Marketplace Tech

The AI smart speaker market is getting crowded. This year, Amazon, which is a Marketplace underwriter, rolled out a large language model-powered version of its classic voice assistant.

You can still talk to Alexa+ using Amazon echo devices, but it also operates as a text chatbot, replacing the old Rufus AI. It's capable of conversational searches, managing to-do lists and even generating podcasts.

Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, broke down what's new with Alexa+.

More on this:

“I’ve Been Testing Alexa for a Decade. Here’s My Take on How Alexa+ Compares.” from Wirecutter

“Amazon's Alexa+” from Amazon

Meta's new Muse AI assistant is having a moment — and it's kind of adorable. Meta announced a slew of new integrations for its AI assistant at a company event this week, including a customizable furry lil’ avatar and a Tamogatchi-like wearable device for interacting with it.

Plus, Wall Street is betting billions on growing demand for cybersecurity in the age of AI and social media platform Discord enters its age-gating era.

Anita Ramaswamy at The Information is here to help us unpack the week in tech.

More on this:

I Gave My Life Over to Meta’s A.I. Agent and Was Blown Away — New York Times

Meta Tests Muse AI Agent Calls That Are Actually Made By Humans in a Call Center — 404 Media

CrowdStrike and Okta Trade at Big Premiums Despite Unproven AI Payoff — The Information

Discord’s age-verification era is upon us, despite community backlash — Tech Crunch

AI is the big item on the agenda this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Trump in Washington, D.C.

The talks come after a firestorm of news that has brought AI safety front and center: the hack of Hugging Face by rogue OpenAI agents, the resignation of an Anthropic researcher, plus calls by AI leaders to pace the frontier always met with the rejoinder, “what about China?”

Samm Sacks, senior fellow at the think tank New America, tells us more about China's approach to these AI talks.

More on this:

“US and China Hail Talks as Positive Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit” from Bloomberg

“US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China, Bessent says” from Associated Press

The global beauty market is expected to hit almost $600 billion by 2030, according to a report by McKinsey & Company. And just like pretty much every industry, it's being transformed by AI.

L’Oréal and OpenAI announced a partnership this summer to bring virtual makeup try-ons and product discovery to ChatGPT. An AI styling firm called Alta is integrating e.l.f. Beauty products into its virtual try on avatars. And consumers are increasingly looking to chatbots for skincare and makeup recommendations.

Apparently beauty inquiries account for almost half of generative AI retail referral traffic, according to market research firm EuroMonitor. For more we're joined by fashion-tech journalist and consultant Maghan McDowell, who's been following this trend.

Sure, you can put down your phone and go touch grass for free. But for those looking for a little help committing to a more disconnected lifestyle, there's a growing market of products and services from retreats to apps to devices that promise to supercharge your ability to unplug — for a price. Paula Mejia has covered the booming digital detox industry for Mother Jones, and spoke with “Marketplace Tech” host Meghan McCarty Carino about her reporting.

More on this:

“Adventures in Unplugging” from Mother Jones

“Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children” from BBC9