AI Tools + ETF Weekly: Agent controls, cheaper building, and a rotating ETF tape

AI tools

• Gemini in Chrome moves closer to approved action. Google says Gemini in Chrome became available to all Android users in the United States on August 18. The update adds page summaries and questions, connections to Calendar and Keep, and image customization or generation with Nano Banana. AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. can also use auto browse for tasks such as booking parking, updating a recurring order, or organizing travel. Google says auto browse asks for confirmation before some sensitive tasks and that its models are trained to detect known threats such as prompt injection. 1
• Replit lowers the cost of everyday building. Replit launched Free Mode, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Luna. Replit says everyday Free Mode tasks do not use credits, Core users can create up to 30 times more than before, and the $20-per-month Core plan includes up to 30 hours of chat per month. Usage limits reset every five hours, while Core and Pro users can switch to Power or Max Mode for more complex work. 2
• Private processing is still a design proposal, not a blanket promise. OpenAI previewed Private Safety Processing for eligible Zero Data Retention deployments. The company says automated systems could look for patterns across related interactions without giving OpenAI personnel access to retained prompts or responses. Customers could keep content on infrastructure they control, or use OpenAI storage encrypted with customer-controlled keys. OpenAI says it plans an initial rollout and a technical white paper in September; the announcement also describes a CSAM-retention exception. 3

ETF market

• August 20 brought broad creations, but the tape was not uniform. ETF Action counted $16.86 billion in total net creations: $12.18 billion in equities, $2.59 billion in fixed income, and $1.44 billion in commodities. Across five sessions, the report showed $50.47 billion of total net creations. U.S. large-cap blend led category flows with $8.32 billion, while financial-sector ETFs recorded $606.2 million of outflows. 4
• The semiconductor split is a useful reminder to check the fund, not just the theme. ETF Action reported $1.57 billion of net creations for SOXX and a $1.14 billion loss for SMH in the same session. The report warns that daily outliers can reflect specialized portfolio rebalancing, especially as actively managed ETFs grow. Those figures describe one flow session; they do not establish a forecast or a cause. 4
• The next day’s headline was volume, not flow. ETF Action reported $209.94 billion of total ETF volume on August 21, equal to 86% of its 30-day average. Commodity ETF volume reached $9.99 billion, or 149% of average, and digital-asset ETF volume reached $8.95 billion, or 204% of average. GLD traded $5.94 billion and IBIT traded $4.83 billion. These are trading-volume figures, not net-flow figures. 5
• Launches add structure before they add history. ETF.com lists 12 U.S. ETFs with August 20 inception dates, including KSMH, the xETFs Korea AI Semiconductor ETF; XQBT, the Amplify Top 10 Quantum ETF; and KAIT, the KraneShares Asia AI Technology ETF. Deutsche Börse separately listed seven ETF and ETP products on August 20, including Global X NYSE 100 UCITS ETF and several Vanguard global funds; the release gives product costs from 0.07% to 0.22% for the named Vanguard products and 0.09% for the Global X product. A listing establishes availability and stated structure, not an established trading record. 67
• Performance needs its own timestamp. iShares reported a $520.00 NAV for SOXX on August 21, down $2.52, or 0.48%, for the day. The same source reported a 73.72% NAV total return year to date as of August 20. The as-of dates differ, and neither number is a forecast. 8