Anna Helhoski

What are some of the big news stories right now that are still up in the air that could move the needle one way or another?

There's a lot that I can think of, but what's in your perspective?

It sure is, Sam.

It's a...

Friday after midnight.

All right.

Well, we'll be keeping track of all that stuff.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Sam.

And for listeners, we are going to be keeping an eye on the government shutdown situation.

And yeah, Nerval will be on top of it.

The same tool that gives you helpful advice could also soon be serving you ads and be acting as the checkout all at once.

So listen to this.

A new study released on January 7th from IBM Institute for Business Value and the National Retail Federation found that almost half of consumers turn to AI for shopping and advice, including product research, interpreting reviews, and finding deals.

There's been a lot of recent developments.

So first up, Google's starting to fold shopping and advertising right into its generative AI chat platforms.

Google's AI mode is now being used to show you personalized deals and shopping offers that are based on what you're looking for.

And that's a pilot program called Direct Offers.

And it lets retailers present you discounts and special promotions directly into a chat when a user is considering making some kind of a purchase.

And Google also unveiled a new standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol.

Very catchy.