Google’s ad network has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots — part of Alphabet Inc.’s efforts to keep its edge in digital advertising as generative artificial intelligence takes off. Earlier this year, Google’s AdSense for Search network, which traditionally shows ads within the search results of other websites, expanded to include conversations with chatbots operated by AI startups. Google made the move after conducting tests last year and earlier this year with a handful of startups, including AI search apps iAsk and Liner, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Showing ads alongside its own search results is the heart of Google’s business, bolstered by a business that serves up advertising across much of the web. That empire has come under threat as new entrants like OpenAI and Perplexity AI seek to siphon off the search giant’s audience with products aiming to help users find what they are looking for more quickly. Generative AI startups are increasingly exploring advertising-based business models to offset the high costs of answering users’ questions with artificial intelligence. For example, before inviting users to ask follow-up questions, iAsk shows ads below its AI-generated responses. In addition to Google, startups such as Koah Labs have begun allowing brands to serve ads to the chatbot audience. AI search startup Perplexity, one of the most prominent players using AI to reshape internet services, establishes relationships directly with brands that want to buy ads on the site, according to a person familiar with the matter. Perplexity allows brands to sponsor follow-up questions to users’ queries.
Prudent AI launches one-touch pre-qualification platform especially helpful for processing self-employed, Non-QM borrowers with 24/7 document submissions, real-time insights and loan recommendations
Prudent AI launched Prudent AI Upfront, a one-touch pre-qualification platform designed to improve lender sales funnels. The company claims the product is the mortgage industry’s first of its kind and allows lenders to process more applications, reduce fallout and capture more business. Upfront boosts sales funnel efficiency through three outcomes designed to eliminate manual intervention: 24/7 document submissions, real-time insights and loan recommendations, and evaluating borrower repayment ability in minutes instead of hours. Prudent AI claims that lenders who implemented Upfront reported a 60-70% reduction in document review time while expanding their sales pipelines and a seamless integration into their existing tech stacks. The platform is especially helpful for processing self-employed, Non-QM borrowers, company officials said. “The Non-QM market has long struggled with pre-qualification bottlenecks,” commented Paul Gigliotti, chief growth officer. “Upfront eliminates these barriers. Lenders can confidently serve this multi-trillion-dollar segment with unprecedented efficiency.”
Salt Security launches Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server enabling AI agents to discover, understand, and analyze API behavior with contextual awareness and enterprise-grade precision
Salt Security announced the launch of the Salt Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, giving enterprise teams a novel access point of interaction with their API infrastructure, leveraging natural language and artificial intelligence (AI). Built on the open MCP standard, Salt’s MCP Server enables AI agents to discover, understand, and analyze API behavior with contextual awareness and enterprise-grade precision. Salt’s MCP server creates a personal ChatGPT experience for our customers with new capabilities: Contextual API Search: Contextual search across their entire API inventory. API Explainer: Explain the use and functionality of each API in your environment so security teams can be more independent. Posture Gap Contextual Search and Analysis: Allow security teams to identify API posture gaps and misconfigurations in a free-form search. Remediation Guidance: Offers AI-driven, actionable recommendations to mitigate high-risk vulnerabilities.
JPMorgan Chase completes the first settlement of tokenized treasury trade on Ondo’s public blockchain; moving away from its long-held private blockchain model
JPMorgan Chase has been steadily developing its own blockchain tech for years. But, instead of integrating it with public blockchains, the U.S.’s largest bank has taken what many in crypto call the “walled garden” approach and built out a private network only its customers can use. Now, JPMorgan is venturing beyond that garden. It announced that it had settled a transaction on a public ledger with the help of the crypto firms Chainlink and Ondo Finance. In early May, JPMorgan’s blockchain division, Kinexys, transferred money between two accounts on its private blockchain to settle the purchase of tokenized treasuries on Ondo’s public ledger. (Tokenized treasuries are money market funds that live on the blockchain.) To trigger the payment, JPMorgan used Chainlink, a communication protocol that lets blockchains process outside information. This is the first time JPMorgan has built out a structure to interface with a public blockchain, said Nelli Zaltsman, head of platform settlement solutions at Kinexys. “This is not just another POC [proof of concept],” added Sergey Nazarov, cofounder of Chainlink. “This is the beginning of something big.” Nazarov added that the structure is on track for “production,” a term for when software is ready for more widespread use.
