WhatsApp will now charge AI chatbots to operate in Italy
WhatsApp plans to charge developers of AI chatbots per message.
Apps
Chrome takes on AI browsers with tighter Gemini integration, agentic features for autonomous tasks
Google Chrome is adding Gemini in sidebar and is rolling out an agentic feature for AI Pro and Ultra users
Apple tells Patreon to move creators to in-app purchase for subscriptions by November
Patreon isn’t happy about Apple’s new subscription billing mandate, arguing Apple’s shifting rules create uncertainty for creators.
With Apple’s new Creator Studio Pro, AI is a tool to aid creation, not replace it
Apple’s Creator Studio Pro leverages AI to help creators with tedious tasks—like finding clips or building slides—without trying to do the work for them
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Plus-one passes are almost gone and only 3 days remain
The TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 plus-one passes at 50% off are almost sold out, and this deal ends in 3 days. Register here before this deal ends on Friday, January 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
LinkedIn will let you show off your vibe coding chops with a certificate
LinkedIn is partnering with Descript, Lovable, Replit, and Relay.app at launch
The conference where founders scale: TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 tickets are now live at the lowest prices
TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 unites 1,100 founders and investors in Boston on June 23 for a day focused on real-world scaling insights and networking that pushes the needle. Save up to $300 on your ticket.
Google Photos brings its prompt-based editing feature to India, Australia and Japan
Users can describe their edits in natural language to modify an image.
What you should know about the owners of US TikTok
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, recently established a separate American entity to run the app’s U.S. operations. This restructuring aims to separate U.S. TikTok from its Chinese parent, addressing concerns about data privacy and foreign control. The move came after years of pressure from lawmakers, who feared the Chinese government’s potential access to Americans’ data. […]
Moltbot, the AI agent that ‘actually does things,’ is tech’s new obsession
An open-source AI agent that “actually does things” is taking off, with people across the web sharing how they’re using the agent to do a whole bunch of things, like manage reminders, log health and fitness data, and even communicate with clients. The tool, called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot), runs locally on a variety of devices, […]