Google stories

Apple will build its next-generation AI foundation models on Google’s Gemini cloud, promising a more personalised Siri later this year.

Google launches a Universal Commerce Protocol and Business Agent tools as it bets on AI agents to drive the next era of online shopping.

Google launches Universal Commerce Protocol to link AI shopping agents, retailers and payments in a new ‘agentic commerce’ push.

Ant backs Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol to standardise how AI agents handle shopping, payments and post-purchase support.

CrowdStrike moves deeper into browser security with Seraphic buy, tying in SGNL identity tech to protect in-session activity and AI use.

Vespertec says AI growth will slam into hard data centre limits by 2026, as chip, memory and cooling bottlenecks reshape infrastructure plans.

Google Cloud unveils Gemini CX AI platform to link retail and restaurant shopping, service and ordering into one joined-up experience.

AI-powered ‘Truman Show’ scam uses OPCOPRO app and fake trading rooms in official stores to steal cash and victims’ digital identities.

Black Friday still delivered the peak online surge, but AI-driven search stretched shopping demand across a longer November window.

AI coding tools are set for a 2026 reset as enterprises pivot from ‘vibe coding’ experiments to architecture-first, governed co-developers.

AI SRE, GPU-aware schedulers and autonomous ops are set to overhaul how large enterprises run Kubernetes clusters by 2026.

Anthropic donates its Model Context Protocol to the new Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation to standardise agentic AI tools.

Microsoft tops rivals for weaving nature restoration into European data centres, but report warns sector lags as AI power demand surges.

Global cyber defence group FIRST reports record 2025 growth, topping 820 member teams and expanding technical, training and capacity work.

Linux Foundation unites Anthropic, Block and OpenAI in new Agentic AI hub to standardise tools and protocols for autonomous AI agents.

A leading fraud expert says the FCA’s new Firm Checker will boost transparency but leave sophisticated social engineering scams largely untouched.

Hisense debuts AI-powered ConnectLife overhaul at CES 2026, unifying smart fridges, dishwashers and climate control for ANZ homes.

US-based Semify has bought Hong Kong’s Dragon Metrics to expand its global AI-led SEO and reporting services across non-Google markets.

Email branding specialist Exclaimer nears USD $100 million ARR as new products and hires fuel global expansion across major markets.

Google has invested in Emergent, giving the AI start-up early access to Gemini 3 to help millions of non-coders build production software.