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Anthropic announced Thursday that it has added web search capability to its Claude chatbot. Its not a new feature to the AI worldbut the companys approach stands as one of the most thoughtful to date. Much like Perplexity, Anthropics Claude works relevant information from the web into a conversational answer, and includes clickable source citations. Web search is available as a feature preview for U.S. users of the Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, with plans to expand to the free tier and to more countries. What sets Anthropics web search feature apart is that it is automatic. Rather than requiring users to manually select a web search on a given query (as with OpenAIs ChatGPT), Claude decides on its own whether fetching web data would improve an answer. After it receives a time-sensitive question, Claude now generates an initial answer from its training data and then states: . . . but let me search for more precise information since this could have changed. That matters since, without web search enabled, the results are subject to a cutoff date in the large language models training data. Claudes training data only goes up to October 2024, while ChatGPTs (using GPT-4o) goes up to June 2024. Thats why ChatGPT (without web search turned on) returns outdated information when asked, for example, to identify which major AI chatbots have web search: It mentions Google Bard, for exampleeven though that product has since been renamed Gemini. With the web search button clicked on, all these errors disappear. (An OpenAI spokesperson points out that ChatGPT will automatically do a web search for questions that imply a need for up-to-date information, such as, What are the best travel destinations for 2025? But as per the example above, the web search doesnt always kick in when the results would benefit. Users can also regenerate an answer with web search turned on.) A web search is almost always helpful for a reality check on whatever information the chatbot surfaces. Thats why Anthropics move was a smart one: It removes the burden from users to determine whether a query would benefit from a specialized search. Adding web search will certainly make Claude a more useful and reliable chatbot, but the move could have more commercial implications, too. People are increasingly using Claude to research products, and referrals from Claude to brand sites could become a key revenue source for Anthropic. Anthropic is creating new entry points that complement how people are already using LLMs, and its working, says Jim Yu, CEO of BrightEdge, an SEO and digital performance platform. BrightEdge data shows that Claudes referrals to websites jumped 82% month-over-month in February, outpacing ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others. Claude has historically lagged in this space, but this is a move that could finally put them in the game, Yu says. Within the chatbot context, web search is used to take a quick snapshot of relevant information from the web to inform a response to a specific question. This is different from AI research agents like Googles Deep Research tool within the Gemini assistant and OpenAIs tool, also called Deep Research, both of which consult a broad group of sources using a defined and customizable research strategy. Anthropic doesnt yet offer a deep research tool but thats likely coming. Augmenting chatbot answers with web search information is a logical first step toward that.
Category:
E-Commerce
If you want to instantly reveal your age, just order a hot black coffee — seriously. Gen Z is flipping the script on how coffee is consumed, and spoiler: they like it cold, sweet, and loaded with creamer. For a lot of younger drinkers, that very first cup of coffee was just as likely to be iced as it was hot. And get thisabout 85% of Gen Z coffee fans are adding creamer, compared to just 70% of coffee drinkers overall. That shift in taste is making waves in the industry. Nestle, for example, has been rolling out new products to keep upfrom cold-dissolving instant coffee to liquid espresso concentrates and all kinds of flavored toppings. Weve done a lot of things in cold coffee the last two years to really meet this need of Gen Z and young millennials, Daniel Jhung, president of Nestles USA beverage division, tells Fast Company. Thats a big trend that were pushing into. COMBINING COFFEE AND CREAMER The coffee world is booming and the opportunity to innovate, while still providing value for a broad spectrum of consumers, makes for a fun time to be in this industry, says Jhung, whose role