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Socially anxious Gen Zers, rejoice: Googles new AI search feature will make phone calls so you dont have to. The feature, which launches today, is designed to help users check current pricing and availability for services at local businesses through an AI-powered calling function. According to a Google spokesperson, its an example of how agentic AIor a model capable of thinking, planning, and acting autonomously in real timecan help make everyday tasks easier by acting on behalf of a user. [Image: Google] While the spokesperson says that the tool was made for all users, the Google team thinks it might be particularly helpful for Gen Zers, who tend to be more reticent to make phone calls than other generations. A 2024 study by the company Uswitch showed that a quarter of 18- to 34-year-olds never answer the phone at all. The phenomenon even has a name: telephobia. According to a May survey by Google, users aged 1824 already show higher engagement than other generations when they use Google’s existing AI Overviews tool in search. Now, Google is hoping that agentic AI might also help young users tackle certain quotidian tasks without ever picking up the phone. An AI bot for appointments and inquiries To use the new tool, users simply need to search a query related to local small businesses, like, nail salons near me or local dog groomers. These types of requests will yield a prompt that says, Have AI check pricing directly beneath the map of suggested businesses. If a user clicks that prompt, theyll be taken through a short questionnaire related to their needsin the dog groomer example, that might mean follow-ups like, what kind of dog do you have? or what service do you need? Using those responses, an AI will then make calls to several of the top suggested businesses based on Google reviews, and return to the user with an email or text of each pet groomers response. While this questionnaire step does take some extra time, the spokesperson notes that it saves the user from needing to make all of the calls themselves, and the whole process should take 30 minutes or less. On the business end, the tool sets a daily limit of how many times one business can be contacted within a day, as well as providing each business an opportunity to opt out of the calls if they choose. Currently, Google’s AI-powered calling feature is available for a select group of local business categories, including beauty and wellness, auto maintenance, pet services, and professional services. In the future, though, the Google spokesperson says theres plenty of room to expand this option to additional domains. Its essentially outsourcing the drudgery (and, for some Gen Zers, anxiety) of making a new appointment to your own personal assistant.
Category:
E-Commerce
Danone U.S., the maker of YoCrunch yogurt, announced it is voluntarily recalling products sold at retails stores nationwide due to the potential presence of plastic pieces in the dome topper, that if consumed, could potentially cause choking. Its toppers contain mix-ins like Oreos and M&M’s. Here’s what to know. Whats happened? The voluntary recall was initiated by the White Plains, New York-based Danone U.S. last Friday, July 11, in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recall was prompted by consumers who reported the presence of plastic pieces in the toppers, which are transparent, may have sharp edges, and are between 7 and 25 mm in length. Which YoCrunch yogurt products are impacted by the recall? The recall currently applies to all flavors and sizes of YoCrunch products; however, it is isolated only to the separately packaged topper, and does not impact the separately packaged yogurt itself. There appear to be 17 different YoCrunch flavor combos, ranging in mix-ins from M&M’s and granola to Twix candy bar. Here’s a full list of impacted products: Product Name: YOCRUNCH STRAW W/GRANOLA 6OZ UPC: 46675000105 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.07.25, 7.12.25., 7.26.25, 8.03.25, 8.8.25, 8.19.25, 8.22.25, 8.30.25, 9.04.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA W/M&M 6OZ UPC: 46675000792 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.11.25, 7.14.25, 7.25.25, 8.07.25, 8.11.25, 8.22.25, 8.26.25, 9.03.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA W/OREO 6OZ UPC: 46675000808 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.11.25, 7.14.25, 7.24.25, 7.25.25, 8.06.25, 8.11.25, 8.21.25, 8.26.25, 9.03.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH STRAW W/M&M 6OZ UPC: 46675000839 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.12.25, 7.25.25, 8.07.25, 8.22.25,, 9.04.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA W/SNICKERS 6OZ UPC: 46675001126 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.10.25, 7.24.25, 8.06.25, 8.21.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA W/TWIX CANDY 6OZ UPC: 46675001133 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.24.25, 8.07.25, 8.21.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH STRAW W/M&M MULTI 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013129 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.08.25, 7.12.25, 7.13.25, 7.17.25, 7.18.25, 7.26.25, 7.27.25, 8.03.25 8.09.25, 8.11.25, 8.12.25, 8.13.25, 8.15.25, 8.16.25, 8.23.25, 8.24.25, 8.29.25, 8.30.25, 8.31.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VAN W/COOKIE DOUGH 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013150 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.17.25, 8.01.25 8.013.25, 8.29.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANI W/SNICKER PCS 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013266 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.17.25, 8.01.25, 8.13.25, 9.01.15 Product Name: YYOCRUNCH VANI W/TWIX CANDY 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013273 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.17.25, 8.01.25, 8.14.25, 8.29.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA OREO 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013501 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.13.25, 7.14.25, 7.20.25, 7.21.25, 7.24.25, 7.26.25, 7.31.25, 8.1.25 8.2.25, 8.8.25, 8.9.25, 8.10.25. 8.11.25, 8.16.25, 8.23.25, 8.24.25, 8.25.25, 8.30.25, 8.31.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VANILLA M&M 4X4OZ UPC: 46675013518 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.7.25, 7.9.25, 7.14.25, 7.15.25, 7.16.25, 7.17.25, 7.22.25, 7.23.25, 7.27.25, 7.27.25, 7.28.25, 8.2.25, 8.3.25, 8.5.25, 8.6.25, 8.7.25, 8.10.25, 8.13.25, 8.14.25, 8.16.25, 8.17.25, 8.18.25, 8.19.25 8.20.25, 8.21.25, 8.22.25, 8.27.25, 8.28.25, 8.29.25, 9.1.25, 9.1225, 9.3.25, 9.4.