The ways in which artificial intelligence will fuel economic growth are coming into sharper focus, Hope writes.

Why it matters: Much like the web and mobile revolutions did in preceding eras, AI is on track to spawn new business models and processes, tightening the relationship between people and technology.

Driving the news: Microsoft has discussed powering its apps, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, with AI from OpenAI, The Information reported this weekend. 

• The programs might then be able to recommend ways for people to improve their writing, or to deliver more useful search results in email.
• In turn, Microsoft could see higher customer satisfaction, retain competitiveness and change pricing.

Zoom out: Other Big Tech names — Apple, Amazon, Meta and Google — have each been investing billions every year in AI, in search of similar ways to amplify their businesses.

Be smart: AI is already powering sectors beyond tech, including manufacturing, where defects are picked up by computer vision systems, as well as agriculture and energy.

The big picture: Most companies today are dealing with a "triple squeeze" of deteriorating macro conditions, a competitive labor market and disrupted supply chains, Chirag Dekate, AI infrastructure analyst at Gartner, tells Axios.

• "Anything that can be automated will be automated," as businesses try to improve efficiency, he says.

What to watch: Dekate does not see AI as a technology that will take away jobs.

• The infusion of AI in more processes will transform the way workers interact with one another and their employers — changing the “human contract” that we have with one another, he says.

Go deeper.

A warning from Lululemon that its profit margins would decline in its current quarter sent shares of the stock down 9.3% Monday, Hope writes.

• While the athletic retailer was mum on the reason, analysts today raised questions about brand saturation and continued inventory pileups as retailers overshot demand estimates.

What to watch: Earnings season kicks off Friday with big banks JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

• Of the 100 S&P 500 companies that have issued quarterly EPS guidance for Q4, 65 have been negative‚ above the five-year average of 57, according to FactSet.

🍔 The SEC fined ex-McDonald's CEO Stephen Easterbrook for misrepresenting the circumstances of his termination. (Axios)

🏦 Morgan Stanley COO Jon Pruzan plans to retire at the end of the month, narrowing the field of contenders for the next CEO. (Reuters)

The House of Mouse is about to get a lot fuller, Nathan writes.

• Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees in an internal memo that they "will be asked to spend four days a week on-site" beginning March 1.

State of play: Since retaking the reins at Disney in November, Iger has been looking to reenergize the company. He's said he plans to empower creators to create.

• "In a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors," Iger said in his memo.

What we're watching: How Disney workers react.

• Companies have had mixed success mandating a return to the office after nearly three years of remote work.

"Spare," a memoir from Prince Harry, is in the top spot on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the U.S. and Britain as leaks and "press hysteria" drive interest ahead of its publication tomorrow, according to the New York Times.

By the numbers: Random House is said to be printing 2.5 million hardcover copies for North America alone, Hope writes.

• For comparison, Barack Obama's "A Promised Land" sold nearly 2.6 million copies in the U.S. in 2020.
• Michelle Obama's "Becoming" sold 3.4 million in 2018.

The big picture: "Spare" is part of a burgeoning media empire that Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle are building around their lives.

"You shouldn’t have to wait and pay more, or break the law."