AI-powered sourcing tools like Alibaba's Accio are transforming small e-commerce businesses by compressing weeks of product research into a single chat session, with Accio surpassing 10 million monthly users since its 2024 launch — though experts warn human judgment remains essential for negotiations and key business decisions.
Meta launches AI-powered shopping features on Facebook and Instagram, offering one-tap checkout via Stripe and PayPal partnerships, AI-generated product summaries and discounts, and an expanded creator affiliate program now including Amazon, eBay, and Temu across 22 countries.
Google upgrades its Universal Commerce Protocol with real-time catalog access, cart management, and loyalty integration, enabling AI shopping agents to browse, save items, and apply member perks across retailers, with Salesforce, Stripe, and Commerce Inc among the first partners set to implement the system.
A federal judge grants Amazon a temporary injunction blocking Perplexity's Comet AI browser from accessing Amazon's website, citing strong evidence of unauthorized access, as Amazon claims the startup secretly used AI shopping agents to scrape its site and compromise customer data.
A court orders Perplexity AI to immediately stop its Comet browser agent from making purchases on Amazon, following a lawsuit accusing the startup of computer fraud for concealing when its AI bot shops on behalf of real users.
Amazon suffers a hours-long outage caused by a faulty software code deployment, leaving thousands of users unable to shop, check out, or access accounts, while Amazon Fresh grocery delivery is also impacted before the company resolves the issue by 8 p.m. ET.
Meta is testing a new AI-powered shopping feature in its web browser that delivers product suggestions with images, pricing, and links, putting it in direct competition with ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
Chrome launches WebMCP technology in early preview, introducing new APIs that allow AI agents to directly interact with websites for tasks like customer support, shopping assistance, and travel booking with enhanced speed and reliability.
Startup Simile secures $100 million to develop AI that predicts human behavior by training on interviews, transaction data, and behavioral research, with CVS already testing the technology to optimize product decisions as an alternative to traditional focus groups.
Uber unveils Cart Assistant, an AI-powered feature that instantly builds grocery baskets by scanning text lists or photos, automatically checking availability and pricing while personalizing recommendations based on purchase history to streamline shopping from idea to checkout.