DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

I’ll frequently update this list leading up to October’s Prime Day sale on Oct. 8 and 9. SKIP AHEAD Best early Prime Day deals | More early Prime Day sales | Best sales at other retailers | How I picked the best early Prime Day deals | Why trust NBC Select? Best early Prime Day kitchen deals4.3-star average rating from 68,314 reviews on AmazonThis microwave popcorn maker is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. Best early Prime Day salesHere are the best early Prime Day sales to know about. Best sales at other retailersHow I found the best early Prime Day dealsAll of my recommendations above are based on NBC Select’s previous coverage and reporting.

Persons: I’ve, I’ll, It’s, petrolatum, You’ll, it’s, you’re, —, popper, fryer, Lindsay Schneider, TikTok Organizations: NBC, October’s, Alexa Voice, Amazon, Bluetooth, Wellness, Bath, Giftable Tech, Deal, Facebook, Twitter Locations: California

Persons: I’ve, I’ll, It’s, petrolatum, popper, fryer, Lindsay Schneider, TikTok Organizations: Deal, NBC, October’s, Alexa Voice, Amazon, Bluetooth, Wellness, Bath, Giftable Tech, Facebook, Twitter Locations: California

Amelia is the latest generative AI tool that Amazon has brought to market in the past year as it seeks to capitalize on the hype sparked by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The company has introduced an AI-powered shopping assistant named Rufus, a chatbot for businesses dubbed Q and Bedrock, a generative AI service for cloud customers. More than 400,000 of Amazon's millions of third-party sellers have used its AI listing tool, up from 200,000 in June, he said. With Amelia, Amazon is counting on generative AI to help with a key issue for third-party merchants — account troubleshooting. Amazon said the tool uses retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, a popular AI industry framework that combines generative AI with long-established methods of information retrieval.

Persons: Nathan Stirk, Amelia, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Rufus, Anthropic, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Thos Robinson, it's, Dharmesh Mehta, Mehta Organizations: Getty, Central, CNBC, New York Times, Google, Microsoft, Merchants Locations: New York City, Seattle .

☆ Leaked messages show early challenges for Amazon's big AI product and concern about losing customers to Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Amazon Q, a big new AI product, faces issues such as high costs and lack of features. Neighorn told BI that Amazon had clear pricing for Amazon Q and that customers could use the AWS Pricing Calculator to calculate Amazon Q charges. "Amazon Q only launched in April, and we continue to add new features based on customer feedback," Neighorn said. "Amazon Q has a rapidly growing customer base that is using Q for a variety of use cases." AdvertisementFor now, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy may be the biggest salesperson for Amazon Q.

Persons: —, Q, It's, Slack, Q's, AWS's, Microsoft's Copilot, Patrick Neighorn, Neighorn, Matt Garman, Garman, Andy Jassy, Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Service, Web Services, Business, Microsoft, Google, ChatGPT, BI, Microsoft's Exchange, Bayer, Smartsheet, National Australia Bank, AWS, Q, LinkedIn Locations: North

Olivia Ott / NBC NewsHow we tested Windmill and July’s air conditionersTwo of my colleagues and I tested Windmill and July’s ACs for at least five weeks in our New York City apartments. July sent me its small 6K BTU air conditioner, which I put in my bedroom. My LG air conditioner was so loud that I felt like I couldn’t hear myself think. JulyEven after over a month, I’m still shocked when I walk into my bedroom and barely notice my air conditioner. For this article, I tested July’s air conditioner for over a month, and two members of NBC Select’s staff tested Windmill’s air conditioner for over a month.

