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By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is suing Zillow and Redfin, accusing the real estate companies of entering what the regulator says is an illegal deal to suppress competition in online rental advertising.

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In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the FTC alleges that this agreement started in February — when Zillow paid Redfin $100 million. In exchange for that and other compensation, the commission said, Redfin agreed to end contracts with advertising partners, stop competing ads for multifamily properties for up to nine years and serve as a syndicator of Zillow listings on its own sites. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a virtual merchant that can help sell goods for Etsy and Shopify as the artificial intelligence company looks for new revenue in online commerce.

ChatGPT users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers while interacting with the chatbot and will soon be able to do the same with Shopify sellers.

Competing with the likes of Amazon and Google for purchase fees from digital shopping could be a new source of money for OpenAI. The company hasn’t made a profit and has relied on investors to back the costs of building and running its powerful AI systems.

OpenAI said it is working with payments company Stripe on the technical standards that will enable purchases through the “Instant Checkout” system.

A number of payment companies have been working with AI developers on so-called AI agents that, given a credit card, could find and make purchases on a shopper’s behalf.

OpenAI said ChatGPT won’t favor these items in its product results.

“When ranking multiple merchants that sell the same product, ChatGPT considers factors like availability, price, quality, whether a merchant is the primary seller, and whether Instant Checkout is enabled, to optimize the user experience,” the company said in a statement. read more

By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police in Northern California were understandably perplexed when they pulled over a Waymo taxi after it made an illegal U-turn, only to find no driver behind the wheel and therefore, no one to ticket.

The San Bruno Police Department wrote in now viral weekend social media posts that officers were conducting a DUI operation early Saturday morning when a self-driving Waymo made the illegal turn in front of them.

Officers stopped the vehicle, but declined to write a ticket as their “citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’.”

“That’s right … no driver, no hands, no clue,” read the post, which was accompanied by photos of an officer peering into the car.

Officers contacted Waymo to report what they called a “glitch,” and in the post, they said they hope reprogramming will deter more illegal moves.

The department’s Facebook post has generated more than 500 comments, with many people outraged that police didn’t ticket the company. People also wanted to know how police got the car to pull over. read more

Winter Park’s year-end festivities will be called “Holidays on Park,” dropping last year’s Christmas branding, as the executive director and three board members of the business group overseeing holiday decorations for the city exit in the wake of a controversy over what to call the celebration.

Carina Sexton announced Monday she was leaving the executive director’s post she’s had since April 2023, according to Alan Chambers, president of the Park Avenue District board. Exiting the board are Vice President Tracy Brand-Liffey, owner of New General Café; Tracy Klingler, who owns lifestyle boutique Frank; and Ginny Enstad of Ginny’s Orchids.

Chambers said none of the departures were connected to the festivity-naming brouhaha, which blew up several weeks ago when city officials at the urging of some residents asked the group to drop the name “Christmas on Park,” which it had just adopted in 2024.

City officials reasoned that events begin in mid-November, run through New Year’s Day and acknowledge other holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February.

The lineup, announced at a presentation and showcase in New York, includes new cameras for its Ring video monitoring device with a new AI facial recognition feature that allows users to register friends and family and notify them who is at the front door.

Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices revamped with Alexa+ that serve up personalized insights like whether the user left the front door unlocked after midnight. The Seattle-based company also announced a series of Alexa+-infused Fire TVs that offer more personalized searches like finding a specific scene in a movie or getting commentary about last night’s football game.

Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, speaks during an Amazon event in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, speaks during an Amazon event in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)