Ann Gehan

1 day ago | theinformation.com | Ann Gehan

Artificial intelligence heavyweights including OpenAI and Perplexity, along with commerce giant Amazon, are painting visions of AI tools acting as personal shoppers that can seamlessly buy stuff across the internet. But the handful of AI agents that have so far been released have had trouble with online shopping, since they’re easily tripped up by variations in retailers’ product listings and checkouts, investors and founders say.

1 week ago | theinformation.com | Ann Gehan

Source: The InformationShein and Temu separately told U.S. shoppers this week that they plan to raise prices starting April 25, blaming “recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”The China-founded online bargain sellers are facing the end of a U.S. trade provision known as de minimis, which they had used to ship goods to shoppers without paying tariffs. That provision is set to end in early May for goods from China, exposing both sellers to steep jumps in import costs.

1 week ago | theinformation.com | Ann Gehan

Investors are on a health kick and looking for new ways to tap into fast-growing brands in the nutrition sector. That includes pouring money into startups selling supplements, particularly those that offer new ways for people to load up on vitamins, protein and other ingredients. The latest example is two-year-old gummy supplement startup Grüns, which raised fresh cash at an up to $500 million valuation in recent weeks, according to people briefed on the deal.

1 week ago | theinformation.com | Ann Gehan

Source: The InformationAlbert Saniger, the founder and former CEO of e-commerce startup Nate, has been charged with defrauding investors by making false claims about the company’s AI capabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Saniger, 35, was charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

2 weeks ago | theinformation.com | Ann Gehan

Creators are staring down what they say is a growing threat: artificial intelligence-powered searches cutting into their lucrative product recommendations. More people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to search the web for information and shopping inspiration, and Google has started adding more AI-powered features to its search, such as quick summaries of answers that appear at the top of a search results page called AI Overviews.