Persons: you’ll, Zoe Malin, Nikki Brown, Olivia Ott, Bianca Alvarez, you’re, I’ve, ”, Brown, Alvarez, I’d, she’s, “, it’s, Windmill’s, I’m, Both Alvarez, hasn’t, —, TikTok Organizations: NASA, NBC, British, Units, National Council, Aging, Alexa, July’s, ACs, Windmill, AC, July’s AC, LG, Amazon Alexa, decibel, Facebook, Twitter Locations: New York City, BTUs, Taskrabbit, NYC, France

☆ Amazon has discussed a 'DoctorAI' tool to automate routine healthcare tasks
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAmazon's One Medical team has discussed building a new large language model called "DoctorAI" to automate routine healthcare tasks, according to an internal planning document obtained by Business Insider. In one section, the One Medical team discusses their most disruptive ideas, and this is where the new AI tool was proposed. Big foundation models are often used as a starting point to develop more focused, specialized AI models and tools. "We do not use our customers' protected health information to train our current health AI models, and to imply we do would be incorrect." It also hoped to handle 87,000 customer service contacts in 2024 through "additional self-service content and the AI healthcare assistant service," the document stated.

Persons: —, Andy Jassy, Rohit Prasad, Sunita Mishra Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon Pharmacy, Olympus, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Amazon Web Services

It's your last chance to shop Amazon Prime Day deals on tech, beauty products, vacuums and more. SKIP AHEAD The best Prime Day deals | More Prime Day sales to check out | The best sales at other retailersWant more from our everyday experts, straight to your inbox? Other Amazon Echo smart speakers are also on sale during Prime Day, including the Echo Spot ($44.99) and Echo Dot ($24.99). Best Prime Day salesHere are the best Prime Day sales to know about. Best Prime Day clothing, shoes and accessories salesBest Prime Day tech salesBest Prime Day home and kitchen salesBest Prime Day pet supplies salesBest Prime Day beauty and wellness salesBest Prime Day travel salesBest Prime Day food and beverage dealsPrime Day: Best sales at other retailersFrequently asked questions When does Amazon Prime Day end?

Persons: I’ve, they’re, It’s, Chamberlain, They’re, fanny, —, Siri, Differin, dermatologists, shea, Alexa, Lindsay Schneider, Mili, it’s, you’ll, Chili Crisp, Zhong, TikTok Organizations: Amazon, NBC, AA, AAA, Apple, Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, Sirius XM, Chengdu Crunch, Amazon Prime, Wellness, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Chili, Zhong Sauce

☆ Amazon's amazing turnaround: How Andy Jassy secretly wooed Wall Street and overhauled a bloated tech giant
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

This person is one of over a dozen Amazon employees, investors, and analysts that BI interviewed to better understand Jassy's first 3 years as CEO. Andy Jassy replaced Jeff Bezos (pictured here) as Amazon's CEO in July 2021. In his first 3 years as CEO, Jassy has lost many senior staff. Amazon's spokesperson said the company has "strong retention and continuity" among senior leaders. Amazon's spokesperson said the company is making "huge investments" in AI across AWS and the retail business.

Persons: —, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Jassy, Bezos, EMMANUEL DUNAND, Mark Shmulik, Bernstein, Bernstein's Shmulik, He's, Shmulik, Amazon's, That's, spokespeople, Jassy doesn't, Doug Herrington, Jay Carney, Dave Limp, Adam Selipsky, Dave Clark, Clark, Ted S, Babak Parviz, Parviz, Mark Mahaney, We're, Jeff Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon, Washington Post, BI, Warren, Echo, Microsoft, AWS Locations: Seattle

☆ Amazon beefs up AI development, hiring execs from startup Adept and licensing its technology
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The front desk of the Amazon office is pictured in New York, May 1, 2019. Amazon is ramping up its development of artificial intelligence technology, hiring top talent from AI agent startup Adept and licensing the company's technology. Luan will oversee Amazon's "AGI Autonomy" division, and report to Prasad, he wrote in the memo, which CNBC obtained. Amazon's cloud unit has launched a range of AI services, including its own models, which are generally viewed as lagging behind the top competitors. Last month, Amazon announced Adam Selipsky, the head of Amazon Web Services, would be stepping down and succeeded by Matt Garman, the head of sales at marketing at AWS.

