TL;DR: OpenAI is expanding its e-commerce abilities, but payment processing, state-specific sales taxes, and how it will handle sensitive data are all still up in the air, The Information reported yesterday. The company is also reworking how it handles credit card data, which could make it easier to use payment processors beyond Stripe.

What happened: Users have been able to make purchases through ChatGPT since September, when OpenAI rolled out new in-chat shopping capabilities in partnership with Etsy. It also announced a similar partnership with Shopify, though the in-chat capabilities are not yet widely available.

But OpenAI may be a bit ahead of itself: It’s still not sure how it will “handle the collection of sales taxes for purchases made through its site,” two people familiar with the company’s e-commerce progress told The Information. And complying with state-by-state sales tax laws is a minefield, one in which OpenAI may be responsible for its own compliance rather than relying on “marketplace facilitators” like Etsy.

It also looks like OpenAI will not rely solely on Stripe, the payment processor it currently uses that also stores sensitive data like credit card numbers—which would “be a blow for Stripe,” The Information reported. OpenAI is working with a different software vendor “to store payment data on secure external servers not tied to a specific payment firm,” and will unveil its newly diversified payment processing abilities by the end of March.

Why it matters: ChatGPT’s in-chat shopping experience is an example of agentic commerce, or a shopping experience in which AI buys things for humans. Depending on how large of a commission OpenAI makes on each purchase, the payoff could be enormous: According to McKinsey, the retail market is valued to bring in up to $1 trillion from agentic commerce by 2030. Given that OpenAI is predicted to lose billions this year by its own valuation, agentic commerce could help balance out losses.

But any revenue OpenAI gleans could be undercut by weighty financial penalties if it doesn’t correctly collect and remit sales tax, and consumers could lose trust in the chatbot if they repeatedly run into payment problems.

Competition is heating up: Wired reported last year that ChatGPT’s in-chat shopping experience “shares many similarities” to Google Shopping. Since then, however, Google has rolled out its own shopping agent: Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Mark Zuckerberg has also said that Meta will focus on “AI-driven commerce” this year.

“New agentic shopping tools will allow people to find just the right set of products from the businesses in our catalog,” Zuckerberg said during an investor call last month.

Though OpenAI got its in-chat shopping experience up and running first, only time will tell who will be the first to let you outsource that Mother’s Day gift to a bot. —TC

Can this camera app take better pictures than your iPhone?

Modern iPhone photos can look weirdly harsh—crunchy edges, off colors, every flaw on your face enhanced—thanks to Apple’s computational photography. I tested a popular new third-party option—the Moment Pro Camera II ($9.99)—to see if it’s worth the hype. The app’s “Natural mode” doesn’t eliminate processing entirely, but does reduce it. (The other modes leave even more of Apple’s image processing intact.)

The photos I snapped around my house all had a distinct film-like look, but they were also more overexposed compared to the same pics taken with the default Camera app. In low light, my photos were noticeably noisier and blurrier. I would say it’s only worth the hassle if you’re a dedicated iPhone photographer who knows how to gauge your environment and adjust camera settings accordingly—not someone who just wants to capture a moment to reminisce on later.

The Good: Moment Pro’s Natural mode prevents oversharpening and unrealistic colors and lighting. It allows more manual control, like setting shutter speed and ISO.

The Bad: It can produce grainier photos with more muted colors. It’s easier for you to mess up when you have to manually tweak settings. You can’t capture over 12 megapixels if you’re using Natural mode.

Verdict: Noise —WK

Disclosure: Companies may send us products to test, but they never pay for our opinions. Our recommendations are unbiased and unfiltered, and Tech Brew may earn a commission if you buy through our links.

If you have a gadget you love, let us know and we may feature it in a future edition.

Amazon’s Super Bowl pitch: Ring’s new Search Party feature can help find your lost puppies! A moment later: We regret to inform you that the puppy search camera turns your neighborhood into an AI-powered mass surveillance network.

Immediately after the ad aired, people (naturally) worried that the new feature could be used to not just track and identify dogs, but humans, too. Online reactions over the last few days have become increasingly brutal, with people calling the feature "Skynet," comparing it to Black Mirror, and even WeRateDogs—the account famous for cute dog content—condemning it (and possibly handing out its first 0/10 rating).

While Ring cameras aren't new, the timing of this feature couldn’t be worse. The backlash reached a boiling point amid heightened awareness of the many ways tech companies provide or analyze data for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While Ring says it isn’t working with the agency or with police—it ended its direct police video-sharing program in 2024 after years of scrutiny—it is partnering with Flock, a company that makes AI-powered license plate readers and surveillance cameras used by thousands of police departments. Police departments, in turn, have looked up license plates for ICE using Flock tech. A Ring spokesperson told The Verge that Search Party isn’t “capable of processing human biometrics”—except Ring already does have a separate AI facial recognition feature for humans.

Over 10 million Americans have Ring cameras installed at their homes, with people using them to discourage porch pirates, gather Nextdoor gossip fodder, and make videos that go viral on social media—all of which might get stored on company servers even after you delete footage and used to provide intel for the government. It isn’t the first time Amazon has tried to spin this mass surveillance network into a heartwarming TV moment—but we draw the line at dragging man’s best friend into this mess. —WK

Chaos Brewing Meter: /5