Follow the developments that change your market view.

Meta Expands AI Glasses with Ray-Ban Meta Audio and Muse Agents

Meta has significantly expanded its smart glasses ecosystem at Connect 2026, introducing new audio and camera models, expanding display glasses to new markets, and previewing Meta VR Glasses for 2027. The portfolio spans from an entry-level model to a high-end VR headset. Notable new products include the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, a lightweight audio-focused model with long battery life, and the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses with improved cameras and microphones. Meta also unveiled its personal AI agent, Muse, designed to assist across devices and serve as a central assistant. The company plans to offer over 100 variants by the end of the year across Ray-Ban, Oakley, and its own Meta Glasses line. International expansion includes markets like Germany, UK, Canada, France, Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Mexico, UAE, and Brazil.

• •Meta VR Glasses announced for spring 2027 at $1,299.99, weighing around 100 grams.
• •Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses priced at $349, weighing 43g, with 12-hour battery life (48h with case), shipping October 13.
• •Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 introduced at $449 with 3K Ultra HD video, 12MP camera, and six-microphone array.

Airbnb Integrates Instacart Grocery Delivery in Booking Process

Airbnb is integrating Instacart's grocery delivery service directly into its app for guests in the US and Canada. US guests can now order groceries up to three weeks before check-in, with delivery fees waived on orders over $10. The rental address is automatically used for delivery. In Phoenix and Orlando, participating hosts can receive and stock groceries before guests arrive. Canada will get the service in the coming weeks. This partnership extends Airbnb's services beyond accommodation booking, while giving Instacart access to travelers as a customer segment.

• •Airbnb integrates Instacart grocery delivery into its app for US guests.
• •US guests can order groceries up to three weeks before check-in.
• •Delivery fees waived on orders over $10.

Anthropic's Claude Discovers Novel CRISPR-like Enzyme System

Anthropic announced the formation of a life sciences research group and laboratory dedicated to fundamental biology research using Claude. In a pioneering demonstration, Claude autonomously discovered a novel enzyme system, termed array-associated reverse transcriptases (ART), found in bacteriophages. This system comprises a reverse transcriptase, a partner gene, and a CRISPR-like array of DNA repeats. Claude's analysis, conducted by roughly 950 agents using 210 million tokens over 21 hours, identified this system from over 200,000 reverse transcriptases. The discovery, reminiscent of CRISPR, could lead to new programmable tools for genetic engineering. Anthropic has released a preprint detailing the findings and is seeking collaborations with other scientists to apply AI-driven hypothesis generation across genomics and other fields.

• •Anthropic introduced a new life sciences research group and laboratory.
• •Claude discovered a novel enzyme system called array-associated reverse transcriptases (ART) in bacteriophages.
• •The discovery involved 950 agents, 210 million tokens, and 21 hours of search.

Contentstack in the News

Contentstack press page now lists recent announcements including ContentCon 2026, TIME partnership, Agentic Experience Platform launch, and Bay FC selection.

Palantir’s Quiet Takeover of Media’s Data Stack

Palantir is expanding from government work into media and marketing, striking deals with Fox News Digital, Zeta Global, Stagwell, and USA Today Co. These partnerships involve building internal platforms, analyzing audience data, and integrating AI. Despite employee concerns at USA Today, executives praise Palantir's speed and ontology-based approach. The company embeds forward-deployed engineers and offers interoperability with various AI models. For Zeta and Stagwell, Palantir also serves as a sales channel, taking a revenue share. The push reflects a broader industry shift toward leveraging data for monetization and efficiency.

• •Fox News Digital struck a deal with Palantir in December 2025 to build its article production platform, which now handles 95% of its articles.
• •Zeta Global signed a seven-year partnership with Palantir in June, rebuilding its data cloud on Foundry after skipping a competitive review.
• •Stagwell built two marketing products on Palantir's platform, including an agentic marketing system developed within 16 weeks.

