STOCKS | Senators Seek FTC Probe Into Amazon and Walmart AI Chatbots

Two U.S. senators have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how Amazon and Walmart’s AI shopping chatbots handle “Made in America” claims. According to Sina Finance, the senators said the chatbots may obscure or downplay information about whether products are made in the United States or falsely claimed as U.S.-made. Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin and Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mark R. Meador. They cited a July report from Columbia University’s Center on Law and Economic Studies, which said Amazon’s Alexa and Walmart’s Sparky avoided U.S.-origin information but could provide details on goods made in other countries. The report’s testing found that Alexa initially said it could not access data on U.S.-made products, but after a slight change in search terms it listed products labeled Made in America. Walmart’s AI chatbot Sparky initially said it could not verify the truth of the label, but after repeated prompts it could sort cart items by label credibility and said its earlier refusal was “overly cautious.”