The AI Till

The AI Till #3: UK trading standards' AI scam watchlist

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0100

Monday 19 October 2026

Four practical notes: a UK scam watchlist, websites blocking AI agents, Replit's new default, and a free check before you ship AI-written code.

1. National Trading Standards AI scam watchlist

What it is: National Trading Standards has published its first AI scam watchlist. It covers polished fake shops, romance scams that remember personal details, deepfake video and voice clones, and error-free phishing at scale. The BBC reports officers saying AI is "super-charging" existing scams, including fake UK High Street shops that never deliver. (BBC) Which? says typos are no longer a reliable warning. Advice includes never sending money or personal details to someone you have not met in person, checking a shop address is real, using the FCA Firm Checker, and not trusting a voice or video call alone. (Watchlist PDF)

Who it helps: UK business owners who buy online, hire freelancers, or get urgent payment requests by phone or video.

Price: free to read.

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c60rl1xvjv89o

2. Popular websites are blocking AI agents

What it is: Agents from OpenAI, Meta, Google and others promise to book, shop and browse for you. The Verge reports users of Meta's Muse, xAI's Grok, OpenAI's Dots and Instinct hitting blocks. Yelp only allows agents that pay for its data licensing programme; Delta stops agents booking tickets; JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab block agents from accounts for security. Meta has partnered with retailers including Walmart, Gap, Sephora and Best Buy so Muse can shop there; Shopify has opened its network to agents. (The Verge)

Who it helps: anyone relying on an AI agent for shopping, travel or banking, and shops deciding whether to allow agents.

Price: not stated.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1013195/ai-agents-blocked-web

3. Replit now defaults to OpenAI

What it is: Replit has made OpenAI's ChatGPT the default for Replit Agent instead of Anthropic. CEO Amjad Masad told TechCrunch Disrupt the change was based on cost, partnership and performance. Customers can still pick Claude or other supported models. (TechCrunch)

Who it helps: small teams building in Replit who want to know the default, or switch models.

Price: Core is $20 a month ($18 if billed yearly); Free Mode and a $100 Pro plan are also listed. (Replit pricing)

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/17/replit-is-no-longer-working-with-anthropic-ceo-says/

4. Sphinx: a quiz before AI-written code ships

What it is: Sphinx is a free Git hook that pauses a push and asks you what the change does when things go wrong. It works with coding agents or plain Git. Answers do not go back to the agent, and it does not open .env files or keys. You can skip with `sphinx yolo`; skips are logged. (Sphinx) It trended on Hacker News over the weekend. (Hacker News)

Who it helps: anyone shipping code written partly by an AI agent.

Price: free; MIT licensed (`npm install -g sphinx-understand` then `sphinx install`).

Link: https://sphinx-six-theta.vercel.app/

Try this today

Open the watchlist PDF. For any supplier, hire or "urgent" payment request this week, check the company yourself and call back on a number from their official site. Report fraud via Report Fraud or 0300 1232040, or Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133. (BBC)

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The AI Till #2: ChatGPT can now work across your Chrome tabs

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0100

Friday 16 October 2026

Four AI updates from the last day, from a browser helper to a pocket note-taker, each with its source.

1. ChatGPT in your Chrome tabs

What it is: an update to the ChatGPT browser extension. Tag Chrome in the ChatGPT web or desktop app and it can read the tabs you already have open, and its Work mode can act in them, such as filling in forms, sending messages or downloading files. OpenAI's own examples include putting suppliers from several tabs into a comparison sheet with prices and source links. (The Verge) The Chrome Web Store listing says it will always ask before using your browser history or downloading and uploading files. (Chrome Web Store)

Who it helps: anyone who spends the day copying details between supplier sites, forms and spreadsheets.

Price: OpenAI says it's available on all ChatGPT plans (Unite.AI); no separate price is stated.

Link: https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/chrome-extension

2. Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse

What it is: two new note-taking devices from Amazon-owned Bee. Frontier is worn on the wrist or clipped on; Eclipse is a card-sized unit that sticks to the back of your phone. They summarise conversations, pull out to-dos and work with Gmail, Google Calendar and Outlook. Bee says raw audio isn't stored. (TechCrunch)

Who it helps: tradespeople and consultants who agree jobs, dates and prices out loud and forget the details by the evening.

