Walmart is adding tools it says will make AI agent shopping easier.
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Walmart is rolling out two new tools to help third-party AI agents shop on behalf of customers.
The company says the tools give people more control of their bots, and help bots be more accurate.
Walmart's move contrasts with Amazon's approach, after it blocked Meta's agent Muse from its site.
Walmart wants your bot to shop.
The retail giant said Wednesday that it has two new tools to help third-party AI agents shop on customers' behalf: agent profiles and an agent gateway.
The agent profiles link all transactions to the bot that performed them, and allow Walmart customers to manage authorizations and spending limits as they would for an additional user on their credit card account, the company said.
With agent gateways, bots no longer have to navigate a website that is designed for humans. Instead, Walmart is granting access through a model text protocol that it says will help agents work more quickly and accurately.
Walmart's move contrasts with Amazon's approach, which recently blocked Meta's agent Muse from its site, saying agents violate Amazon's conditions of use. Amazon has also pushed back on other third-party agents, including a lawsuit against Perplexity and restrictions on agents from Google and OpenAI.
"As customers begin using agents to help them shop, we're building connections, permissions and options that complement those tools and support how customers want to use them," the company said in a statement.
The company also said the gateway protects the information that Walmart has about its customers, and only provides what is necessary for completing a given transaction. In particular, the gateway can share a relevant pattern or preference — such as a customer's favorite laundry detergent brand — without sharing their entire purchase history with the agent.
The company also laid out a set of terms and conditions regarding how AI agents are expected to operate when shopping.
Under the terms, the company said it will honor its usual returns policy and that agents will always see the same pricing that a human would see on Walmart.com.
President Trump announced early Wednesday that large data centers will be required to produce their own electricity and share any surplus with the communities around them in the form of a "dividend."
Amazon's expanded fresh food delivery is helping it win market share from more traditional retailers.
: Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Amazon's sales of fresh groceries like seafood and produce are growing fast, new data show.
The retail giant is also gaining market share against more traditional retailers, Nielsen IQ found.
The data shows momentum for Amazon in a business it's spent years trying to break into.
Amazon is gaining ground in grocery thanks to items like fresh shrimp and berries.
Roughly a year after expanding same-day fresh grocery delivery to thousands of cities and towns in the US, Amazon's perishable grocery sales are booming — and taking market share from traditional retailers, according to data from market research firm Nielsen IQ.
Sales of groceries such as seafood, dairy, and produce on Amazon increased severalfold between June and August, per Nielsen IQ's data. Amazon also posted market share gains in the food category for the year through late August as traditional grocery stores lost it, Nielsen found.
Amazon gained market share in food sales, both overall and online, as rivals such as grocery stores lost it.
Nielsen IQ
"Shoppers are increasingly embracing Amazon for categories that historically represented one of the largest barriers to online grocery adoption," Nielsen wrote in its report.
Amazon has spent years trying to break into grocery, though it hasn't hit a home run in the category as it did with books or cloud computing. The company acquired Whole Foods, opened and shuttered another brick-and-mortar grocery chain, and created a selection of private-label groceries, among other steps.
The Nielsen IQ data suggest that Amazon's latest push — toward delivering fresh groceries quickly across much of the US — is yielding some results in the competitive grocery space.
Many of the shoppers buying fresh foods on Amazon come from households with incomes over $100,000 and tend to be older, according toNielsen IQ. They also tend to be frequent Amazon users, placing more orders and spending more money on the platform than an average user.
That meansfresh groceries, one of the most frequent purchases for US households, are "a potentially important lever for increasing shopper frequency and overall spend" on Amazon, the report reads.
To keep the momentum going, Amazon will need to take on formidable rivals. One is Walmart, which already uses its stores and its own army of gig workers to deliver groceries same-day.
Amazon is considering opening about 1,000 same-day fulfillment centers around the US by 2031, Business Insider reported in September. That move would create the same sort of advantage that Walmart has by placing more fulfillment centers close to more customers, one analyst said.
La fruta es una de las opciones de postre más habituales entre quienes buscan llevar una alimentación saludable, ya que aporta fibra, agua, minerales y otros nutrientes, según la variedad. Por eso, si tienes árboles de este tipo en casa o en una finca, puedes considerarte una persona afortunada.
Entre las zapatillas que usamos a diario, los zapatos para ir a trabajar, las botas que hemos sacado ahora que han bajado las temperaturas y ese par que reservamos para las ocasiones especiales, es imposible mantener un orden Y si, además, compartimos espacio con el resto de la familia, ya ni te cuento.
