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Amazon is rethinking its grocery business, and as part of that, it will shut down all of its remaining Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores. The company will convert some locations into Whole Foods Market stores. 

“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company wrote in a blog post. Amazon added that it would help workers at Go and Fresh stores to find positions elsewhere within the company.

For now, Amazon is focusing its grocery efforts on Fresh deliveries, Amazon Now (a 30-minutes-or-less delivery option it recently introduced to compete with DoorDash and Instacart) and Whole Foods. It plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years. 

Amazon also says it will introduce new types of physical locations in the coming years. One concept it’s considering is a “supercenter” that would offer a broad selection of goods from Amazon, including household items, groceries and “general merchandise.” I dunno, that just sounds like a supermarket to me.

Meanwhile, the checkout-less Just Walk Out tech that the company implemented in Go and Fresh stores is still in use at third-party locations, including hospital cafeterias and sports arenas. Amazon has also deployed it in break rooms in dozens of its warehouses to help “employees maximize break time by grabbing meals without checkout delays.” It’s definitely not to keep closer tabs on workers, I’m sure.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/amazon-go-and-fresh-stores-are-closing-as-amazon-focuses-on-grocery-delivery-and-whole-foods-180448412.html?src=rss 

After more than two months of contract disputes, NBCUniversal’s lineup of channels are still not being carried by Fubo, which is a bummer for anyone hoping to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics. Once again, NBC will be the primary place to watch the Winter Games, but Fubo subscribers will need to find alternate viewing methods if they want to watch events like figure skating, ice hockey, luge or skiing this year. The Olympics will also be broadcast on the USA Network and CNBC, and those channels are similarly blacked out on Fubo.

While the two media companies continue their negotiations, subscribers have had no choice but to sign up for other services — or at least test drive the ones that offer free trials — so if you’re a Fubo subscriber and you want to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics, here are some answers to your biggest questions, including which NBC channels are missing from the Fubo lineup, where to watch them, and when to tune in for Olympics coverage. 

Which channels are broadcasting the Olympics?

Olympics coverage will be broadcast daily on NBC, USA, and CNBC. NBC will be the main hub for all U.S. coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, showing daily live coverage of many popular events and a primetime broadcast each night spotlighting the top moments from competition.

How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics without Fubo

The Olympics officially run from Feb. 6-22 and and you’ll also be able to stream every single event live on Peacock. If you want to tune in to daily coverage on NBC, USA, and CNBC, you can also find those on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV.

Which channels are no longer available on Fubo?

The following is a list of channels owned or licensed by NBC that are not currently available on Fubo, including NBC, USA, and CNBC:

Local Channels:

NBC Local Affiliates

Telemundo Local/National

Regional Sports Channels:

NBC Sports 4K

NBC Sports Bay Area

NBC Sports Bay Area Plus

NBC Sports Boston

NBC Sports California

NBC Sports California Plus

NBC Sports California Plus 3

NBC Sports Philadelphia

NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

National Channels:

American Crimes

Bravo

Bravo Vault

Caso Cerrado

CNBC

CNBC World

Cozi

Dateline 24/7

E! Entertainment Television

E! Keeping Up

Golf Channel

GolfPass

LX Home

Million Dollar Listing Vault

MS NOW (formerly MSNBC)

NBC NOW

NBC Sports NOW

NBC Universo

True CRMZ

New England Cable News

Noticias Telemundo Ahora

Oxygen True Crime

Oxygen True Crime Archives

Real Housewives Vault

SNL Vault

Syfy

Telemundo Accion

Telemundo al Dia

The Golf Channel

Today All Day

Universal Movies

USA Network

Why are these NBC-owned channels currently unavailable?

Per Fubo, NBC channels were pulled from the platform because of a disagreement over their long-standing content distribution agreement that has yet to be resolved.

When will the missing channels return?

Negotiations between the companies are ongoing, and after more than two months, there is still no projected return date.

What are the best alternatives to watch the Olympics?

Peacock is the most comprehensive place to see every Olympic event, and you can even find discounts and deals on subscriptions now. Every channel necessary to watch the Olympics is available on DirecTV, and Hulu + Live TV, too. Here are some of your choices if you’re looking for another way to watch the 2026 Winter Games.

Watch NBC on Peacock

Get a deal on Peacock with Walmart+

Try DirecTV free for 5 days, and get $30 off your first three months

Try Hulu + Live TV for free

Other services to watch NBC

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-get-nbc-without-fubo-ahead-of-the-2026-winter-olympics-163805696.html?src=rss 

Google has begun rolling out two upgrades for Search. Starting today, Gemini 3 is the default model powering AI Overviews. When the company debuted its new family of AI systems last November, it first deployed Gemini 3 in AI Overviews through a router that was programmed to direct the most difficult questions to the new system. Now Google is making Gemini 3 the standard for all users globally. In practice, Gemini 3 should prove better at generating more credible and relevant summaries. 

As for that second upgrade, now you can jump into AI Mode conversation directly from an AI Overview. Google first previewed this feature late last year.

“In our testing, we’ve found that people prefer an experience that flows naturally into a conversation — and that asking follow-up questions while keeping the context from AI Overviews makes Search more helpful,” said Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search. “It’s one fluid experience with prominent links to continue exploring: a quick snapshot when you need it, and deeper conversation when you want it.”