recently expanded to oversee the Swiss companys coffee and broader beverages portfolio. One of the reasons why it made sense for Nestle to unite coffee and creamer under one team is because theres such a natural connection between these products now. Or, as Jhung likes to quip: Whats more Americana than peanut butter and jelly or milk and cereal? Its actually coffee and creamer. Industry data from Circana backs this up: Coffee and creamer are co-purchased together 60% of the time versus 40% of the time for milk and cereal, and 20% of the time for peanut butter and jelly. While its easy to offer coffee-and-creamer bundles to online shoppers, in brick-and-mortar grocery stores, coffee and creamer are often found in far-flung aislesand this is a point of friction Nestle has heard about from shoppers. Thats why Nestle is thinking about how to bring coffee and creamer closer together in stores, Jhung notes. Thats something that we will tackle together with retailers in the future, he says. Theyre open to it; we definitely want to push it because thats where consumers are going naturally. THE FOURTH WAVE OF COFFEE In whats perhaps a sign of the times, this years Super Bowl featured a handful of commercials for coffee-related brands, including Nestle-owned Coffee mate, which advertised its new line of Cold Foams with disembodied tongues dancing to a Shania Twain song. Coffees prominence in the biggest advertising day of the year is fitting: Daily coffee consumption hit a 20-year high last year, according to a report from the National Coffee Association. In addition, Nestle recently opened a 675 million coffee-creamer factory in Glendale, Arizona which is indicative of the company putting our money where our mouth is, Jhung says, adding that its designed to be flexible to respond to fast-moving consumer trends. It’s going to meet the growing demands of this new coffee consumer for the next decade. While such investments are indicative of overall strength in the coffee industry, Nestle is also eager to ride what its calling the fourth wave of coffee thats being driven by the youngest coffee drinkers. This era is defined by the four Cs of coffee: cold, convenient (or instant), craft and customizable. We think customization, experimentation is the crux of this fourth wave, Jhung says. These consumers really like to customize their cup, it’s really their own personalized cup. That trend has continued since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, as creators and connoisseurs converge on social media to swap recipes and at-home barista types try to replicate coffee drinks they ordered elsewhere, Jhung says. Gen Z coffee drinkers are also introducing their older-generation parents to new products for their coffee, he adds. What we hear sometimes is that the Gen Z [consumer] brings it into the house, and then you get the adoption from Gen X and even Boomer, Jhung says. Its kind-of a cool thing to see that with the reverse mentoring. INSTANT IS A HIT But what might surprise some people is the popularity of instant coffee, in particular, with the youngest of coffee drinkers. Instant coffee still trailed drip and single-cup brewers for at-home coffee preparation methods in 2024, but saw a 31% jump from 2023, according to figures from the National Coffee Association. Instant coffee is projected to be one of the fastest-growing coffee segments in the next three years, according to industry estimates, which tracks with trends at Nestle. While its long been popular around the world, instant coffee has blown up among American coffee drinkers in recent years, Jhung says. Nestle-owned Nescafe has experienced double-digit annual sales growth, and the company launched Nescafe Ice Roast and Nescafe Gold in recent years. Despite some misconceptions to the contrary, instant coffee is coffeeits freeze-driedand consumers are increasingly drawn to it because it now marries convenience with craft offerings, Jhung says. That’s a bubble burst [that] over the last three or four years. INNOVATION ABOUNDS All of these coffee trends are indicative of a renaissance of sorts in various segments of food and beverage driven by younger consumers who see food as art, as Jhung notes. And Nestle is putting a lot of money behind keeping up with the tastes of these coffee drinkersincluding launching specialty flavors like Thai iced coffee and a lavender coffeewhich makes for a fun time to be at the helm of Nestles business, he adds. Its not a boring category, he says. You talk with the retailers, you talk with the consumers, it gets peoples energy up when they talk about how they drink their cup of coffee.