Con la llegada del invierno y la bajada de las temperaturas, suele aparecer un problema muy desagradable en muchos hogares: el aumento de la humedad por condensación. Al encender los calefactores, el aire caliente del interior retiene más vapor de agua y, al entrar en contacto con las paredes frías, acelera la aparición de manchas. La humedad asciende de forma continua a través de los muros y termina por desconchar el yeso y levantar la pintura. Aunque intentemos sellar las ventanas con burletes para retener el calor, para lograr una barrera definitiva en los cimientos hacen falta soluciones que actúen desde la raíz.
¿Otra vez buscando un enchufe libre para cargar el móvil mientras tienes el ordenador conectado y la lámpara ocupando la única toma disponible? Hay pequeños problemas domésticos que se repiten a diario y que, con el accesorio adecuado, podemos resolver de una vez por todas. Si en tu mesita de noche o en tu escritorio no hay ni un hueco para cada cargador, tenemos un fichaje que te puede interesar.
A medida que pasan los años nuestras mascotas necesitan más atención, tenemos que cuidar su alimentación con piensos especiales, juguetes aptos para ellos y paseos agradables para favorecer su longevidad. Esto también afecta a la manera en la que se alimentan, especialmente si son una raza mediana o grande, al agacharse por completo hasta el suelo para alimentarse va en contra de su anatomía natural.
El bienestar personal pasa por examinar la piel con forma periódica en busca de ciertas patologías o problemas derivados por la edad, el sobrepeso u otro motivo. Uno de los más visibles —y también más molestos— es la aparición de verrugas. En especial, en la zona de la cara, los brazos, las axilas, los dedos de las manos, las plantas de los pies o el cuello, por citar algunos ejemplos. Por esta razón, y si ya hemos acudido al especialista para cerciorarnos de que es una verruga benigna, una solución adecuada es elegir el mejor producto tópico para acabar con ellas. Con esta premisa en mente, en EL PAÍS Escaparate hemos encontrado en Amazon el tratamiento para quitar con eficacia todas esas verrugas antiestéticas y que nos preocupan.
Ya no sabemos cuántas veces hemos hablado de las mejores cafeteras en esta sección. Lo que sí sabemos es que es uno de los aparatos que más demandan nuestros lectores. Y es totalmente comprensible, ya que hay personas que no contemplan empezar el día sin antes tomarse una buena taza de café.
Alemania lleva años viendo cómo merman las inversiones privadas en el país, algo que no puede compensar de manera sostenible con un aumento de las inversiones públicas como está haciendo actualmente el Gobierno alemán. La inestabilidad económica y política de los últimos tiempos parece haber pasado factura a la imagen del país como centro económico y de inversión. Ahora, el canciller alemán, Friedrich Merz, quiere ponerle remedio y ha organizado, por primera vez, una cumbre de inversores de alto nivel con el objetivo de atraer más capital al país. Alemania necesita la inversión privada si quiere modernizarse, crear empleo y generar prosperidad.
AWS expected to get $5 billion of Nvidia GB300 racks, followed by $3 billion more each month.
Some of these GPU systems are being stored elsewhere due to lack of data center power.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sees AI as a major opportunity, but getting capacity online is a challenge.
Amazon is racing to secure AI hardware earlier than before, even as data center power shortages leave some GPU systems waiting in warehouses.
Under a new Early Rack Receipt process, AWS expected to receive roughly $5 billion in Nvidia's GB300 server racks at US facilities before final deployment, according to August internal emails reviewed by Business Insider. The company projected roughly $3 billion more in GB300 racks each month "for the foreseeable future," one of the emails said.
Some AWS sites had room for more racks but not enough available power to turn them on, people familiar with the effort said, leaving finished equipment to be staged at intermediary warehouses until the facilities were ready.
At least one AWS team did not have "a clear forecasted path" for getting the incoming racks into data centers at the time, according to one of the emails.
Dark GPUs
A lack of new electricity capacity is one of several bottlenecks slowing the buildout of some AI data centers. This has led to a phenomenon known as dark GPUs, where AI chips and servers are purchased but can sit idle due to power supply issues or other challenges. (Dark GPUs can also refer to system design flaws that mean this gear isn't fully used after being plugged in).
This is partly why financial pressure is mounting on big data center projects. Money must be spent upfront to secure supplies of Nvidia GPUs and other valuable AI components. But if some data centers aren't ready to run, those early investments can tie up huge amounts of cash. Debt financing can fill in the gaps, but the market has become less willing to lend against some of these projects lately.