Persons: Rohit Prasad, David Luan, Luan, Prasad, Geekwire, Anthropic, Adam Selipsky, Matt Garman Organizations: CNBC, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Alexa, Amazon Web Services, AWS Locations: New York

Some of Best Buy's best deals this weekend include the highly sought-after PS5 Slim for only $400 — a rare discount on the premium gaming console. Below we've highlighted 10 of the best deals you can shop on Best Buy this weekend. You can find some present inspiration in our guides to the best Father's Day gifts, the best graduation gifts for him, and the best graduation gifts for her. 10 best Best Buy deals available nowSony PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) $399.99 $449.99 Save 11% The PS5 Slim Digital Edition is for downloadable games only and costs $50 less than the standard PS5 with a disc drive. Shop at Best BuyCheck out more of Best Buy's weekend sale here.

Persons: Slim Organizations: Business, Apple, Sony, Alexa, Toshiba, Fire

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Nvidia shares top $1,000 on AI boom
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Nvidia to split stock, sales to soarShares of Nvidia rose more than 7%, topping $1,000 for the first time, in after-hours trading after its first-quarter earnings and sales beat analysts' expectations. The company plans to split its stock 10 for 1. The media outlet went public in 2021 and has seen its shares fall 94% since then.

Persons: OpenAI, Vivek, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Goldman Sachs Organizations: CNBC, Nvidia, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Dow, Google, GOP, Securities and Exchange Commission

☆ Amazon plans to give Alexa an AI overhaul — and a monthly subscription price
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Kate Rooney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is upgrading its decade-old Alexa voice assistant with generative artificial intelligence and plans to charge a monthly subscription fee to offset the cost of the technology, according to people with knowledge of Amazon's plans. Amazon's subscription for Alexa will not be included in the $139 per year Prime offering, and Amazon has not yet nailed down the price point, one source said. The Alexa team worried they had invented an expensive alarm clock, weather machine and way to play Spotify music, one source said. When reached for comment, Amazon pointed to the company's annual shareholder letter released last month. It has undergone a massive reorganization, with much of the team shifting to the artificial general intelligence, or AGI, team, according to three sources.

Persons: OpenAI, Siri, Apple's, Scott Galloway, Alexa, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Alexa didn't Organizations: Alexa, Google, Amazon, Gemini, iPhones, NYU, Spotify Locations: Seattle

☆ Leak: Amazon retail CEO tells employees about his 'AI show and tell' and warns of companies that 'failed to adapt' to big technology shifts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

“I would say it's important to remember that history is littered with big successful companies who faced big technology shifts,” Herrington said during the event. Internally, Amazon is scrambling to brainstorm new AI projects . Herrington oversees Amazon’s entire retail business, including the online marketplace, healthcare unit, and logistics service. While mentioning big companies that failed to adapt to these transitions and ultimately phased out, Herrington said he’s confident Amazon is going to be a leader in AI. Advertisement“It's all of our responsibility together to make sure that's not going to be the Amazon story,” Herrington said.

Persons: —, Doug Herrington, ”, Herrington, “, ” Herrington, didn’t, ’, There’s, Andy Jassy Organizations: Service, Amazon, Business

☆ The generative AI future will not be free
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Our paid AI futureToday, we're at the start of a similarly exciting new technology wave with generative AI. Even Google, the master of free online services, is considering paid subscriptions for some of its new AI offerings. So, why will generative AI offerings be paid from the start? One possible answer is that ads may not work as well in this new generative AI future. Charging for new generative AI services is one way to create new earnings.

Persons: —, Chris Anderson, Stephen Colbert, Colbert, Alexa, Insider's Eugene Kim, Sundar Pichai, Bard chatbot, Oren Etzioni, Dave Limp, Etzioni, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Engadget, Alexa, Big Tech, Apple, Microsoft, Meta Locations: Silicon, we're

☆ Amazon is working on a new 'Remarkable Alexa' but internal politics and technical issues plague the project
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team is working towards a June 30 launch deadline, and has been testing the underlying voice technology, dubbed "Remarkable Alexa," with 15,000 external customers, these people said. Internally, however, Amazon isn't satisfied with the performance of the new Remarkable Alexa yet. But the new Remarkable Alexa follows a more centralized structure, where language understanding and response generation use a single language model. The Classic Alexa team, for example, wants to protect their work by insisting on using what they built for the old Alexa, one of the people said. In addition to the subscription-based Alexa, Amazon is also working on a new Alexa product that can be used within a web browser, people familiar with the project told BI.