Fiserv Clover debuts Checkless Payments which allows enrolled diners to leave at will; diners initiate experience by a Live Check sent via SMS message
Clover is continuing to actualize its commitment to trailblazing innovation in the industry through a unique new collaboration with Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). The two have teamed up to launch Checkless Payments, an alternative payment solution that empowers diners to pay for their meal without the disruption of asking and waiting for the bill, ensuring a memorable, friction-free dining experience. Diners will have the option to enroll in Checkless Payments. This pre-dining experience not only sets up the functionality for Checkless Payments by enrolling the customer but also provides an opportunity to highlight any additional offerings. From showcasing menu items to recent events, this enrollment process enhances the overall dining experience even before they arrive. Seamless Enrollment & Setup: Diners are guided through a simple enrollment process, where they can securely enter their card information and select gratuity preferences. Branded Diner Engagement: Operators have full control over the content shared during enrollment. This is a prime opportunity to showcase the restaurant’s personality—from custom-branded menus and special messages to upcoming events, private dining options, and seasonal highlights. Diners can also provide notes or special occasions, and even explore the restaurant’s social media or get directions, all before stepping through the door. Marketing & Personalization Touchpoint: This pre-dining interaction not only enhances the diner experience but also serves as a powerful marketing tool.
Amazon is testing short-form audio product summaries on product detail pages, featuring AI-powered experts discussing key features
Amazon is testing short-form audio product summaries on product detail pages, featuring AI-powered experts discussing key features. The feature makes product research fun and convenient, making shopping easier for customers. Customers can listen to the summaries by tapping the “Hear the highlights” button in the Amazon Shopping app. The feature is currently available to select U.S. customers and will roll out to more customers in the coming months. The feature uses large language models (LLMs) to generate scripts, pulling from Amazon’s product catalog, customer reviews, and information from across the web, and then translating the content into short-form audio clips. AI-powered short-form audio content builds on Amazon’s work to make shopping faster, easier, and more fun. Some of our other AI-powered shopping features that help customers save time and make more informed decisions include:
Rufus, Amazon’s generative AI-powered shopping assistant that can answer questions on a variety of shopping needs and products—it’s like having a shopping assistant with you any time you’re in our store.
Shopping Guides, Amazon’s simplified product research tool that leverages generative AI to bring together dynamic shopping guidance and product recommendations on over 100 product types.
Interests, an AI-powered feature that works on your behalf to continuously monitor new products in Amazon’s store that match your interests and passions.
Review highlights, an AI-powered summary of common themes across reviews that can help you understand product sentiment at a glance.
Buy for Me, a new experiment in beta that allows you to complete purchases from other brand retailer websites if Amazon doesn’t sell the item directly, using agentic AI that doesn’t require human intervention.
Block to enable merchants using the Square POS to accept bitcoin payments directly through their Square hardware via QR code scan
Block plans to launch bitcoin payments on its business technology platform Square, enabling merchants using the Square Point of Sale app to accept bitcoin payments directly through their Square hardware. The company plans to begin rolling out this new, native Bitcoin For Businesses offering in the second half of the year and then extend it to all Square sellers in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. With Square’s integration handling the complexity behind the scenes, and the Lightning Network enabling near-instant settlement, customers will be able to pay with bitcoin by scanning a QR code at checkout. Bitcoin For Businesses builds upon Square’s Bitcoin Conversions features, which was launched in 2024 and allows qualified merchants to automatically convert a portion of their sales into bitcoin. “When a coffee shop or retail store can accept bitcoin through Square, small businesses get paid faster, and get to keep more of their revenue,” Block Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter said. “This is about economic empowerment for merchants who like to have options when it comes to accepting payments. We believe in an open, decentralized, fair, fast and low-cost money system for everyone, and that’s exactly what we want to bring to Square sellers,” he added.