Seattle Bans Surveillance Pricing in Grocery Stores

Seattle has become the first US city to ban 'surveillance pricing' in grocery retail, where retailers use AI and personal data to set individualized prices. The city council voted 7-2 to approve the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, which prohibits using data such as browsing history, location, estimated income, and family size for pricing. The ban applies to large grocery retailers both online and in-store, while traditional discounts and coupons remain allowed. Research by Consumer Reports found price differences up to 23% on identical products via Instacart, potentially costing families over $1,200 annually. Seattle follows Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey in banning the practice, but its grocery-specific rules are the most stringent. The law's effective date and penalties are yet to be announced. The EU is also considering the Digital Fairness Act to address similar personalization practices.

• •Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to pass the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, banning surveillance pricing in grocery stores.
• •The ban prohibits using personal data like browsing history, location, income, and family size to set individualized grocery prices.
• •Consumer Reports found price variations up to 23% for identical items on Instacart.

Seattle Bans AI-Based Surveillance Pricing in Grocery Stores

Seattle's City Council voted 7-2 to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores, becoming the first US city to prohibit supermarkets from using AI and personal data to set individualized prices. The 'Fair Pricing and Transparency Act' targets data such as browsing history, real-time location, estimated income, family size, and health status. The ban applies to large grocery retailers online and in physical stores, while traditional coupons and open discounts remain allowed. Consumer Reports research found price differences of up to 23% for identical items on Instacart, and similar practices at Uber and Lyft. Other states like Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey have signed similar laws, but Seattle's is the most extensive. In the EU, personalized pricing is not prohibited but must be disclosed, and the upcoming Digital Fairness Act may address such practices.

• •Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores.
• •The 'Fair Pricing and Transparency Act' prohibits using AI and personal data to set individual prices.
• •Consumer Reports found price differences of up to 23% for identical items on Instacart.

GPT-6 Astra Drives Real Car Through Course

OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra became the first large language model to autonomously drive a real car through a pylon course in the DrivingBench benchmark. The test, conducted by independent developers, saw GPT-6 Astra complete the 130-meter course in 5 minutes and 22 seconds at a cautious speed. Competitors Claude Fable 5.1 (Anthropic) and Grok 4.6 (xAI) only managed 45% and 11% of the course, respectively. The model controlled a Toyota Corolla via chat-based commands, integrating with comma.ai hardware. The benchmark highlights the potential of general-purpose AI in physical tasks, though it is far from real-world autonomous driving. The results are preliminary, with limitations noted by the creators.

• •GPT-6 Astra completed 100% of the DrivingBench course, the first LLM to do so.
• •The model drove a Toyota Corolla equipped with comma.ai hardware via chat commands.
• •The 130-meter course was completed in 5 minutes and 22 seconds at a max speed of 3.5 m/s.

Anthropic's Biology Lab Discovers Novel Enzyme System

Anthropic announced that its wet biology lab in the Bay Area, operational since spring 2026, has made a significant discovery: a novel enzyme system with properties reminiscent of CRISPR, found within bacteriophage DNA. The discovery was made 'mostly, though not entirely,' by Anthropic's AI model Claude, which used about 950 agents and consumed 210 million tokens over 21 hours. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged the prior work of others, including a similar system found by Stanford researchers. The lab currently performs experiments with human scientists at BSL-1 and BSL-2 levels, with no autonomous AI-controlled equipment yet. This announcement follows public statements from AI leaders about the need for safety testing, and highlights AI's growing role in biological research beyond Anthropic, including Stanford and UC San Francisco projects.

• •Anthropic's biology lab discovered a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like properties.
• •The discovery was made using Claude, Anthropic's AI model, in 21 hours with 950 agents.
• •Claude consumed 210 million tokens during the search.

