Cengage has announced new AI capabilities across its higher education learning platforms, including Student Assistant, Instructor Assistant, and enhanced features within MindTap. The integrated tools aim to develop critical thinking and communication skills alongside AI literacy. Student Assistant provides contextual coaching based on Cengage content rather than generating answers. Students who struggle early in courses and use the tool are 90% more likely to continue submitting assignments through the term. Instructor Assistant gives faculty insights into student difficulties, enabling earlier intervention. MindTap offers AI-enabled scenarios and video-based assignments for real-world skills practice. This autumn, Student Assistant and Instructor Assistant will be available across more than 800 higher education products. According to Cengage's 2026 research, 58% of instructors believe today's graduates are less prepared for work than students a decade ago.

Gale, part of Cengage, has launched Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Part III (ECCO III), adding 1.7 million previously undigitized pages to its existing 32-million-page archive. The collection includes early books, serials, newspapers and ephemera printed before 1801 from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. Built on the British Library's English Short Title Catalog, ECCO III features high-quality, full-colour imaging of rare materials including broadsides, maps and miniature books. Advanced scanning technology enables researchers to examine fine details, including centuries-old handwritten margin notes. The digital collection, used by hundreds of universities worldwide, supports interdisciplinary research across subjects including business, politics, science and humanities. ECCO III includes advanced discovery tools and text-mining capabilities for researchers at all levels.