Trade-off
Amazon's early-rack program is one piece of the cloud leader's broader AI buildout, which is putting new pressure on its cash flow, as Business Insider exclusively reported this week. Amazon expects roughly $220 billion in capital expenditures this year — more than any Big Tech peer. Its free-cash-flow turned negative last quarter for the first time since 2023, and could stay negative for a while.
For AWS, the trade-off is securing scarce GPU racks before competitors do, even if some data centers are not yet ready to turn them on. But taking ownership earlier can tie up billions in equipment before it starts generating cloud revenue.
Previously, AWS took ownership of a finished rack only upon delivery to a data center, according to internal documents. Under the new approach, it can pay for and record certain racks earlier in the supply chain.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company routinely stages finished hardware near deployment sites so it can install it once capacity becomes available, calling the practice "best business practice." The spokesperson added that Amazon has long-established systems for tracking infrastructure assets and disputed that the broader company lacked a path for getting racks into data centers.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously said the company has a "clear line of sight" to strong returns from its AI investments, calling the technology a "once in a lifetime opportunity."
"We've been through this cycle with the first big AWS growth wave, and liked the results," Jassy wrote in Amazon's annual shareholder letter. "We expect to feel similarly about this next wave."
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, wrote about the phrase "disagree and commit" in a 2016 Amazon shareholder letter under a section labeled "High-Velocity Decision Making," and it's been making a comeback.
While Bezos popularized the phrase, it echoes a management philosophy that goes back to the 1980s, when Andy Grove ran Intel. Richard S. Tedlow, Grove's biographer, previously told BI that the concept of disagreeing and committing "was the essence of how he felt you should comport yourself at Intel."
Why it works
The idea behind "disagree and commit" is to defend your argument and make a clear case. However, if the team rallies around a different decision, you have to commit to it too. Bezos argued that the use of "disagree and commit" could "save a lot of time."
"If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there's no consensus, it's helpful to say, 'Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it? Disagree and commit?'" Bezos wrote.
The former Amazon CEO has even used it himself, such as when his team green-lit an Amazon Studios project that he didn't think would succeed. Instead of continuing the back-and-forth, he disagreed but committed to the plan.
Try it today
The next time you disagree with a coworker, make the case for your idea and give it your all.
Once the decision is made, though, ask yourself if there's anything you can do to help it work better.
The bottom line
You don't need to agree with every decision at your job, but everyone benefits if there's an expectation that once a decision is made, everyone rallies behind it and tries to make it work.
Source
This insight is drawn from Business Insider's reporting about the origins of the "disagree and commit" phrase that Jeff Bezos popularized, and why it's making a comeback. Read the full story in Business Insider from Ana Altchek and Tim Paradis here.
Has this framework for disagreements worked for you? Tell us what you think of this advice in the comments below.
Walmart is now bundling memberships with Sam's Club.
Dominick Reuter/Business Insider
Walmart is offering a new membership bundle that combines Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus.
The new combo includes both memberships for less than the price of a Costco Executive membership.
A key feature of each membership is their increasingly fast delivery services.
Walmart rolled out a perk for its Plus membership programs, taking a shot at rivals Amazon and Costco.
The retail giant said Tuesday that it is offering a membership bundle that includes Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus for $120 per year.
That means existing Sam's Club Plus members now effectively get Walmart Plus included, and Walmart Plus members can add the premium-level club membership for an additional $22.
CEO John Furner took a not-so-subtle jab at Amazon and Costco in a statement announcing the news.
"Consider what people may be paying today: $139 for a retail membership with delivery. $130 for a warehouse club," he said, referring to their respective fees.
Walmart has been taking sharp aim at both retail competitors, with membership perks that overlap in several areas, like streaming entertainment, pharmacy services, and deals from partner businesses.
The biggest perk for Plus members — whether at Walmart or Sam's Club — is an increasingly fast delivery operation that fulfills orders from stores and clubs in as little as 30 minutes. Some orders have arrived in fewer than 10 minutes.
"The bundled offering screens as another signal of WMT pushing more value into its overall ecosystem, and highlighting its rapid delivery capabilities," Mizuho analyst David Bellinger said in a note.
Walmart doesn't disclose membership counts or fee revenue, but Mizuho estimates the chains have about 25 million Walmart Plus members and 30 million Sam's Club members. The bank also estimates an overlap of about 10% between Walmart and Sam's Club members.