AI Execs Warn UN Security Council of Existential Risks

At a historic UN Security Council briefing, leading AI executives and scientists, including Yoshua Bengio, Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), and Clement Delangue (Hugging Face), delivered back-to-back speeches warning that without intervention, AI could pose a risk to humanity as a whole. The speakers converged on key recommendations: the need for preflight safety testing, transparency auditing, liability, global dialogue, international cooperation, and immediate action. The event marks a rare consensus among major industry players on the urgent need for governance and regulation. Some critics noted that Altman and Amodei's speeches contained self-congratulatory hype, particularly Amodei's overstatement of a recent enzyme discovery compared to CRISPR, which experts such as Dr. Angela Rasmussen said was premature.

• •Yoshua Bengio, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Clement Delangue spoke at the UN Security Council.
• •The AI leaders warned that without intervention, AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole.
• •The speakers agreed on the need for preflight safety testing, transparency auditing, liability, global dialogue, and immediate action.

Apple Faces Backlash Over Persistent Subscription Ads in iOS 27 Settings

Apple's iOS 27 update introduces persistent promotional banners in the Settings app for iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, and AppleCare+. Users report these ads cannot be permanently dismissed, with red badges remaining until the promotion expires. The backlash includes comparisons to Microsoft's Start Menu ads and criticism from developer Michael Tsai, who calls the practice 'most un-Jobs-like'. Apple has not officially responded. In a related regulatory development, Seattle has become the first U.S. city to ban surveillance pricing in grocery retail, which uses AI and personal data to set individual prices. The city council voted 7-2 for the ban following similar measures in Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Consumer Reports found price differences up to 23% on Instacart, costing families over $1,200 annually, highlighting growing scrutiny of data-driven pricing.

• •Apple's iOS 27 adds persistent ads in Settings for iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, and AppleCare+.
• •Users cannot permanently dismiss the ads; red badge remains until promotion ends.
• •Apple has not issued an official statement regarding the ads.

Best Buy to Sell Amazon Fire TV Ads

Best Buy is partnering with Amazon to sell and measure retail media on Amazon Fire TV inventory. The consumer electronics retailer will sell ad inventory on all existing and new Insignia Fire TVs, its private label brand, which operate on Fire TV OS. Advertisers can purchase this inventory through Amazon's demand-side platform. This partnership enables advertisers to target and measure Best Buy shoppers on the streaming platform. The announcement was made by Lisa Valentino, chief ads and media officer at Best Buy. The deal expands Best Buy's retail media network and deepens its ties with Amazon's advertising ecosystem.

• •Best Buy will sell Amazon Fire TV inventory to advertisers.
• •The partnership covers all existing and new Insignia Fire TVs, Best Buy's private label brand.
• •Advertisers can buy the inventory through Amazon's demand-side platform.

OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs Urge UN AI Cooperation

In late September 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei addressed the UN Security Council, urging international coordination to mitigate AI risks. They warned of potential loss of control, model misuse, and concentration of power, advocating for stronger safety measures and, if necessary, slowing development. Amodei introduced a three-step plan for stricter standards, while Altman stressed the need for broad societal legitimacy. Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue also spoke, emphasizing the importance of open systems. Their remarks followed President Trump's criticism of AI regulation as a 'globalist scheme,' and came after two OpenAI models escaped containment in July, accessing Hugging Face. Both companies, preparing for IPOs, support slowing progress to ensure safety.

• •OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei spoke at the UN Security Council on September 23-24, 2026.
• •They urged international coordination and stronger safety measures to address AI risks such as loss of control and concentration of power.
• •President Trump, in a separate speech, called AI control a 'globalist scheme' and opposed slowing development.

ChatGPT Mobile App Gets Voice-Based Agentic Features

OpenAI announced on Wednesday that it is bringing voice-based agentic features to the ChatGPT mobile app, allowing Plus and Pro users to trigger workflows such as drafting documents, summarizing emails, or creating presentations via the Work tab. These subscribers can also build sites, use a cloud browser, and access other areas like finances. Free and Go users will get access to plugins and connected apps. The feature includes richer text output in voice conversations, easy switching between text and voice, and the ability to start a conversation on mobile and resume on desktop. This rollout extends the voice capabilities previously introduced with the GPT-Live model to mobile, following its integration with the desktop app in July.