If you’re using Google Search on a mobile device, you can jump directly into an AI Mode conversation from an AI Overview starting today. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-3-is-now-googles-default-model-for-ai-overviews-170000302.html?src=rss 

Yahoo has announced a new AI-powered “answer engine”, dubbed Yahoo Scout. The new tool is available now in beta and is powered by Anthropic’s Claude.

The company says Scout “synthesizes” info from the web, as well as Yahoo’s own data and content when constructing responses to user’s natural-language search queries. Yahoo says the interface will include interactive digital media, structured lists and tables and visible source links aimed at making answers easier to verify. (Disclosure: Yahoo is the parent company of Engadget.)

Alongside Scout, Yahoo is announcing an “intelligence platform” across its varied products. This will include features like AI summaries in Yahoo Mail, “key takeaways” in Yahoo News and game breakdowns in Yahoo Sports. Scout will also integrate into Yahoo Shopping to offer insights and shoppable links, and Yahoo Finance, where it can populate company financials, analyst ratings and explain stock moves as they occur. Yahoo says the answer engine behind Scout will become more personalized and focus on “deeper experiences” as time goes on.

Google offered a glimpse of generative AI in search back in 2023, and the company’s AI Mode for search was made widely available in the US last year. The company has been similarly at work integrating its AI model across its product portfolio, including Gmail and shopping.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/yahoo-is-adding-generative-ai-to-its-search-engine-172706249.html?src=rss 

The European Commission has started proceedings to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in certain ways. Specifically, the European Union’s executive arm has told Google to grant third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. “The aim is to ensure that third-party providers have an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices,” the Commission said in a statement. 

The company will also have to hand over “anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search” to rival search engines. The Commission says this will help competing companies to optimize their services and offer more viable alternatives to Google Search. 

“Today’s proceedings under the Digital Markets Act will provide guidance to Google to ensure that third-party online search engines and AI providers enjoy the same access to search data and Android operating system as Google’s own services, like Google Search or Gemini,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “Our goal is to keep the AI market open, unlock competition on the merits and promote innovation, to the benefit of consumers and businesses.”

The Commission plans to wrap up these proceedings in the next six months, effectively handing Google a deadline to make all of this happen. If the company doesn’t do so to the Commission’s satisfaction, it may face a formal investigation and penalties down the line. The Commission can impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s global annual revenue for a DMA violation.

Google was already in hot water with the EU for allegedly favoring its own services — such as travel, finance and shopping — over those from rivals and stopping Google Play app developers from easily directing consumers to alternative, cheaper ways to pay for digital goods and services. The bloc charged Google with DMA violations related to those issues last March. 

In November, the EU opened an investigation into Google’s alleged demotion of commercial content on news websites in search results. The following month, it commenced a probe into Google’s AI practices, including whether the company used online publishers’ material for AI Overviews and AI Mode without “appropriate compensation” or offering the ability to opt out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-eu-tells-google-to-give-external-ai-assistants-the-same-access-to-android-as-gemini-has-154157081.html?src=rss 

Pinterest is planning on laying off up to 15 percent of its workforce, according to a report by CNBC. The company has been posting stellar earnings reports these past few quarters, so why punish employees? You already know the answer. It’s AI.

The company said it’s “reallocating resources” to AI projects and prioritizing “AI-powered products and capabilities.” It’s also cutting down on office space, presumably because AI algorithms don’t require cubicles and the occasional low-grade snack.

Pinterest noted in a recent security filing that it expects these cuts to the workforce will be complete by the end of the third quarter in September. The company had 4,500 global employees as of April, so the layoffs should impact up to 675 people.

It will also be reshaping its sales and marketing strategies, likely to highlight new AI initiatives. To that end, Pinterest introduced an AI-powered shopping tool a few months back.

“Our investments in AI and product innovation are paying off,” Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said in November. “We’ve become a leader in visual search and have effectively turned our platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant for 600 million customers.”

Unfortunately, becoming a “leader in visual search” has created some headaches for end users. The platform has become overridden with AI-generated slop, leading the company to introduce a dial to reduce the prevalence of artificial content.

Pinterest is just the latest company to downsize in favor of AI. A consulting firm found that AI was the stated blame for around 55,000 layoffs in the US last year. 

This leads some to question the veracity of this reasoning, as some entities could be engaging in something called AI-washing. This is when companies exaggerate the use of AI and blame it for standard cost-cutting layoffs, leading investors to think “ooh, shiny.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/pinterest-is-conducting-a-massive-round-of-layoffs-to-prioritize-ai-powered-products-and-capabilities-163440004.html?src=rss 

Every time Apple’s AirPods 4 with active noise cancelation go on sale I have the same thought: maybe I made a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, I love my regular AirPods 4, but the noise canceling aspect makes their sister pair very enticing.

Take now, for instance, when the AirPods 4 with ANC are on sale for $119, down from $179. The 34 percent discount brings them to only $4 more than the standard AirPods 4 current sale price and below their usual $129. While we’ve seen the ANC model as low as $99, the $119 price tag is the best deal we’ve seen so far this year. 

Apple released its fourth-generation AirPods in late 2024 and they’re still our pick for best budget AirPods on the market. We gave the ANC model an 86 in our review thanks to their effective noise canceling, better sound quality and features like adaptive audio. Overall, at $60 off, they’re a great option to pick up. 

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/airpods-4-with-anc-drop-to-119-153239093.html?src=rss