime story for a 4-year-old boy named Jace and a 2-year-old girl named Emmy. Include Santa, reindeer, and a sweet lesson about kindness.”

Adding even more context will just make it that much more magical:

  • Make it silly

  • Add your city or street name or any other fun details etc

3. Create Your Family's Christmas Ornament

Take any family photo and transform it into a miniature scene inside a glass Christmas ornament. I took a photo of my kids with Santa and asked ChatGPT to reimagine it inside a glass bauble.

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Prompt:

"A transparent Christmas bauble hanging by a red ribbon on a Christmas tree. Inside is a tiny diorama of the people from the referenced image reimagined as cute 3d chibi characters. Add snow-glitter at the base. Warm magical Christmas glow, cinematic reflections on glass, cozy high-end diorama aesthetic. Cinematic lighting, shallow depth of field, soft reflections on the glass, ultra-polished materials, high detail, festive Christmas atmosphere. Whimsical, premium, and heartwarming."

Just upload your family photo and paste the prompt.

Let Your Kids Talk to Santa (With AI)

I found something kind of magical this week that's perfect if you have young kids. Character.AI lets you create a custom Santa chatbot that your kids can actually call and talk to. It's free and takes about 5 minutes to set up.

Here's how it works:

You create a Santa character with a specific personality - how jolly he is, what he knows about your kids, whether he asks about kindness or good deeds, his favorite cookie flavor. You control the whole conversation flow.

Step-by-step setup:

  1. Go to Character.AI and click "Create Character"

  2. Name him "Santa Claus" and write a character description like: "Santa Claus who is jolly, loves cookies and milk, knows about the North Pole workshop, asks children about acts of kindness this year, and gives encouragement"

  3. Add a greeting like: "Ho ho ho! Welcome to the North Pole! Tell me, have you been kind to others this year?"

  4. Test it yourself first - call Santa and refine his responses based on how the conversation flows

  5. Once it feels right, let your kids call him

You can customize what Santa knows. Maybe he mentions your pet by name, or asks about a specific good deed you saw them do. It feels personal in a way the mall Santa never could.

Test the character privately first. Chat with Santa a few times to make sure his personality is dialed in before you hand it to the kids. 

My kids spent 10 minutes talking to Santa last night. So fun!

That’s it for this week.

I hope these ideas add a little extra magic to your holiday.

We’ll be back to our regular schedule of business tools and automation insights next week.

For now, enjoy the time off with your family.

Happy Holidays,

Julien

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