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E-Commerce
Until recently, it was a little-known program to help Black and Latino students pursue business degrees. But in January, conservative strategist Christopher Rufo flagged the program known as the PhD Project in social media posts that caught the attention of Republican politicians. The program is now at the center of a Trump administration campaign to root out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education. The U.S. Education Department last week said it was investigating dozens of universities for alleged racial discrimination, citing ties to the nonprofit organization. That followed a warning a month earlier that schools could lose federal money over race-based preferences in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life. The investigations left some school leaders startled and confused, wondering what prompted the inquiries. Many scrambled to distance themselves from The PhD Project, which has aimed to help diversify the business world and higher education faculty. The rollout of the investigations highlights the climate of fear and uncertainty in higher education, which President Donald Trump’s administration has begun policing for policies that run afoul of his agenda even as he moves to dismantle the Education Department. The Trump administration asked colleges to explain ties to The PhD Project There is a range of nonprofits that work to help minority groups advance in higher education but The PhD Project was not well known before Rufo began posting on X about its work with colleges, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. Its not hard to draw some lines between that incident and why 45 institutions that were partners with The PhD Project are getting this investigation announced, he said. The 45 colleges under investigation for ties to the organization include public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and the University of California, Berkeley, along with private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Education Department sent letters to the universities informing them its Office for Civil Rights had received a complaint and they were under investigation for allegedly discriminating against students on the basis of race or ethnicity because of a past affiliation with The PhD Project. The letters set a March 31 deadline for information about their relationship with the nonprofit. In a statement, the PhD Project said it aims to create a broader talent pipeline” of business leaders. This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision, it said. Colleges tread carefully on inquiries that threaten federal funding Public reaction from the universities leadership has been minimal and cautious, with most issuing brief statements saying they will cooperate with investigators and refusing further comment. Colleges may see reason not to push back. The Trump administration has shown willingness to withhold federal funding over issues involving antisemitism allegations, diversity programs and transgender athletes. At Columbia University, under fire for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, the administration pulled $400 million in federal money and threatened billions more if it does not comply with its demands. There is a concern that if one university steps up and fights this then that university will have all of their funding cut, said Veena Dubal, general counsel for the American Association of University Professors. They are being hindered not just by fear but a real collective action problem. None of these universities wants to be the next example. Some colleges moved swiftly to stop working with The PhD Project. The University of Kentucky said it severed ties with the nonprofit on Monday. The University of Wyoming said in a statement that its college of business was affiliated with the group to develop its graduate student pipeline, but it plans to discontinue its membership. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas issued a statement saying three professors participated in the program, but two no longer work at the university and a third was killed in a shooting on campus in 2023. Arizona State said its business school is not financially supporting The PhD Project this year and it told faculty in February the school would not support travel to the nonprofits conference. A campaign against the nonprofit’s work began on social media Similar fallout came in Texas earlier this year, when Rufo began posting on X about the PhD Project. Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference, Rufo posted on Jan. 13. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, accused the university of supporting racial segregation and breaking the law. The next day Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot posted on X that the university president will soon be gone unless he immediately fixed the matter. Texas A&M responded by withdrawing from the conference, and soon after at least eight other Texas public universities that had participated previously in The PhD Projects conference also withdrew, the Texas Tribune reported. Rufo has not responded to a request for comment. Some of the schools under investigation raised questions about where the complaints against them originated. Montana State University said it follows all state and federal laws and was surprised by the notice it received and unaware of any complaint made internally with regards to The PhD Project. Six other colleges are being investigated for awarding impermissible race-based scholarships, the Education Department said. Additionally, the University of Minnesota is being investigated for allegedly operating a program that segregates students on the basis of race. At the University of California, Berkeley, hundreds gathered Wednesday on the campus known for student protests. But this one was organized by faculty, who stood on the steps of Sproul Hall, known as the birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s. This is a fight that can be summed up in five words: Academic freedom is under assault, Ula Taylor, a professor of African American studies, said to the crowd. In a campus email Monday, Berkeley Chncellor Rich Lyons did not specifically mention the investigation targeting his school. But he described the federal governments actions against higher education as a threat to the school’s core values. A Berkeley without academic freedom, without freedom of inquiry, without freedom of expression is simply not Berkeley, Lyons said. We will stand up for Berkeleys values and defend them to the very best of our ability.___ Cheyanne Mumphrey and Jocelyn Gecker, AP education writers Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Category:
E-Commerce
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