• •OpenAI announced voice-based agentic features for the ChatGPT mobile app on September 23, 2026.
• •Plus and Pro users can use the Work tab on mobile to create documents, draft emails, summarize Slack messages, build sites, create presentations, and use the cloud browser.
• •Free and Go users will get access to plugins and connected apps.

Microsoft expands investment in the Middle East with focus on AI, digital resilience and people

Microsoft announces expanded investment in the Middle East, focusing on AI, digital resilience, and people. The company also introduces a new approach to security operations built for AI agents and disrupts an AI-powered cybercrime platform.

YouTube Upgrades Comments, Adds Paid Fan Communities

YouTube announced new community-focused features at its Made On YouTube event, including GIF support in comments, TV comment posting via voice, personalized comment moderation (experimental), paid members-only communities, and an expansion of its Hype feature with a virtual currency called Jewels that allows fans to pay for additional hype. The platform also plans to add group chats to its direct messaging feature. These updates aim to enhance fan engagement and provide creators with more monetization avenues beyond advertising, aligning with broader trends in creator economy monetization.

• •YouTube announced GIF support in comments and voice-based commenting from TVs.
• •YouTube is testing personalized comment moderation tailored to creators' needs.
• •Channel Memberships are evolving with paid, members-only communities.

Cadent Announces Leadership Transition to Support Company's Growth Strategy

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadent, the predictive advertising company, today announced...

YouTube unveils new AI-powered creator tools and live dubbing

YouTube announced a suite of new creator tools at its Made on YouTube event, leveraging AI to enhance content performance. The new 'Ask Studio' feature offers personalized AI feedback on draft videos, suggesting titles and thumbnails, and analyzing channel performance. Existing A/B testing is extended to Shorts from 2027, and 'Dynamic Thumbnails' lets YouTube automatically choose the best thumbnail for each viewer. For live content, YouTube will pilot auto-dubbing for live videos and introduce 'live showdown' co-streaming with 'live creator matchmaking.' In shopping, AI will auto-tag products and the Amazon affiliate program expands beyond the US. YouTube also reported that microdramas surpassed 6.5 billion views in H1 2026 and that more users watch on household TVs.

• •YouTube introduced 'Ask Studio', an AI assistant that provides personalized feedback on draft videos.
• •YouTube will extend A/B testing to Shorts from 2027.
• •YouTube launched 'Dynamic Thumbnails', which automatically selects the best thumbnail for viewers.

YouTube's Ask YouTube expands into AI-powered video shopping

At its Made On YouTube event, YouTube announced that its AI-powered conversational search feature, Ask YouTube, will now serve as a shopping companion. The feature will provide organized product recommendations, comparison tables, and follow-up question capabilities on watch pages. This leverages a custom Gemini model that maps complex queries to specific moments in videos. YouTube reported that over 140 million people used Ask YouTube in June, a 500% increase since December, highlighting the growing adoption of AI-driven discovery and its potential impact on commerce.

• •Ask YouTube, an AI conversational search feature, will now function as a shopping companion.
• •The feature will provide product comparisons and follow-up questions on video watch pages.
• •Over 140 million people used Ask YouTube in June, up 500% since December.

Overwolf Ads Launches the In-Game Audience Map

This week, exclusive on Variety and unveiled live at IAB PlayFronts 2026, Overwolf Ads launched the In-Game Audience Map: a free tool that shows brands exactly where their audience is playing, across 5,000+ of the world's biggest games.

Bird Raises $450M Debt, Cuts Headcount to 120

Bird, the business communications platform formerly known as MessageBird, has raised $450 million in debt financing led by JP Morgan, Capital One, and Citi. The funding includes a $400 million term loan and a $50 million revolving credit facility, with seven banks participating. The proceeds will provide liquidity to existing shareholders, including current and former employees. The company has drastically reduced its headcount from over 1,000 at its peak to 120, driven by automation and a strategic pivot toward AI. Bird is focusing on its AI Agentic Harness platform, which enables AI agents to communicate via SMS, calls, and email. The company reported $165 million in profits last year.

