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The Federal Trade Commission has sent Instacart a civil investigative demand, seeking information about its AI-powered pricing tool, according to Reuters. This comes after a recently published pricing experiment study showed that the online grocery delivery app gave different users different prices for the same items from the same store location at the exact same time. Some of the testers saw prices up to 23 percent higher than what the other testers saw, though the average difference for the same list of items was around 7 percent. Those higher prices could cost customers over $1,000 more in expenses for the year.

“The Federal Trade Commission has a longstanding policy of not commenting on any potential or ongoing investigations,” the FTC told Reuters in a statement. “But, like so many Americans, we are disturbed by what we have read in the press about Instacart’s alleged pricing practices.”

When the study came out, Instacart told Engadget that the pricing variances were caused by some of its retail partners doing “limited, short-term and randomized tests” to better understand consumers. Those randomized pricing tests were enabled by Instacart’s AI pricing tool called Eversight developed by a company it purchased in 2022. Instacart told CNBC that “much of what’s been reported has mischaracterized how pricing works” on its platform. The spokesperson repeated that retailers conduct pricing tests on its app and said that “prices on Instacart do not change in real time,” aren’t based on supply or demand and that it never uses “personal, demographic, or user-level behavioral data to set item prices.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-ftc-is-reportedly-investigating-instacart-over-its-ai-pricing-tool-130000472.html?src=rss 

OpenAI has introduced an app directory that’s now available right inside ChatGPT, the company announced. “Apps extend ChatGPT conversations by bringing in new context and letting users take action like order groceries, turn an outline into a slide deck or search for an apartment,” the company wrote in a blog post. OpenAI also noted in a help document that “connector” apps like Google Drive are now simply called “apps.”

The new apps section (on iOS, Android and web) is divided into Feature, Lifestyle and Productivity categories, letting you connect to commonly used apps and sites like Booking.com, Spotify and Dropbox. To use an app, simply click on it, hit “Connect” then authorize the app to access ChatGPT. With that done, you can then start a chat related to that app. In the case of Dropbox, for instance, you’ll be able to “gather insights, prepare briefs and summarize reports or internal documents,” according to the description. Once connected, any app can be accessed by doing an @ mention of it.

A new addition that came along with the store is an Apple Music app that, like Spotify, helps users find music, create playlists and manage their libraries through a chat interface. Another is DoorDash, which lets you transform recipes, meal planning and staples into “an actionable shopping cart.”

Along with the app directory, OpenAI is now allowing developers to submit apps for review and publication in ChatGPT according to the company’s app submission guidelines. It also published resources to help developers build such apps, including best practices, open-source example apps, an open-sourced UI library for chat-native interfaces and a step-by-step quickstart guide. That’s on top of the software developer kit (SDK) that OpenAI introduced in October.

OpenAI noted that for now, developers can only monetize apps by linking out from the ChatGPT app to the native app or website — but the company is exploring internal monetization options as well. Privacy was also emphasized, with companies required to provide “clear” policies.

The new feature is a big part of Sam Altman’s promises to make ChatGPT more versatile with the addition of custom “GPT” bots. “Over time, we want apps in ChatGPT to feel like a natural extension of the conversation, helping people move from ideas to action, while building a thriving ecosystem for developers,” the company wrote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-just-launched-an-app-store-inside-chatgpt-133049586.html?src=rss 

Earlier this year Sony sued Tencent for copyright infringement over its Light of Motiram game, calling it a “slavish clone” of Horizon Zero Dawn. Then, earlier this month, Tencent agreed to stop promoting and publicly testing the game. Now, the two companies have reached a “confidential settlement” and the case has been dismissed, according to court documents seen by The Verge. Light of Motiram has also disappeared from Steam and Epic’s game stores. 

“SIE and Tencent are pleased to have reached a confidential resolution and will have no further public comment on this matter,” Tencent’s spokesperson told The Verge. 

When Sony first filed its lawsuit in July 2025, it said that Tencent’s game appeared to copy aspects of not just Horizon Zero Dawn, but other franchise games including Horizon Forbidden West and Lego Horizon Adventures. That included the post-apocalyptic setting with humans and machines coexisting, the visual appearance of characters and even the marketing materials — something Engadget certainly noticed when Tencent first announced the game.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sony-settles-with-tencent-over-slavish-horizon-clone-120042886.html?src=rss 

A report from Reuters claims that scientists in China have created a prototype of a machine that could eventually be used to produce semiconductor chips capable of powering artificial intelligence. Sources told the publication that a team in Shenzhen completed the prototype of an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine earlier this year and it is allegedly now undergoing testing. The EUV machine was reportedly made by former engineers from Dutch semiconductor supplier ASML. Reuters states that China is targeting production of its own EUV chips beginning in 2028, although other experts have projected 2030 as a more likely date. 

EUV is a supremely complicated bit of technology; we have an explainer below that gets into some of the details. It is at the heart of the chips made by companies such as Intel and TSMC, so any company trying to compete would also need access to EUV. Although the Chinese prototype is not yet making chips, it is reportedly able to generate the extreme ultraviolet light needed for chip manufacturing.

If confirmed, this development would put China in control of tech much sooner than analysts had previously expected. To date, EUV has largely been kept out of reach by Western companies and used as a bargaining chip by the US government. Chinese President Xi Jinping has placed a high priority on the country being able to produce its own semiconductors. “The aim is for China to eventually be able to make advanced chips on machines that are entirely China-made,” a source told Reuters. “China wants the United States 100 percent kicked out of its supply chains.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/china-reportedly-has-a-prototype-euv-machine-built-by-ex-asml-employees-235833756.html?src=rss 

YouTube announced that it will no longer share data with Billboard for the creation of the Billboard Hot 100 and other charts because the video platform doesn’t believe they’re calculated fairly. The issue lies, per YouTube, with how Billboard weighs on-demand streams in its rankings: The publication weighs streams from paid music streaming services over ad-supported streams, and YouTube just so happens to run an ad-supported streaming service.

Much like getting a book on The New York Times Bestseller list, landing a spot on the Billboard charts doesn’t carry quite the same importance that it once did. When the majority of the media people consume is digital and on-demand, sales numbers aren’t a guaranteed indicator of success or popularity. That’s part of the reason why Billboard started including digital streams in its calculations way back in 2007, and why it announced plans to adjust how it weighs on-demand streaming just yesterday.

On Tuesday, Billboard announced that it would add more weight to streaming to “better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors.” Billboard currently counts an “album consumption unit” as an album sale, which either breaks down to “3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams.” In the new ranking scheme that will go into effect in January 2026, “each album consumption unit will now equal 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams.” 

“The change means that it will take 33.3 percent fewer ad-supported on-demand streams of songs from an album, and 20 percent fewer paid/subscription on-demand streams of songs from an album, to equal an album unit,” Billboard says. Put another way, things are moving in YouTube’s favor, just apparently not as quickly as the company wants.

YouTube characterizes pulling its data from Billboard as fighting for fairness and equality, but it’s equally connected to the platform’s demonstration of its own power. It already funnels billions of dollars to artists and labels from the money it makes on ads and subscriptions, but it clearly also wants the power to mint new chart-topping stars. “We are committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopefully can work with Billboard to return to theirs,” YouTube says in its announcement. “Until then, if you’re curious about what music is making waves on YouTube, you can visit our charts here.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/billboards-charts-are-increasingly-weighted-towards-on-demand-streaming-but-not-enough-for-youtube-220238291.html?src=rss