Persons: Alexa, Dave Limp, Rohit Prasad Organizations: Business, Alexa, Google, Apple, Intelligence, Amazon, Alexa Plus, Reuters

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT.O), three people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The Commission, which is due to decide on the deal by Feb. 14, declined to comment. The deal announced in August would add iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum to U.S. online retail giant Amazon's portfolio of smart devices, includes the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices and wall-mounted smart displays. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Mark Potter and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Foo Yun, Mark Potter, David Goodman Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Big Tech, European Commission, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Rights BRUSSELS

The S&P 500 (.SPX), the Nasdaq (.IXIC) and the Dow (.DJI) registered their third straight week of gains. For the week, the S&P 500 added 2.2% while the Nasdaq composite rose 2.4% and the Dow climbed 1.9%. Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsEnergy, finishing up 2.1%, was the biggest percentage gainer among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors as oil prices settled up more than 4%. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 97 new lows.

Persons: Michael Barr, Mary Daly, Susan Collins, Robert Phipps, Per Stirling's Phipps, Dow, Jack McIntyre, Brendan McDermid, Russell, Rick Wilmer, Sinéad Carew, Shristi, Maju Samuel, Pooja Desai, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Federal, San Francisco Fed, Boston Fed, Applied Materials, U.S . Justice, Stirling, Dow Jones, Brandywine Global, Traders, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights Energy, Technology, Microsoft, Ross Stores, Old Navy, ChargePoint Holdings, NYSE, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Austin Texas, Philadelphia, New York City, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon.com to cut 'several hundred' Alexa jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 17 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) on Friday announced it is trimming jobs at its Alexa voice assistant unit, citing shifting business priorities and a greater focus on generative artificial intelligence. Many companies are shifting resources to generative AI, which can create software code and lengthy text responses from short prompts. Alexa is a voice assistant that can be used to set timers, ask search queries, play music, or as a home automation hub. In particular, people familiar with the matter pointed to the Alexa voice assistant, now nearly a decade old, as having failed to keep pace in the age of generative artificial intelligence. The Seattle-based online retailer's voice assistant products compete with offerings from Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Apple (AAPL.O).

Persons: Steve Marcus, Daniel Rausch, Panos Panay, David Limp, Jeff Bezos, Rausch, Greg Bensinger, Kenneth Li, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Alexa, Fire, Reuters, Devices, Microsoft, Amazon, Origin, Echo, Amazon.com, Apple, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, Panay, Seattle, San Francisco

☆ Amazon to sell Hyundai vehicles online starting in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Hyundai Elantra N is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLOS ANGELES, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) will begin selling Hyundai (005380.KS) vehicles online in the U.S. starting next year, the two companies said on Thursday. Customers will be able to shop for, equip and buy a car at Amazon.com and schedule delivery through a local Hyundai dealer, the companies said. Hyundai set up its first digital showroom on Amazon in 2018. The new agreement also will enable buyers of new Hyundai vehicles in 2025 to access Amazon's Alexa voice assistant from their cars.

Persons: Aly, ”, Jay Chang, Paul Lienert, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Hyundai, Auto, REUTERS, Amazon.com, Los Angeles Auto, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, KS, U.S, Detroit

☆ Soon you’ll be able to buy a Hyundai on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

People will be able to shop for Hyundai vehicles on Amazon through an agreement with the South Korean automaker. Laws in most US states protect auto dealerships from automakers who might want to sell directly to consumers. Amazon customers will be able to search dealership inventories through the Amazon website, see pricing for vehicles, and click a button to initiate a purchase. This arrangement was announced as part of a package of deals between Hyundai and Amazon, including that Amazon will provide data storage for Hyundai and that future Hyundai models will include the Alexa voice assistant. Hyundai dealers won’t have to participate in the program, but can opt-in.