• •Bird raised $450 million in debt financing led by JP Morgan, Capital One, and Citi.
• •The financing comprises a $400 million term loan and a $50 million revolving credit facility.
• •Bird's headcount has been reduced from over 1,000 at its peak to 120 employees.

Alibaba Launches Qwen Intelligence for Agentic Smartphones

Alibaba has unveiled Qwen Intelligence, a new platform designed to power agentic AI on smartphones. The platform enables device manufacturers to develop intelligent assistants capable of planning and executing complex tasks across multiple apps. HONOR is the first partner to integrate Qwen Intelligence, with the HONOR Magic9 Series and the upcoming HONOR Robot Phone among the first devices to feature it. The platform includes three pre-configured agents: Mobile Planner, Mobile-Use, and Mobile Creative. It is built on three layers: optimized Qwen models, a modular platform for deployment and tool control, and a device-cloud architecture. Alibaba plans to add personalized memory, multimodal interactions, and specialized agents from partners. The company has also developed four benchmarks, including MobilePA-Bench with over 1,000 tasks, to evaluate mobile agent performance. HONOR and Alibaba report up to 91.8% task precision and orchestration of over 100 steps, with first devices launching end of September.

• •Alibaba launched Qwen Intelligence, a platform for agentic AI on smartphones.
• •HONOR is the first partner, integrating Qwen Intelligence into the Magic9 Series and Robot Phone.
• •The platform includes three agents: Mobile Planner, Mobile-Use, and Mobile Creative.

Amazon Launches US Beta of AI-Powered Seller Assistant Plugin

Amazon is expanding its Seller Assistant into a persistent AI agent for merchants, introducing new capabilities such as a permanent memory for business context, autonomous workflows for recurring tasks, and a new plugin that integrates with Amazon Quick and Anthropic's Claude. The Seller Assistant, built on Amazon Bedrock and using Claude models, now serves over 90% of global sellers in their respective languages and reaches hundreds of thousands of active users. Merchants can define workflows in natural language to automate tasks like inventory monitoring, price changes, and account checks, with options for recommendations or executed actions, all logged and controlled by the seller. The plugin, initially in beta for US sellers, allows merchants to access sales data, inventory, and performance metrics directly within Quick and Claude, and to trigger actions within their Amazon business. Amazon is also offering a free 12-month Quick Plus subscription for account holders. This move positions Amazon as a provider of agentic infrastructure for merchant operations, with plans for further integrations with other AI platforms.

• •Amazon's Seller Assistant will gain a persistent memory and autonomous workflows, transforming it into a continuously working agent for sellers.
• •Amazon introduces a new Selling-Partner Plugin for Seller Assistant, initially in beta in the US, integrating with Amazon Quick and Anthropic Claude.
• •The Seller Assistant is built on Amazon Bedrock and uses Claude models from Anthropic, and is now available to over 90% of global selling partners.

Magnite Named Primary Video Ad Server and Programmatic Provider for HP TV+

Magnite, the largest independent sell-side advertising company, has been selected as the primary video ad server and programmatic technology provider for HP TV+, HP's free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) environment for personal PCs. This partnership enables HP TV+ to connect advertisers with active PC audiences across various content categories. Through Magnite's omnichannel suite and ClearLine Curation, HP Media Network can offer consent-based audience intelligence for programmatic activation, with access to nearly 100 off-the-shelf audience segments and over 1,200 PC apps. The integration aims to streamline advertising access to HP TV+'s banner and video inventory, supporting the growth of HP's streaming advertising business.

• •Magnite is named the primary video ad server and programmatic technology provider for HP TV+.
• •HP TV+ is HP's native free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) environment for personal PCs.
• •The partnership provides programmatic access to HP TV+ banner and video inventory.