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VAN OREO & M&M FR PK 8X6OZ UPC: 46675014003 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.12.25, 7.13.25, 7.14.25, 7.15.25, 7.16.25, 7.20.25, 7.21.25, 7.22.25, 7.23.25, 7.24.25, 7.25.25, 7.28.25, 8.2.25, 8.3.25, 8.4.25, 8.5.25, 8.6.25, 8.7.25, 8.10.25, 8.11.25, 8.12.25, 8.13.25, 8.14.25, 8.17.25, 8.18.25, 8.19.25 8.20.25, 8.21.25, 8.22.25, 8.23.25, 8.25.25, 8.26.25, 8.27.25, 8.28.25, 8.29.25, 9.2.25, 9.3.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH STR/RAS GRNLA FR PK 8X6OZ UPC: 46675014010 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.26.25, 8.23.25, 8.30.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH STRW W/M&M&OREO FR PK 8X6OZ UPC: 46675026136 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.22.25, 8.3.25, 8.19.25, 8.29.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VAN W/SNIC&TWIX FR PK 8X6OZ UPC: 46675026143 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.14.25, 7.28.25, 8.3.25, 8.11.25, 8.26.25 Product Name: YOCRUNCH VAN OREO/VAN M&M 18X6OZ CLB UPC: 46675027010 Lot Number/Expiration Date: 7.11.25, 7.19.25, 7.20.25, 7.26.25, 7.27.25 7.31.25, 8.1.25, 8.2.25, 8.8.25, 8.9.25, 8.16.25, 8.17.25, 8.23.25, 8.24.25, 8.25.25, 8.30.25, 8.31.25 “The company is working swiftly with retail partners to remove the impacted product from shelves, while it works to address the issue and bring back the YoCrunch products so many people enjoy,” read a statement from Danone. What should I do if I have the recalled items? Customers who purchased the affected yogurts are advised not to consume them, and may contact Danone regarding refunds at the YoCrunch Consumer Care Line at 1-877-344-4886. Consumer Care specialists are available to speak live Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. You can read the full recall notice here.
Category:
E-Commerce
A “click-to-cancel” rule, which would have made it easier for consumers to end unwanted subscriptions, has been blocked by a federal appeals court days before it was set to go into effect. But there are ways to end those subscriptions and memberships, even if they take some work.The rule would also have required companies to disclose when free trials and promotional offers would end and let customers cancel recurring subscriptions as easily as they started them. But even without the new federal guidance, here are some ways to stay on top of subscription and membership fees. Use calendar reminders and regularly review your bills Experts at the Consumer Federation of America recommend setting calendar reminders for whenever a free trial period ends, to alert yourself to cancel promotional offers before the real recurring costs kick in. The auto-enrollment process, in which the company does not remind the consumer via email that a trial is about to end and higher monthly payments will begin, was also at the heart of the FTC’s rule.“No subscription business model should be structured to profit from a gauntlet-style cancellation process,” said Erin Witte, Director of Consumer Protection for the Consumer Federation of America, in a statement on the click-to-cancel rule.Regularly reviewing your credit card and debit card bills can also help you keep track of any recurring chargesincluding price increases you may have missed or that you didn’t anticipate when trying out a new membership or subscription. Know the terms and conditions of a given subscription “Companies make it easy for consumers to click to sign up and easy for the companies to automatically withdraw funds from consumers’ accounts,” said Shennan Kavanagh, Director of Litigation at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in a statement on the FTC’s click-to-cancel rule. “People should not (have to) spend months trying to cancel unwanted subscriptions.”Given the FTC’s vacated rule, though, companies may still legally require that customers cancel memberships or subscriptions by phone, even as they permit signing up, enrolling, and paying bills online. Consumer advocates say this places an extra burden of time and energy on the consumer to stop an unwanted recurring fee, but sometimes knowing the terms of the subscription and getting on the phone is worth the trouble. There are some services that unenroll you Apps like Rocket Money and services like Trim, which is accessed through a browser, can keep track of your recurring monthly fees and subscriptions, for freeor for a feeand can help you catch new ones or even unsubscribe from some services.For parents, especially, a service like Trim could help inform them that a child has started a new subscription, game or membership before the fees recur. And Rocket Money will actively work to end unwanted subscriptions for you, for a monthly price. If the company can’t successfully end or cancel the subscription or membership, it will give the customer the information needed to do so. Trim also provides this service, in its premium form, for an additional fee. Resist deals when canceling The FTC is currently moving forward with preparations for a trial involving Amazon’s Prime program, which accuses the retailer of enrolling consumers in its Prime program without their consent and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.Often, when a consumer tries to cancel a subscription for something like Prime, which offers free delivery and streaming video, the company will offer a month or more of the subscription at a promotional ratehalf off, or at other, better-seeming values, to entice a customer to stay. Staying strong in the face of what may appear to be a good deal can help you stop recurring monthly fees before you forget to cancel them again.Agreeing to yet another trial or promotional rate, which is another on-ramp to auto-enrollment, just continues the cycle, according to consumer advocates. What would the FTC’s rule have done? The FTC’s rule would have required businesses to obtain a customer’s consent before charging for memberships, auto-renewals and programs linked to free trials. The businesses would have also had to disclose when free trials and promotional offers would end.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said this week that the FTC made a procedural error by failing to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis, which is required for rules whose annual impact on the U.S. economy is more than $100 million.The FTC said that it did not have to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis because it initially determined that the rule’s impact on the national economy would be less than $100 million. An administrative law judge decided that the economic impact would be more than the $100 million threshold, and the court decided to vacate the rule.Former President Joe Biden’s administration had included the FTC’s proposal as part of its “Time is Money” initiative, which aimed to crack down on consumer-related hassles. The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. Cora Lewis, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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