Globally, Costco reported more than 150 million membership cardholders, and Amazon is estimated to have more than 220 million Prime members.
Amazon says its seasonal job listings often fill within minutes of posting.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Amazon is hiring more seasonal workers than ever this year.
The company will also extend healthcare benefits for hourly workers on day one, starting on Jan. 1.
Holiday hiring is shifting from traditional store jobs toward more e-commerce distribution roles.
Amazon plans to boost its seasonal workforce by 20%, assembling its largest temporary workforce ever.
The e-commerce giant aims to hire 300,000 employees during the holiday rush for its fulfillment and transportation network across the US. The target is up from 250,000 for each of the prior three years. It also plans to offer healthcare coverage on day one of employment for full-time, part-time, and seasonal hourly workers with at least 30 hours a week scheduled, starting January 1.
Seasonal workers who join before January 1 will begin receiving healthcare on that date, the company said. Workers who join after will have access from their first date of hire. The company hires seasonal workers year-round.
Amazon health plans start at $5 a week and include $5 copays. The company previously said part-time and seasonal employees qualified for medical insurance after 90 days, depending on the number of hours worked.
The company says seasonal employees can earn an average wage of more than $20 per hour, while full- and part-time regular employees see an average of nearly $24 per hour. Last month, Amazon increased its minimum pay for core operations workers to $20 an hour and gave all US workers new grocery discounts.
Seasonal hiring has been somewhat of a mixed bag this year, with some traditional retailers like Walmart and Target opting to tap into their existing workforces. Others, like Spirit Halloween, Michael's, and Dick's Sporting Goods have announced plans to collectively hire approximately 73,000 people this year.
A report last week from Indeed found that the seasonal hiring window is starting earlier in the year and shifting from conventional in-store retail toward more e-commerce fulfillment roles.
Amazon says its seasonal roles often fill within minutes of being posted, and that some seasonal workers ultimately find a longer-term position with the company.
Octubre ya ha sacado las sudaderas del fondo del armario, pero a mediodía todavía hay quien rebusca las gafas de sol en el bolsillo de la chaqueta. Ese cruce de estaciones se nota en las ofertas de Amazon de este martes. Hay ropa de entretiempo y también esos básicos de casa que acabas comprando igual, estén rebajados o no.
El sol de octubre entra bajo y te da de frente justo al volver a casa en coche. Es cuando más se echan de menos unas gafas, y estas, rebajadas, no llegan a los 18 euros. Las One LS llevan lentes de categoría 3 con protección UV total y una montura de TR90, un material ligero y flexible. Negras, cuadradas y unisex, no se pelean con ninguna chaqueta.
Comprar unas bermudas a finales de octubre parece un despiste, y es justo lo contrario. Las Levi's 405 son de esas prendas que se reponen cada verano sin pensarlo: pernera recta, cinco bolsillos y el corte de vaquero de toda la vida. El tejido lleva un 1% de elastano, lo justo para sentarte en una terraza sin que el pantalón te recuerde que existe. Ahora están a mitad de precio, un 50% menos. En un básico que te vas a poner igual el verano que viene, eso es dinero que no sale de tu cuenta en junio.
Para la cocina, el dormitorio o el cuarto del estudiante, 32 pulgadas es el tamaño que cabe donde no entra otra cosa, y esta se queda por debajo de los 140 euros. La Xiaomi TV Pro de este año trae Fire OS con Alexa y el sonido llega con Dolby Audio. Es compatible con AirPlay, así que mandas fotos o una serie desde el iPhone sin cables. Conviene saber lo que compras: la resolución es 720p. A un par de metros se ve bien, pero de cerca se nota que no es la pantalla del salón. Para seguir el telediario mientras cocinas, sobra.
Ese metro que nunca aparece cuando vas a colgar un cuadro. El de Stanley es pequeño, cabe en el cajón de la entrada y su cinta mate se lee sin reflejos aunque midas junto a la ventana. Cuesta menos de 4 euros, que es lo que vale no tener que pedírselo al vecino.
Su gracia está en la barra exfoliante que va delante de las hojas: suelta los pelos atrapados antes de que pase la cuchilla. Viene con mango de metal en dorado, soporte magnético y 3 recambios, y no llega a los 16 euros. Con la Navidad a dos meses, también es de esos regalos que quedan bien sin tener que adivinar tallas.
