AI Tracker: Anthropic’s Claude Duet, Bank Blocks, OpenAI Pay and New Visual Tools
Anthropic announced the launch of Claude Duet, an AI agent positioned to compete with Meta’s consumer‑focused Muse and OpenAI’s enterprise‑oriented Dots. The new agent can buy items for shoppers through Shopify’s Shop Pay and Stripe Link, while merchants can direct it to set up, design and manage their Shopify stores, handling inventory and orders, according to the company’s blog post. A “richer visual editor” that lets brands design and preview storefronts inside the agent before they go live is slated to arrive soon. Anthropic’s move follows Meta and OpenAI in introducing personal AI assistants, intensifying the race to win both consumer and brand trust. The competition suggests a shift toward AI‑mediated purchases, which could reduce direct brand‑customer interactions and make product visibility and seamless checkout across AI platforms increasingly critical.
A growing number of U.S. banks and retailers are now blocking AI shopping agents such as Meta’s Muse and Instinct from accessing their websites. Amazon and eBay have prohibited these models from browsing or buying items on their marketplaces, while Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Charles Schwab have each taken steps to prevent external agents from logging into customer accounts and conducting transactions. “We have to make sure we protect our customers in the right way, and we’re building tools to do that,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said during the company’s third‑quarter earnings call. “In the meantime, we’re not going to allow just any outside agent to come inside the company, because that’s too risky for clients and for JPMorgan.” Although many fashion brands run direct‑to‑consumer sites on platforms like Shopify, which permits AI agents unless a brand opts out, the push from banking leaders to consider legislation raises an unresolved question: when an AI agent makes a purchase that a consumer later disputes, who is liable? Experts say the responsibility is likely to remain with the retailer for now.
OpenAI’s UK staff earned an average of £2.3 million in salary and equity in 2025, according to newly filed UK accounts. The company paid out £255 million in compensation to 110 employees, more than double the average package from the previous year. Pay varies widely, with senior researchers receiving the highest amounts. The figures illustrate the intense competition for AI talent, and they reflect the deep pockets of venture capital investors—OpenAI’s latest funding round in March 2026 raised $122 billion, valuing the company at $852 billion post‑money. Revenue from the UK market more than tripled to £293 million in 2025, underscoring London’s growing role as an international hub for AI research and commerce.
Pinterest introduced Beauty Guides, an AI‑driven feature that examines hair and nail pins to create personalized salon instructions, at‑home tutorials and product suggestions. The tool is initially available to U.S. iOS users and aims to bridge the gap between discovering a beauty look and recreating it. While Google Lens already offers AI visual search for product identification and shopping, Pinterest is extending the concept to practical beauty advice. The move signals a broader shift from AI‑powered discovery toward AI‑assisted decision‑making, and it could turn Pinterest’s extensive visual library into higher shopping intent and new commercial opportunities for beauty brands. It also builds on the platform’s recent focus on visual‑search advertising, providing more pathways to link inspiration with purchase.
OpenAI added virtual‑try‑on and product‑saving capabilities to ChatGPT, further expanding its role in fashion e‑commerce. Users can upload photos to see how clothing and accessories might look on them, and a new Favorites feature lets them store products and try‑on images for later reference. Powered by ChatGPT Images 2.5, the tools will roll out worldwide across consumer plans, with actual purchases still completed on merchants’ sites. This development places ChatGPT in direct competition with visual‑shopping platforms such as Google and Pinterest, as AI assistants evolve from discovery tools into personalized shopping destinations. For fashion brands, the advancement raises the possibility of ChatGPT becoming a key touchpoint in the customer journey, especially as virtual‑try‑on technology improves to meet the visual standards of luxury labels.