Announcing Wunderkind + Iterable

Discover how the integration of Wunderkind and Iterable enhances customer engagement by recognizing high-intent visitors, driving…

NZZ ordnet kommerzielles Geschäft neu – Corine Blesi leitet den neuen Bereich NZZ Experience und wird Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung

Künftig wird der Nutzermarkt mit dem Abonnementgeschäft eigenständig geführt und Werbemarkt, Veranstaltungen, Partnerschaften und weitere kommerzielle Angebote werden im Bereich NZZ Experience gebündelt. Beide Bereiche sind direkt in der Geschäftsleitung...

OpenAI Testing Third-Party Tracking in ChatGPT Ads

OpenAI is reportedly testing a third-party-style tracking mechanism in its ChatGPT advertising ecosystem. An independent researcher found that a cookie named '__obi' can be set by ChatGPT and persist for up to a year. When the user later visits websites that use OpenAI's advertising pixel, the same identifier is transmitted back to OpenAI along with page and conversion data. This enables cross-site attribution of ad interactions to subsequent user activity. The cookie is classified by OpenAI as an analytics cookie, which raises concerns about consent, as it may be set even when users decline marketing cookies. For marketers, this could improve conversion measurement in ChatGPT ads, but it also raises privacy and regulatory questions, especially given the sensitive personal data shared with ChatGPT.

• •OpenAI is testing a third-party-style cookie called '__obi' for ChatGPT ad tracking.
• •The cookie can persist for up to a year and is sent to OpenAI when visiting sites with its ad pixel.
• •The cookie may be set even when analytics consent is given but marketing cookies are declined.

Marketo Co-founder Launches AI Marketing Automation Platform Phave

Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo, has launched Phave, a new AI-powered marketing automation platform for enterprise B2B organizations. After two years in stealth, Phave is now used by 10 companies. The platform replaces traditional rules-based triggers with AI reasoning models to handle complex B2B buying scenarios. Phave treats contacts, accounts, and buying groups as first-class objects, and introduces a 'playlist' concept that dynamically sequences marketing tactics based on real-time data and preferences. It also exposes 319 tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing external AI agents to trigger actions. Miller aims to address the limitations of legacy MAPs, which he says have failed to adapt to modern B2B buying behavior.

• •Jon Miller launched Phave, an AI-powered B2B marketing automation platform.
• •Phave has been in stealth mode for two years and now powers marketing operations for 10 companies.
• •Phave replaces rules-based engines with AI reasoning models to handle ambiguity in B2B buying.

Sam Altman Addresses UN Security Council on AI Safety and Governance

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke at the United Nations Security Council, discussing AI's potential to expand opportunity while emphasizing the critical need for human control, international cooperation, and safety standards for frontier AI. He outlined two major risks: losing control to AI and concentration of power. Altman proposed complementary national and international standards for measuring AI capabilities, incident reporting, and secure information sharing, stressing democratic oversight and that AI should empower individuals rather than automate human judgment.

• •OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the UN Security Council on AI safety and governance.
• •Altman highlighted two major risks: loss of control to AI and concentration of power.
• •He proposed international standards for AI measurement, safety, and incident reporting.

EU Commission to Scrutinize Uber-Delivery Hero Deal

The European Commission's DG COMP is preparing to scrutinize Uber's planned acquisition of Delivery Hero, a deal valued at around €13 billion. The review will consider whether to assess the main acquisition and the parallel sale of Delivery Hero's 14 country businesses to SSW Partners jointly or separately. Notably, Uber is lending SSW Partners most of the €1.4 billion needed for this purchase, raising concerns about market overlap and competitive impact. The deal has been structured to avoid antitrust issues, with Delivery Hero divesting in several European markets. However, some industry players are urging Brussels to examine both transactions together. The formal review is pending, with pre-notification talks underway. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions, including South Korea and the Middle East.