Price: Frontier $74.99, Eclipse $99.99. Free summaries keep 14 days of memory; Bee Pro is $11.99 a month. These are US prices, and UK availability is not stated.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/15/amazons-bee-launches-two-new-personal-ai-devices-starting-at-75/

3. Figma Specs and code layers

What it is: Specs is a simple text document inside Figma where you write down your brand's design rules, so your team and Figma's AI agent follow them. Code layers, now in open beta, turn designs into working prototypes, and Figma Make can now build websites with content you can edit. (TechCrunch)

Who it helps: small studios and businesses that use Figma and want AI-made designs to stay on brand.

Price: not stated.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/figma-announces-new-features-to-define-how-agents-work-on-its-platform/

4. Attie by Bluesky

What it is: Bluesky's experimental AI tool now builds small sites, polls, quizzes and games from a typed prompt, and you can share them with your Bluesky followers. (TechCrunch) The Verge made a simple poll in a few minutes but found the results "pretty lightweight novelties". (The Verge)

Who it helps: businesses with a Bluesky following that want a quick poll or quiz for customers.

Price: not stated.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1012374/bluesky-ai-attie-small-social-games-apps

Try this today

Check what your browser add-ons can see. In Chrome, open Extensions, then Manage extensions. Remove any AI add-on you no longer use, and for the ones you keep, open Details and limit site access to specific sites or to when you select it (Google). If you try a recorder like Bee, tell customers and staff before you switch it on.

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The AI Till #1: Square's talking order kiosk, and a scam filter for Android

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0100

Thursday 15 October 2026

Welcome to the first issue: four AI updates from the last day that a small business can actually use, each with its source.

1. Square Kiosk

What it is: a self-order kiosk with a 21.5-inch touchscreen. Customers can talk to it, asking questions and requesting swaps, and it works from your menu. Payment is by contactless or card. (The Verge)

Who it helps: cafés, takeaways and counter-service shops that already use Square.

Price: $1,999 per kiosk plus a $99 per device monthly software fee, and it needs a Square Plus or Premium subscription. This is US pricing; UK pricing is not stated.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1009086/square-kiosk

2. Stronger scam protection in Google Messages

What it is: an opt-in "enhanced protection" setting rolling out over the coming weeks. It uses Gemini to judge whether an unknown sender is a scammer and checks unfamiliar links before you open them. Google says it will also block apps from turning on call forwarding. (The Verge)

Who it helps: anyone running the business from an Android phone, especially if you deal with supplier or payment texts.

Price: not stated.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1010928/android-scam-protection-enhanced-protection-google-messages

3. Zenzap

What it is: a work messaging app built to replace staff WhatsApp groups. It has group chats, tasks, shift scheduling, AI search, and voice note transcription. (TechCrunch)

Who it helps: shift-based teams in hospitality, construction and retail who want work chat kept separate from personal phones.

Price: free tier available; paid plans from $51 per month for up to 20 users. AI agents and transcription use separate credits.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/zenzap-raises-44m-for-its-ai-chat-app-that-aims-to-replace-whatsapp-in-the-workplace/

4. Pulse Local

What it is: a budgeting app for Apple Silicon Macs (in beta) whose AI chat runs on your own computer. You can ask it questions such as "what are my subscriptions?" and neither your data nor your questions are sent anywhere. Outside the US you import a CSV from your bank. (Pulse Local)

Who it helps: sole traders who want to ask questions about their spending without uploading bank data to an online AI.

Price: pay what you like (including free); bank sync, which is US-only, costs $29 a year.

Link: https://pulseos.finance

Try this today

Check that your backups actually restore. A Swedish TV show has been delayed after a whole edited season was lost. A newspaper blamed an AI agent, but the broadcaster says a backup system failed (Sweden Herald). Whichever is true, the fix is the same. Pick one important folder, restore one file from last week's backup, and open it. If you let AI tools edit your files, give them a copy, not the original.

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