Airbnb expands its “Reserve Now, Pay Later” globally

The feature allows users to cancel eligible bookings if there is a change of plans — without losing money upfront.

How to un-Big Tech your online life
How to un-Big Tech your online life

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 116, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy National Ferris Wheel Day to all those who celebrate, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about Letterboxd and Mike […]

Airbnb plans to bake in AI features for search, discovery and support

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company wants to increase its use of large language models for customer discovery, support and engineering.

Airbnb says a third of its customer support is now handled by AI in the US and Canada

Airbnb was poised to introduce an app that doesn’t just search for you, but one that “knows you.” CEO Brian Chesky said, “It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their businesses, and help the company operate more efficiently …

Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads mocking AI with ads helped push Claude’s app into the top 10

After Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads, Claude’s app reached the top 10 on the U.S. App Store.

YouTube finally launches a dedicated app for Apple Vision Pro

When Apple Vision Pro first came out two years ago, YouTube hesitated to release a dedicated app. Today is the day they officially launch one.

US FTC airs concerns over allegations that Apple News suppresses right-wing content

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from Media Research Center, a right-leaning think tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning outlets from the top 20 articles in the Apple News feed.

Uber Eats launches AI assistant to help with grocery cart creation

Uber Eats launched a new AI feature, “Cart Assistant,” that can automatically add items to your cart based on text or image prompts.

Microsoft fixes Notepad flaw that could trick users into clicking malicious Markdown links
Microsoft fixes Notepad flaw that could trick users into clicking malicious Markdown links

Microsoft has fixed a serious security vulnerability affecting Markdown files in Notepad. In the company’s Tuesday patch notes, Microsoft says a bad actor could carry out a remote code execution attack by tricking users “into clicking a malicious link inside a Markdown file opened in Notepad,” as reported earlier by The Register. Clicking the link […]