The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A Charles Schwab executive says AI agents will pay off most by improving customer service, not by cutting costs. Customers may soon expect the same from every business.
Read more: Schwab Exec Says AI's Big Payoff Is Better Customer Service, Not SavingsMastercard's CEO says AI shopping agents are already adding transactions and he expects more this holiday season, but many merchants are not ready to be found.
Read more: Mastercard expects AI shopping agents to drive more purchases this holiday seasonSecurity firm Socket found 319 Chrome add-ons that quietly swapped users' search engine and sent searches through tracking servers to earn ad money.
Read more: 319 Chrome add-ons secretly redirected searches for 13.4 million usersHoliday shoppers are focused on price, and Walmart is getting the most criticism, so the same item may cost different amounts depending on when and where you look.
Read more: Shoppers are watching prices closely this holiday season, and Walmart is feeling itThe FTC ordered Walmart, Target and seven other companies to explain whether personal data changes the prices people see. Here is what shoppers should know.
Read more: FTC demands answers from Walmart and Target on pricingUber says new driver features will help earnings and safety, but the details are not confirmed yet. Drivers and riders should check Uber's own announcement.
Read more: Uber announces new driver features aimed at earnings and safetyOracle says customers will pay for the AI work done in its business software, on top of their subscriptions. Bills could rise as AI use grows.
Read more: Oracle plans to charge for each task its AI does, not just per userBloomberg Intelligence says AI is shifting from writing text to taking action, which could change what businesses buy and where investors put money.
Read more: AI is moving from answering questions to doing the work itselfBelgium's tax agency pulled its main online portal offline after a cyberattack and pushed back a filing deadline for some people to November 16.
Read more: Belgium's tax agency takes online services offline after cyberattackCollective, an AI bookkeeping company for solo business owners, raised $100 million, which hints at more automated paperwork for people who work for themselves.
Read more: Collective raises $100M to automate bookkeeping for solo business ownersSome startups now run with about ten AI agents for every human employee. Here is what that looks like and what it means for owners and staff.
Read more: Some startups now have ten times more AI workers than peopleThe Justice Department is examining Nvidia's $12.93 billion Hugging Face deal, which could matter to any business that depends on AI tools and chips.
Read more: US regulators examine Nvidia's $12.93 billion Hugging Face purchaseAnthropic added shared budgets, usage reports and employee surveys to Claude Enterprise, giving businesses new ways to cap AI costs and spot waste.
Read more: Claude Enterprise adds shared AI budgets, usage reports and surveysCarvana reported $8 billion in quarterly revenue, and its CEO says AI shopping helpers are now part of the plan. Sellers online should take note.
Read more: Carvana sales jump 42% to $8 billion as it preps for AI car shoppingWabi, a startup building an AI helper for group chats, raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion value. It could change how friends and coworkers plan things.
Read more: Wabi, an AI helper for group chats, raises $55M at a $1.25B valueDeepgram is buying Daily, maker of the free voice AI tool Pipecat, and says the tool will stay open to everyone. Here is what that means for businesses.
Read more: Voice AI company Deepgram buys Daily, maker of Pipecat, a free toolAdversa AI launched a tool that watches AI coding helpers and stops a risky step before it runs. Businesses using such helpers may want to ask how theirs are monitored.
Read more: New tool watches AI coding helpers and blocks risky moves as they happenSamsung's first clip-on earbuds, the Galaxy Buds On, cost $229 in the US and leave your ears open to the world around you.
Read more: Samsung's first clip-on earbuds hit the US for $229 in early NovemberKipp, which helps stores recover sales when a card is declined for low funds, was bought by a group led by LTVCo and plans to grow in the US.
Read more: Kipp, a card payments startup, is bought and plans to grow in the USServal raised $150 million at a $3 billion value to sell AI that handles office IT tasks, putting pressure on older help desk software like ServiceNow.
Read more: Serval's value triples to $3 billion with AI that handles office tasksForbes says AI tools that find, compare and buy for people are arriving, and startups need to know if their products can be found and bought by them.
Read more: Soon, AI assistants may do the shopping, and your business must be readyA flaw in Telegram for Android let a stranger run code on your phone once you answered their call. A fix is out, so check your app version now.
Read more: Telegram bug on Android let a voice call take over phonesHuge AI funding rounds make startup money look plentiful, but second rounds are getting harder to win, and young companies now need real sales to get one.
Read more: Giant AI funding rounds hide how hard it is to raise a second roundAivo Asia, a Singapore company, plans a pay-as-you-use AI tool that answers customers on WhatsApp, live chat and the phone, with no IT staff needed.
Read more: Singapore firm offers small businesses an AI that answers customers by chat and phone
