Americans still have hang-ups about using AI as a shopping assistant

Could ChatGPT’s new instant checkout help move the needle?

Chat, is this $30 handmade candle in the shape of a cutesy Highland cow actually worth it?

Yesterday, Sam Altman’s OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy Etsy products directly through the chat, meaning they won’t have to move to another tab after it tells them exactly which artisanal birthday gift captures the perfect balance of thoughtfulness and thrift while ensuring it can still be delivered in time for their friend’s party in three days.

Investors in Etsy and Shopify, another platform that will soon benefit from ChatGPT’s new instant checkout feature, cheered the news; some consumers, with various reservations about AI shopping assistants, may still take a little more persuading.

AI shopping assistants chart — Sherwood News

Per a YouGov survey published this summer, American adults have held back from using chatbots to help them shop for a number of reasons, from concerns about not getting the right information to preferring to enlist the help of a real person in the retail process.

Still, putting aside the hang-ups expressed by some potential users, the same polling found that many Americans have already been experimenting with using AI as personal shopping assistants — particularly younger generations. Indeed, 24% of Gen Z respondents said they’d already used the tech on a website, app, or other platform, while a further 20% said they’d be interested in using it going forward, suggesting that the true age of chatbot shopping could be just around the corner.

Whether “it’s the thought that counts” will still hold true if an LLM picked out the gift and even helped you purchase it going forward, however, is another matter entirely.

⚡️ +267% ⚡️

Jon Keegan2h

A new analysis by Bloomberg looked at wholesale electricity prices and found that in the past five years, areas near data centers saw their prices spike as much as 267%. More than 70% of the price increases took place in areas less than 50 miles from a data center.

As tech companies race to build colossal data centers, unprecedented energy demands from the projects are passing some of the costs on to consumers.

Rani Molla3h

OpenAI’s first-half 2025 sales were 16% higher than all of 2024

OpenAI brought in $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of this year, 16% higher than its total revenue in 2024, The Information reports, citing financial disclosures to shareholders. The ChatGPT maker also burned through $2.5 billion in the same time frame.

Currently the company is generating more than $1 billion in revenue each month, which puts it on track to reach its full-year projection for $13 billion in revenue and $8.5 billion in cash burn — a paltry sum compared to the $115 billion it expects to burn through 2029.

OpenAI’s First Half Results: $4.3 Billion in Sales, $2.5 Billion Cash Burn

Rani Molla

What analysts expect from Tesla’s last quarter with the $7,500 tax credit

Tesla reports Q3 delivery numbers this week.

Rani Molla21h

Wired: OpenAI plans to launch a TikTok-like app for its AI videos

OpenAI is planning to launch its own social media app to showcase AI videos generated by its Sora 2, Wired reports. The Sora 2 stand-alone app apparently looks a lot like TikTok with vertical videos, a For You page, and the ability to remix videos — which, unlike TikTok, are all created by AI. So far it’s only available internally.

The drawn-out TikTok negotiations have given OpenAI a window to launch a short-form video app without ties to China, sources told Wired.

The Sora 2 app also includes an “identification verification feature” that would let users confirm their likeness and let others use it as well.

OpenAI Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for AI-Generated Videos

The Sora 2 app also includes an “identification verification feature” that would let users confirm their likeness and let others use it as well.

Rani Molla9/29/25

Snap jumps on new revenue stream, continued social media buzz

Snap jumped as high as 5% Monday after the social media company announced that it would be charging users for its Memories features after they reach 5 gigabytes of storage. Snapchat, which has clocked more than 1 trillion saved Memories on its platform, told TechCrunch the Memory Storage plans would range from $1.99 a month for 100 gigabytes of storage to $15.99 for 5-terabyte plans. The fees will be a new revenue stream for the company, whose ad revenue isn’t growing as fast as its peers’.

Snap rose more than 20% this month amid positive r/WallStreetBets chatter, buyout speculation, and increased investment by Saudi investor Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud. And the US spin-off of TikTok doesn’t seem to be taking the wind out of Snap’s sales.