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AI shopping agents are now the middlemen sellers can't read

AI agents that browse and buy on shoppers' behalf are wedging themselves between customers and online stores, leaving sellers unsure how to reach either side; the bots ignore countdown timers.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on BBN This Morning
Published
Photo: Hugovanmeijeren · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
▶ As it aired · Tech

Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from BBN This Morning at 7:31 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are WSJ's, the jokes are ours.

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Photo: Hugovanmeijeren · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

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  1. Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentOnline sellers have a new problem: AI shopping agents now sit between them and the customer, comparing prices and buying for you, and the businesses caught in the middle can't tell what they're dealing with.

  2. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the robot never falls for the countdown timer that says only two left?

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