Tags: e-commerce

OpenAI announced it will de‑prioritize the Instant Checkout feature that let users purchase items directly within ChatGPT. Launched in September, the checkout tool failed to attract significant use, prompting the company to pivot toward enhancing product discovery and detailed consumer information. Merchants can still integrate their own checkout experiences through apps in the chatbot, while OpenAI develops its Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe to serve as a centralized hub for product research. Read more

A U.S. district judge issued a preliminary injunction that bars Perplexity’s Comet browser‑based AI agents from placing orders on Amazon. The court found Amazon’s evidence that the agents accessed user accounts without permission compelling, and ordered Perplexity to cease any such activity and delete any Amazon data it may have collected. Both companies issued statements, with Amazon welcoming the decision and Perplexity pledging to continue fighting for user choice in AI services. Read more

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for details on the new checkout feature in the Gemini AI chatbot. She warns that the integration could let Google and retailers exploit sensitive user data or push consumers toward higher‑priced items. Warren seeks clarification on what data will be shared with retailers, how pricing might be affected, and whether users will be told when product suggestions are driven by upselling or advertising motives. Google has until mid‑February to respond. Read more

Google is expanding its AI Mode search with new conversational shopping capabilities powered by Gemini. Users in the United States will soon be able to ask complex product questions and receive generated guides, tables, and recommendations. The rollout also includes sponsored shopping content, mirroring traditional search ads, while the Gemini app currently offers ad‑free results. Additionally, Google is testing an "agentic checkout" feature that can alert shoppers when a product hits a target price and enable automatic purchases via Google Pay at select retailers. The updates arrive ahead of the holiday shopping season. Read more

Amazon has issued a cease‑and‑desist letter to AI startup Perplexity, demanding that its Comet browser stop making purchases on Amazon. Amazon argues the agent violates its terms of service, degrades the shopping experience and creates privacy risks. Perplexity counters that the tool acts as a user‑directed agent and labels Amazon’s demands as bullying. The dispute highlights growing tensions over third‑party AI agents that automate ecommerce transactions and raises questions about how platform rules will apply to emerging AI‑driven services. Read more

Amazon has added a new AI-powered tool called “Help me decide” to its shopping experience. The feature analyzes a shopper’s searches, browsing and purchase history to surface product recommendations and explain why each item fits the user’s needs. Built on Amazon’s own large language models and services such as Bedrock, OpenSearch and SageMaker, the tool appears after a user has viewed multiple similar listings and is currently available in the United States on the Amazon Shopping app and website. It follows a series of earlier AI experiments, including the Rufus assistant, AI‑driven shopping guides, audio summaries and the Lens Live visual search tool. Read more

Amazon announced a suite of new robotics and artificial‑intelligence tools designed to streamline its fulfillment operations. The company showcased ten robots, including the Blue Jay system that acts as an extra set of hands for employees, and Project Eluna, an AI assistant that helps reduce cognitive load. Amazon executives emphasized that the focus is on supporting workers rather than replacing them, citing the company's record of job creation and plans to fill hundreds of thousands of seasonal positions. CEO Andy Jassy noted that generative AI will shift some tasks while creating new roles, underscoring a broader efficiency strategy for the near future. Read more

Squarespace has introduced Blueprint AI, an artificial‑intelligence‑driven tool that streamlines website creation. The feature asks users to select a site topic, set goals, and choose a tone, then automatically generates copy, layout suggestions, and design elements. Blueprint builds a one‑page foundation that can be expanded within Squarespace’s standard editor, preserving access to the platform’s full suite of templates, customization options, and ecommerce capabilities. The AI‑generated content is intended as a starting point that users can refine, and the tool is available through Squarespace’s existing subscription plans, with a free 14‑day trial for new accounts. Read more

Adobe predicts a massive surge in AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites during the holiday season, forecasting a 520% jump. More than a third of U.S. consumers have already used AI tools such as chatbots, recommendation engines, and browser extensions to research products, find deals, and get gift ideas. Shoppers who arrive via AI referrals tend to browse more pages, and purchase rates from those referrals are beginning to rise. Brands are now competing for relevance within large language model (LLM) interfaces like ChatGPT and Gemini, positioning AI as a new co-pilot in the holiday shopping journey. Read more

Amazon has introduced a new AI chatbot that lets sellers generate advertising concepts with simple text prompts. The tool draws on a seller’s brand guidelines, product pages and other store details to produce static or video ads, including taglines, images, scripts, music, voiceovers and storyboards. Designed to cut time and cost, the chatbot runs in beta on Amazon’s Nova AI model and Anthropic’s Claude. Ads created with the service can appear across Amazon’s marketplace and properties such as Prime Video, Kindle and Twitch. The rollout also adds agentic features to Amazon’s seller assistant, enabling inventory monitoring and policy checks. Read more

A recent analysis of thousands of Amazon product reviews uncovered a notable presence of AI‑generated content, particularly in baby, beauty and wellness categories. The study showed that AI‑written reviews are more likely to be five‑star and marked as verified purchases, raising concerns about consumer trust. Regulators such as the FTC have labeled fake reviews illegal, and experts urge Amazon and policymakers to address the growing problem before it undermines the credibility of online shopping. Read more