A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Google's AI agent shopping protocol — Google says she's wrong

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  January 13, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Google's AI agent shopping protocol — Google says she's wrong: A consumer economics watchdog says Google's new Universal Commerce Protocol is ripe for misuse where consumers could pay more for items. Google denies this. Read More Doctors think AI has a place in healthcare — but maybe not as a chatbot: OpenAI and Anthropic have each launched healthcare-focused products over the last week. Read More Microsoft announces glut of new data centers but says it won't let your electricity bill go up: The tech giant has pledged to be a "good neighbor" as it continues to invest in AI infrastructure throughout the country. Read More Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! A message from Fidelity Start Scrappy. Scale Smart Managing your equity in a spreadsheet might work, until you're raising your next round, onboarding new hires, or navigating your first SAFE. Fidelity Private Shares' free cap table template can provide you with a clean start. And when you're ready to ditch the manual updates, we'll help you scale with confidence. Download Now Afternoon Must-Reads ElevenLabs CEO says the voice AI startup crossed $330M ARR last year: The company said it took only five months to go from $200 million to $330 million in annual recurring revenue. Read More Neo humanoid maker 1X releases world model to help bots learn what they see: 1X released a new world model that it says is a solid step toward its robots being able to teach themselves new tasks. Read More Converge Bio raises $25M, backed by Bessemer and execs from Meta, OpenAI, Wiz: AI drug discovery startup Converge Bio raised $25 million in a Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional backing from executives at Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz. Read More Slackbot is an AI agent now: Salesforce unveils Slackbot, a new AI agent that allows users to complete tasks across multiple enterprise applications from Slack. Read More Apple launches 'Creator Studio' bundle of apps for $12.99 per month: The bundle includes access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad, as well as Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac. Read More You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least Deepgram raises $130M at $1.3B valuation and buys a YC AI startup: Deepgram is raising its Series C round at a $1.3 billion valuation. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107