Persons: you’ve, Tesla, “ It’s, ”, Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com, Caldwell, Jose Muñoz, Mike Sullivan, weren’t, “ I’ve, ” Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Hyundai, South Korean, Hyundai Santa Fe, Edmunds.com, Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai Santa Monica Locations: Hyundai Santa

Amazon next year will allow auto dealers to sell cars through its site, starting with South Korean automaker Hyundai, the company said Thursday. Beginning in 2024, Amazon will let shoppers purchase a new car online, then pick it up or have it delivered by their local dealership. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the partnership with Hyundai will change "the ease with which customers can buy vehicles online." Shares of used car dealers such as Carmax and Carvana as well as the country's largest publicly traded new car dealers Lithia Motors and AutoNation fell following the announcement. Tesla and other electric vehicle startups such as Rivian have developed workarounds in many states to sell vehicles directly online to consumers.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Alexa, AutoNation Organizations: Amazon, South, Hyundai, Consumers, Lithia Motors, CNBC PRO Locations: Amazon, Michigan

☆ Amazon's Astro robot is now a roving security guard for business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Astro for Business is aimed at retailers, manufacturers, and other industries as a security guard that can patrol for break-ins and other threats. Amazon has a new job for its Astro robot: A roving security guard in stores to detect break-ins and other threats. Astro for Business is launching only in the U.S. to start, and it comes at a steep price point of $2,349.99. Amazon is also offering a suite of security products in tandem with Astro for Business for an added fee, such as Ring Protect Pro, which can link Astro to Ring sensors and motion detectors. A virtual security guard service allows Astro to notify remote security centers of a potential threat, such as an unrecognized person, breaking glass or smoke.

Persons: Anthony Robson Organizations: Astro, Business, Amazon, Amazon Astro, National Retail Federation, CNBC Locations: U.S

☆ Over half of employees have no idea how their companies are using AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Deborah Kong | Nbc East Coast Page | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Over half of employees (54%) say they have no idea how their company is using AI, according to a new survey conducted by UKG, a human resources and workforce technology company. That's despite the fact that the majority of C-suite leaders (78%) say that their company is using artificial intelligence today, according to UKG. Employees should be worried: 68% of C-suite respondents said their company has made AI decisions that are not in employees' best interests. In fact, executives that responded to the survey estimated that 56% of their workforce is directly using AI to automate or augment job tasks. Meanwhile, among workers already transparently using AI, 75% say it makes them more efficient, productive, and accurate.

Persons: Al Drago, UKG, Hugo Sarrazin, Dan Schawbel Organizations: Amazon Devices, Amazon.com Inc, Bloomberg, Getty, Workplace Intelligence, UKG Locations: Arlington , Virginia, UKG

☆ On Amazon, eBay, and Shopify, AI is the new third-party seller
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Did AI help in the process of convincing you to spend? We do know for sure that getting a leg up on the competition is getting easier for e-commerce platform sellers through the latest AI. Amazon, for example, recently rolled out a generative AI tool to help sellers write more robust and effective product descriptions. Here's what sellers need to know about using AI to sell more effectively. Customers will find more complete product information, as the new technology will help sellers provide richer information with less effort," the company stated.

Persons: Al Drago, Chris Jones, Greg Mercer, Mercer, Sellers Organizations: Amazon Devices, Amazon.com Inc, Bloomberg, Getty, Amazon Prime, New York Times, Meta, Business, Scout Locations: Arlington , Virginia

☆ Inside Project Nile: Amazon's secret AI-powered plan to change the way you shop online.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"Project Nile is a confidential initiative wherein we're building a conversational shopping agent for Retail customers," one internal document explained. Wearing that "I love AI" t-shirt, Sirosh, VP of Amazon Search and Alexa Shopping, introduced Project Nile as a "super confidential" project. Project Nile isn't the only move Amazon has made in the popular generative AI space. For Amazon's retail side, Project Nile is one of the most important projects. Sirosh has told his team he's "staffing up very rapidly" as Project Nile is the "absolute top priority."

Persons: Joseph Sirosh, Sirosh, Stephen Lam, It's, they're, Andy Jassy, Doug Herrington, Jassy, Rohit Prasad, ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing, Google's Bard Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Retail, Amazon Search, Alexa, Nile, ChatGPT, Google Locations: Anthropic, OpenAI

Search resuls for: "Alexa Voice"

25 mentions found