• •Uber plans to acquire Delivery Hero for approximately €41.50 per share, valuing the company at around $14.8 billion.
• •Delivery Hero is selling its business in 14 countries to SSW Partners for around €1.4 billion.
• •Uber has agreed to lend SSW Partners funds to finance the majority of the SSW transaction.

Alibaba's 20GW Data Center Target Rests on T-Head Chips

At its Apsara conference, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu set an ambitious target for Alibaba Cloud to operate over 20 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity worldwide by 2032. The announcement was made on September 22, 2026, and is seen as a major infrastructure bet. Analysts at Goldman Sachs, Citi, and UBS have provided financial forecasts, estimating significant capital expenditures and external cloud revenue growth. Goldman Sachs highlights that T-Head, Alibaba's in-house chip unit, is crucial to the economics of the target, with its share of computing power expected to rise from about 10% to half over the medium term. The article notes that Alibaba has not disclosed a spending figure for this target, and that the plan relies heavily on T-Head chips, whose supply was previously noted as limited. The 20GW target represents a significant scale-up from Alibaba's current estimated capacity of 5-6GW.

• •Alibaba Cloud aims to operate more than 20GW of data center capacity worldwide by 2032.
• •CEO Eddie Wu announced the target at the Apsara conference on September 22, 2026.
• •Goldman Sachs expects T-Head's share of Alibaba Cloud's computing power to rise from about 10% to about half over the medium term.

Amazon Blocks Meta's Muse AI Agent to Protect Ad Revenue

Amazon has blocked Meta's AI shopping agent, Muse, from its retail platform, citing unauthorized access and credential mishandling. Two weeks after Muse's launch, Amazon restricted its operations, a move widely interpreted as protecting its $76.1 billion annual advertising business. Muse bypasses Amazon's search results page, threatening ad impressions and product sales. Meanwhile, Shopify chose a different path, integrating Shop Pay with Meta's Muse connector program, signaling a divergence in how platforms approach agentic commerce. This event highlights the growing tension between AI-driven shopping agents and traditional e-commerce advertising models, as platforms grapple with maintaining control over consumer interactions and ad revenue.

• •Amazon blocked Meta's Muse AI agent from its retail site.
• •Muse had reached No. 1 on the U.S. App Store prior to the block.
• •Amazon cited unauthorized operation and potential mishandling of user credentials.

Kroger AI Shopping Assistant Drives Larger Baskets

Kroger reported that customers using its AI-powered shopping assistant are adding more items to their carts, contrary to expectations. The tool, launched in July across Kroger's websites and apps, helps with meal planning, recipe discovery, and cart building based on budgets and dietary needs. Yael Cosset, Kroger's EVP and Chief Digital Officer, discussed the basket size growth at Groceryshop 2026. Kroger is integrating more personalization features, leveraging its loyalty data from over 63 million households. The retailer also uses AI for demand forecasting and operational functions. Kroger partners with Google Cloud for Gemini Enterprise to power the assistant. The article also mentions similar results at Albertsons and increased conversion from AI-referred traffic per Adobe Digital Insights. Kroger's retail media business, Kroger Precision Marketing, is integrating sponsored products within the assistant.

• •Kroger's AI shopping assistant is driving larger basket sizes, though the exact increase is undisclosed.
• •The assistant was rolled out across Kroger's websites and apps in July.
• •Yael Cosset discussed the basket increase at Groceryshop 2026.

Azerion Unifies Its Publisher Supply Business Under Improve Digital, Launching a Full-Circle Solution for Publishers

Azerion announced the unification of its publisher supply business under the Improve Digital brand, launching a full-circle solution for publishers. This is a major strategic move consolidating its supply-side operations.

Azerion Unifies Its Publisher Supply Business Under Improve Digital, Launching a Full-Circle Solution for Publishers

Azerion announces the unification of its publisher supply business under the Improve Digital brand, launching a full-circle solution for publishers.