Neema’s Dynamic Routing uses multiple real-time routes between countries and instantly analyses exchange rates, speed, and reliability for every cross-border transaction to identify the optimal route
Neema launched Dynamic Routing, an innovative technology designed to enhance every transaction by maximizing both success rates and cost efficiency. Neema’s extensive cross-border payments network empowers financial institutions across the globe to effortlessly process transactions in over 120 countries. It accommodates the most widely used payment methods and currencies specific to each destination, ensuring that users experience a localized payment environment. The introduction of Dynamic Routing further extends Neema’s vision of building a globally connected financial ecosystem. Dynamic Routing, along with Neema’s vast network of financial partners, enables a smarter method for global money movement. Rather than depending on a single pathway, Dynamic Routing establishes multiple real-time routes between countries. Each transaction it powers undergoes instant analysis, taking into account factors such as exchange rates, speed, and reliability to identify the optimal route. Every payment is personalized, with transfers between the same countries often utilizing different, optimized routes. Additionally, Neema’s AI-driven security infrastructure and expansive international reach provide enhanced visibility into coverage and technical vulnerabilities, allowing the company to effectively address potential gaps while offering one of the most robust quality assurance systems in the industry.
Square’s conversational AI assistant can answer sellers’ questions about how to use its business technology platform and about trends in their own business by searching its knowledge base and using the seller’s relevant data within its platform
Square has launched a conversational AI assistant that can answer sellers’ questions about how to use Square’s business technology platform and about trends in their own business. The AI assistant, Square AI, is available now in public beta for all sellers in the U.S. and is integrated into the Square Dashboard. “Our goal is to give each seller their own virtual employee that knows every bit of their business,” Willem Avé, global head of product at Square, said. When asked questions about using the platform, the AI assistant searches its knowledge base and provides step-by-step instructions. To answer questions about the seller’s business, Square AI uses the seller’s relevant data within Square to provide the answer. It can answer questions about sales, customers, staff and transactions, enabling sellers to optimize staff hours, identify slow-moving inventory, maximize top sellers and recognize top customers. The company will expand these capabilities throughout the year. To protect the data within the business, the AI assistant is only available for account owners and administrators. In addition, Square never sends sensitive information to model providers or partners, and it ensures no data processed by third-party companies is retained outside of Square systems or used for any type of training
Thread AI’s composable AI infrastructure connects models, data, and automation into adaptable, end-to-end workflows aligned with enterprise-specific needs to rapidly prototype and deploy AI agents
Thread AI, a leader in composable AI infrastructure, has raised $20 million in Series A funding. Despite the rapid adoption of AI, many organizations struggle integrating AI into complex, evolving environments. They often must choose between rigid, pre-built AI tools that don’t fit their workflows, or costly custom solutions requiring extensive engineering. Thread AI addresses this gap with composable infrastructure that connects AI models, data, and automation into adaptable, end-to-end workflows aligned with each organization’s specific needs. Unlike traditional RPA, ETL, or workflow engines that mirror human workflows or require large infrastructure investments, Thread AI’s Lemma platform allows enterprises to rapidly prototype and deploy event-driven, distributed AI workflows and agents. Lemma supports unlimited AI models, APIs, and applications all within a single platform built with enterprise-grade security. This speeds up deployment, reduces operational burden, and simplifies infrastructure, while maintaining governance, observability, and seamless AI model upgrades. As a result, Thread AI equips enterprises with the flexibility to keep up with rapidly changing AI ecosystem, and the cross-functionality to unlock the power of AI across their entire organization. Lemma users report a 70% improvement in process response times, along with significant efficiency gains as AI-powered workflows reduce operational bottlenecks. Early customers have expanded their AI implementations by 250% to 500%, demonstrating Thread AI’s scalability and practical impact.