Con el fresco de primera hora, la sudadera con capucha vuelve a ser el uniforme del fin de semana, y la Entrada26 de adidas se queda por debajo de los 28 euros. Tiene corte clásico y es de felpa, con un 70% de algodón y un 30% de poliéster. Va en rojo con detalles blancos.
Hidrolimpiadora inalámbrica LanBlu con boquilla 6 en 1
Si tienes terraza, bicis o un coche que no pasa por el túnel de lavado, el problema suele ser el grifo, no las ganas. Esta hidrolimpiadora de LanBlu cuesta menos de 26 euros y funciona con batería: coge el agua de un cubo o una garrafa con su manguera de 5 metros, así que limpias donde no hay toma. La batería da para entre 25 y 35 minutos según el fabricante, suficiente para un coche y poco más. La boquilla tiene seis posiciones, del chorro fino a la ducha.
Quien ya tiene freidora de aire sabe que lo pesado no es cocinar, es fregar la cesta. La Ninja CRISPi, que se queda por debajo de los 130 euros, lo resuelve cambiando la cesta por dos recipientes de vidrio, de 3,8 y 1,4 litros, que van al lavavajillas. Los dos llevan tapa: cocinas en uno, guardas las sobras en el mismo y al día siguiente lo vuelves a calentar. El módulo de 1.700 W llega a 230 grados, de sobra para patatas, pollo o gratinar unas verduras, y también sirve para mantener la comida caliente. Las rejillas son de cerámica antiadherente y la superficie de cocción es de vidrio, que según Ninja va libre de PFAS. Va en piedra y dorado.
La Rival Fleece va un punto más hacia el abrigo que la adidas: más algodón, un 80%, y un interior cepillado que da ese tacto de manta. Bolsillo canguro, puños acanalados y en azul con el logo en menta. Baja de los 40 euros.
Secador plegable Panasonic EH-NA7M con tecnología nanoe
Según Panasonic, su tecnología nanoe suelta partículas de agua muy finas que ayudan a que el pelo quede con brillo y menos encrespado, y este modelo no llega a los 43 euros. El mango plegable se agradece desde el primer día: el secador se dobla por la mitad y entra en la bolsa del gimnasio o en la maleta del puente. Pesa 490 gramos y trae concentrador y boquilla de secado rápido, todo en rosa.
Por dónde empezar este martes
De todo lo de hoy, lo más redondo es lo que vas a usar seguro: el metro del cajón, una sudadera para las mañanas que ya refrescan y unas bermudas que esperarán en el armario hasta mayo. Merece la pena si vas a reponer básicos este otoño, porque son las compras que acabas haciendo igual y hoy salen bastante más baratas.
Los contenidos publicados en esta sección pueden incluir recomendaciones de productos y servicios que consideramos de interés para nuestra audiencia. Cuando el lector realiza una compra a través de los enlaces incluidos, podemos recibir una comisión. Esto no afecta al precio final ni condiciona nuestra selección de productos.
El frío ya está aquí. Llega el momento de sacar del armario los abrigos, las bufandas y los guantes. Con la bajada de las temperaturas, la calefacción se convierte en nuestro mejor aliado en casa, pero hay una tarea de mantenimiento que solemos pasar por alto: la limpieza a fondo de los radiadores. Durante los meses que pasan apagados, sus huecos se transforman en el refugio perfecto para el polvo, los pelos de mascota y las pelusas. El problema es que, al encenderlos, todo ese cúmulo de suciedad empieza a flotar y se esparce por las habitaciones, lo que suele acabar en problemas para las personas alérgicas.
Las freidoras de aire se han convertido en una alternativa cada vez más popular para preparar todo tipo de alimentos, pues permiten ahorrar tiempo -al no tener que estar pendientes de la sartén- y cocinar con apenas aceite. Además, son sencillas de utilizar, tanto por su funcionamiento intuitivo, como por lo sencillo que resulta limpiarlas.
Quien nos iba a decir hace décadas que unos auriculares inalámbricos se convertirían en uno de los gadgets útiles más usados en el día a día por muchos de nosotros. Tanto es así que algunos de ellos han pasado ser todo un icono de la tecnología y la moda en una especie de fusión imperecedera. Uno de los modelos que más ventas protagoniza a lo largo del año, temporada tras temporada, son los desarrollados por la empresa que una vez lideró Steve Jobs: Apple. Por eso mismo, enEL PAÍS Escaparatenos encanta descubrir nuevos productos (también con espíritu retro) como el de este artículo: una funda acabada con el diseño de un casete para proteger tus AirPods Pro 3.
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