Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

The AI startup Perplexity announced new shopping features for premium members in the United States yesterday.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Perplexity will now allow premium members in the U.S. to make purchases through the app
• The AI startup launched features and tools including Buy with Pro, Snap to Shop, and Discover the best product
• The company also created a program for retailers, Perplexity Merchant, to get products featured through the AI platform

“Perplexity is now a one-stop solution where you can research and purchase products,” states the public announcement on the startup’s website. “It marks a big leap forward in how we serve our users – empowering seamless native actions right from an answer. Shopping online just got 10x more easy and fun.”

The Buy with Pro button allows U.S. users to check out fast and through the app in a one-click checkout process with the stores that allow it. Perplexity Pro users will have to previously set and save their billing and address information to get the most out of the feature. “We’ve built a first-of-its-kind AI commerce experience,” reads the document.

The Buy With Pro program includes free shipping and the company clarified that the chatbot will redirect users directly to the seller’s website when the Buy with Pro feature is not available.

Snap to Shop allows users to share an image of the product they want to purchase—without a description or a name—and Perplexity’s chatbot finds the product—or similar—as well as the options currently available in the market.

The Perplexity Merchant program allows big retailers to share product descriptions and more relevant information about their products for better opportunities to get featured on the platform, insights, as well as access to the API and the Buy with Pro integration program.

The AI company is close to reaching a $9 billion valuation , as it is at the final stage of a $500 million deal.

Image by Freepik

AI Jesus Takes Confessions In Swiss Chapel

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

A Lucerne chapel uses an AI Jesus avatar for confessions, sparking debate over technology’s role in faith and pastoral care.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• The AI speaks 100 languages and opens with a safety disclaimer.
• Deus in Machina was developed with Lucerne University’s Immersive Realities Lab.
• Two-thirds of users reported a spiritual experience after using the AI confessional.

In Lucerne, Switzerland, a chapel has introduced an unconventional confessional experience where an AI, designed with the likeness of Jesus, takes the place of a traditional priest, as reported on Monday by Deutsche Welle (DW).

The AI, capable of speaking 100 languages, is part of an installation called “Deus in Machina”.

It was developed by the church in collaboration with the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The initiative aims to explore how technology can intersect with spiritual practices, as previously reported by SWI .

Marco Schemed, a theologian at the chapel, explains more about the project, saying to DW: “What we are doing here is an experiment. We wanted to launch the discussion by letting people have a very concrete experience with AI. That way we have a foundation for talking about it.”

He also sees potential for AI in pastoral care, citing its accessibility. “It’s easy, 24 hours a day. So, it has abilities that pastors don’t,” he adds to DW.

However, the initiative has drawn criticism. For example, Peter G. Kirchschlager, a theologian and philosopher at Lucerne University, expressed reservations about its implications.

“We should be careful when it comes to faith, pastoral care, when finding meaning into religion,” Kirchschlager warns. “That’s an area where we humans are vastly superior to machines, so we should do these things ourselves.”

Despite this claim, the experiment has received positive feedback, with two-thirds of users reporting a meaningful experience.

One participant told DW: “He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of going about things, and he helped me with questions I have, like how I can help people to understand him better, and come closer to him.”

Another remarked: “I was surprised, it was so easy, and though it’s a machine, it gave me so much advice. Also from a Christian point of view, I felt taken care of, and I walked out really consoled.”

The initiative raises deeper questions about the evolving role of technology in religious practice. For example, in an era where AI can take on the role of a confessor, why are women still not allowed to become priests?