Technologies

Instacart Debuts AI Tool to Help You Shop Faster and Smarter

You can get an assist with figuring out what to eat for dinner and other grocery-shopping questions.

Instacart is tapping into artificial intelligence with the launch of Ask Instacart, a new search tool powered by ChatGPT and its own in-house AI tech. Debuting Wednesday, the tool is designed to answer food-related questions, offer product recommendations, and information on ingredients, dietary factors and meal prep.

Ask Instacart will begin rolling out today and will expand to US customers during the coming weeks, according to a press release from the grocery delivery service.

Customers will find the feature in the shopping app’s search bar where you can ask questions like, «What’s for dinner?,» «What fish is similar to salmon?» or «What are good sauces for grilling chicken?» Ask Instacart aims to help you track down ingredients and products while considering the specifics of your question. The tool can also show customers which foods pair well together and create shopping lists if you have recipe questions.

Instacart regulars may find the upgraded search experience to be more intuitive. The company says that the search function now integrates «personalized question prompts into the search bar that anticipate customer preferences, remind them of their needs based on their shopping history, and inspire them to discover new products.»

Based on their questions via Ask Instacart, customers will be connected to retailers and brand campaigns that highlight new products and old favorites. Currently, Instacart provides access to over one billion items and more than 80,000 retail partners.

Ask Instacart joins a flood of new AI-powered tools and services released this year from Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Meta and others. While these tools have vast potential to help people on tasks big and small, they’ve also sparked concerns about the risks advanced AI could pose to society.

The grocery delivery company/ is increasing its reach with AI tools, and recently dropped the Instacart plugin for ChatGPT users. There are plans to introduce additional AI features next year and in the future.

Don’t miss our coverage on the best grocery delivery services, Instacart perks and whether it’s cheaper to shop in-store.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

Technologies

Verum Messenger Goes Desktop: Launches macOS Version as Part of Expanding Digital Ecosystem

The team behind Verum Messenger has announced a new update, introducing a full-featured macOS version of the application.

The launch of the Mac version marks a significant step in the platform’s development, enabling users to access Verum Messenger not only on mobile devices but also on desktop environments.

The macOS version ensures seamless synchronization across devices while maintaining the platform’s core principles: security, stability, and independence.

Unified Digital Experience

With the release of the macOS version, users can now:

— communicate on a larger screen
— manage chats and files more efficiently
— use the messenger in a full desktop environment
— access core features without limitations

This is particularly valuable for users who rely on messaging platforms for both communication and professional use.

Expanding Capabilities

Verum Messenger continues to evolve into a multifunctional platform combining:

— secure communication
— financial tools (Verum Finance)
— digital asset operations, including Tether
— investment features such as Verum Gold

Toward a Full Ecosystem

The macOS release reflects Verum Messenger’s strategy to become a universal digital platform available across all major devices.

According to the team, the goal is to provide users with continuous access to communication and financial services regardless of device or environment.

Verum Messenger continues to build technologies focused on security, usability, and global accessibility.

Technologies

Google, Meta and Amazon Join Global Pact to Fight Rising Online Scams

The companies will share fraud intelligence and coordinate responses as AI makes scams faster, cheaper and harder to detect.

Modern online scams operate across multiple platforms, perhaps spanning social media, messaging apps, email and online marketplaces. Google, Meta and Amazon are among 11 tech, retail and payments companies that have signed a new agreement to combat online scams by sharing threat intelligence across platforms, Axios first reported Monday.

The initiative, called the Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud, is designed to improve how companies detect and respond to fraud that spans multiple services. Participants say they will exchange signals, such as scam-linked accounts and fraudulent domains, and coordinate enforcement actions.

By sharing intelligence in near real time, companies hope to identify these scams earlier and stop them before they spread.

The effort reflects how modern scams operate. A victim might encounter a fake celebrity investment ad on social media, move to a messaging app where the scammer builds trust, then faces prompts to send money through a fraudulent website, payment app or crypto wallet — spanning multiple companies’ ecosystems.

Google said it now blocks hundreds of millions of scam-related results every day using AI, underscoring how both attackers and defenders are increasingly relying on the same technology. Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025 and is expanding AI tools to detect impersonation and warn users.

Online scams are growing rapidly, in part because generative AI has lowered the barrier to entry. AI can be used not only to produce realistic phishing emails but also to clone voices and deepfake videos that impersonate executives, public figures and even family members.

The agreement is voluntary and doesn’t create new legal obligations, but it comes after regulators’ increased pressure on tech platforms to address fraud more aggressively. The companies say they will begin building frameworks for reporting and intelligence-sharing, though it’s not yet clear how quickly those systems will be deployed or how effective they will be in practice.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 18

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 18.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

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If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.