What it is

Multimodal AI can work with more than one type of input or output. Text, images, audio, video, sometimes all at once. Older AI models were specialists: one model for text, another for images, another for speech. Multimodal models can look at a photo and describe it, listen to audio and summarise it, or generate an image from a text description. GPT-4, Gemini, and Claude can all handle multiple modes. It's a big deal.

Why it matters for your job

Multimodal AI massively expands the range of tasks that AI can assist with. It's no longer just about writing and coding. If your job involves working across formats, like turning meeting recordings into summaries, creating visuals from briefs, or analysing charts and graphs, multimodal AI is coming for parts of that workflow. But it's also creating new possibilities for people who learn to use these tools across different media types.

What to do about it

Try feeding a multimodal AI something visual from your actual work. A chart, a whiteboard photo, a screenshot of a spreadsheet. See what it can do with it. Most people haven't tried this yet, and the results are often surprisingly useful.