AI giants collectively bid farewell to AGI: Anthropic/Meta/Microsoft/Amazon set off a rebranding storm

AI giants such as Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon are collectively abandoning the outdated label of AGI and instead launching new concepts such as Powerful AI, Personal Superintelligence, and Humanist Superintelligence. Behind this rebranding is the deep trend of the AI industry shifting from academic pursuit to commercial implementation.

Core conclusion

In May 2026, The Verge released an in-depth analysis pointing out that the AI industry is undergoing a quiet but far-reaching wave of rebranding. Leading companies such as Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon have abandoned the once golden brand of AGI (artificial general intelligence) and launched their own new terms:

Anthropic → Powerful AI
Meta → Personal Superintelligence PSI (Personal Super Intelligence)
Microsoft → Humanist Superintelligence HSI (Human Super Intelligence)
Amazon → Useful General Intelligence UGI (Useful General Intelligence)

This collective name change movement is not a simple upgrade of marketing rhetoric, but a strategic shift in the AI industry from pursuing technological singularities to solving practical problems.

Key Points

Time of incident: May 2026 (In-depth report by The Verge)
Core changes: AGI is replaced by enterprise-defined terminology, and the focus of industry narrative shifts from capability boundaries to actual utility
Meaning for content creators: AI tools are becoming more pragmatic and usable, and the technology stack for automating money making is more mature.

Background: Why AGI was abandoned

The term AGI was first coined by researcher Mark Gubrud in 1997 to refer to AI systems that reach or exceed human levels in almost all fields. However, with the rapid improvement of AI capabilities, the definition of AGI has become increasingly blurred - people are completely unable to agree on standards equivalent to human intelligence.

Over the past year, industry leaders have begun to publicly downplay the importance of AGI. Anthropic's Dario Amodei said he "doesn't like the term AGI," preferring to describe it as a "nation of geniuses in the data center" that are smarter than Nobel Prize winners in most relevant fields.

More importantly, the term AGI has accumulated a lot of negative baggage. Tech companies have for years played up the risk that AI could destroy everything, and now those doomsday narratives are in turn feeding into investor enthusiasm.

Key Impact: Terminological Change vs. Substantive Change

Dimensions	Changes	What it means to users	Recommended actions
Product positioning	From pursuing AGI to solving practical problems	AI tools are more pragmatic and usable	Focus on practical AI tools rather than hype products
Business model	From vision valuation to performance payment	Comparatively test the cost efficiency of different AIs	Actively test API pricing and actual effects
Open source ecosystem	Local/small models replacing APIs have become a new trend	Content production costs continue to decline	Deploy local models to cooperate with automated processes
User trust	The threat theory of AGI has been downplayed	More willing to try AI-driven automation	Use AI automation to increase the scale of content production

Differentiated positioning of each company

Anthropic: Powerful AI

Claude's parent company chose the most direct statement. Amodei describes Claude as a controllable tool, emphasizing assisting humans rather than replacing them. This pragmatic positioning has given Claude a high degree of acceptance in the enterprise market.

Meta: Personal Superintelligence (PSI)

Zuckerberg proposed the PSI concept in early 2026, emphasizing that AI should enhance everyone's abilities rather than replace anyone. Meta’s open source model route is highly consistent with the PSI narrative.

Microsoft: Humanist Superintelligence (HSI)

Microsoft defines HSI as an AI system that exponentially enhances human intelligence. This is completely consistent with Microsoft's Copilot strategy - AI is an assistant, not a master.

Amazon: Useful General Intelligence (UGI)

AWS has the most pragmatic positioning: making AI truly useful. The ultimate pursuit of AGI is replaced by practical, measurable, and chargeable pragmatism.

Implications for content creators

This rebrand means three important changes for content creators who use AI to make money:

1. Lower trial and error costs: As AI companies move from building superintelligence to solving real problems, they will provide more API access points and lower barriers to entry.

2. A richer tool ecosystem: The differentiated positioning of different companies means the emergence of more vertical tools - from content production to data analysis, every company is competing for your workflow.

3. Longer dividend window: Pragmatic positioning means that AI companies focus more on user retention rather than rapid expansion, giving content creators a more stable window to make money.

Tool entry

AI tools appear naturally in the text, and the platform automatically matches the maintained tool libraries: Anthropic, Claude, Claude Code, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, AWS, OpenClaw.

Internal link guidance

Want to learn practical methods? See: Claude Code 48 hours to start a business: one person + US$29 monthly fee, monthly income in 3 months $9,000
Real case: Indie Developer: n8n + OpenClaw Automation Workflow Earning $5,000/mo
Beginner's Guide: AI Agent-Driven Content Automation: n8n MCP Building Guide from Scratch

Reference sources

The Verge: It's the great AGI rebrand