Americans are 'Adulting' by Googling

Amazon’s AI-generated ‘Shopping Experts’

Amazon has rolled out an AI-powered audio feature that summarizes product info directly in its shopping app. With a tap, users can hear highlights pulled from descriptions, reviews, and more.

The feature is part of Amazon’s growing AI push, alongside tools like the Rufus chatbot and tailored Shopping Guides. It’s designed to make online shopping faster, smarter, and more accessible.

Currently limited to some U.S. users, Amazon plans to scale it across more products. It’s a big step toward turning Alexa-style shopping into the new norm. (Listen it Here)

Google Becomes America’s Go-To for Basic Life Skills

More Americans are turning to Google for guidance on everyday tasks like mopping floors, cleaning bathroom vents, and changing car oil. This trend reflects a shift from traditional learning sources, such as family or school…..either that, or people simply don’t want to ask their parents or teachers how to do things anymore when the internet is right there.

The decline of home economics classes and reduced intergenerational knowledge sharing have contributed to this reliance on online "how-to" searches. Google and AI chatbots are increasingly being used as the world’s biggest “Adulting 101” class.

And it’s not just Google: YouTube and TikTok creators that offer life lessons — such as paternal guide “Dad, how do I?”, and countless how-to cleaning accounts — have boomed in popularity. Prompts on ChatGPT, which just last month hit an all-time high of 780 million visits in the US, also often revolve around tackling pillars of adult admin, like managing personal finances.

Klarna’s AI Gamble: Cost Cuts, Customer Complaints, and Losses

What Happened?

Klarna, once a poster child for fintech innovation, bet big on artificial intelligence—replacing 700 human service staff with AI tools to slash costs and scale faster, particularly in the U.S. But just months after flaunting its AI-powered customer avatar and digital brain, the company is now walking back that decision. Why? CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski admits that service quality suffered. Klarna has begun rehiring humans to fill the customer support gap, suggesting AI alone couldn't handle the emotional and nuanced demands of its fast-growing customer base.

The Bigger Picture

That timing couldn’t be worse: Klarna’s net losses have more than doubled year-over-year to $99 million, driven by a spike in customers failing to repay their “buy now, pay later” loans.

Connecting the Dots

So, did Klarna’s aggressive AI adoption contribute to a decline in loan quality? Indirectly, yes. Cutting human oversight may have made customer support less responsive and credit vetting less robust—two areas where human judgment still matters. While AI helped reduce customer service costs by 12% and headcount by 39%, it may have weakened Klarna’s ability to manage risk and serve customers during a critical period of economic uncertainty.

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