The Vogue Business AI Tracker

Mar 31, 2026

The news: AI digital twin licensing company Alva launches in partnership with Elite World Group, Next Models, and H&M.

Why it matters: Newly launched Alva is pitching itself as an AI talent company, which creates, licenses, and safeguards “certified and unique” digital twins — dubbed “Alva twins” — of models, athletes, artists, and actors. Upon launch, it has partnered with Elite World Group, Next Models, and H&M. But major fashion and entertainment tie-ups are also in the pipeline, according to the company.

It is operating within one of the most controversial areas of AI. If a brand wants to use a model’s likeness on an AI-generated shoot, how can they make sure the model is credited? Alva said its new licensing solution ensures that talent maintains full ownership and control over their Alva twin, while brands can access as licensed, rights-cleared entities.

Mar 25, 2026

The news: OpenAI revamps ChatGPT shopping features after rolling back Instant Checkout.

Why it matters: OpenAI’s ChatGPT shopping ambitions have changed drastically in the last few months. After announcing it would enable in-chat Instant Checkout last September, and launching its Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), a system for different brands and Shopify sites to integrate into ChatGPT’s checkout, it is pivoting away from developing the feature. The decision follows research revealing that users were less keen on completing purchases in-app, using the chatbot more for research and discovery. “We’ve found that the initial version of Instant Checkout did not offer the level of flexibility that we aspire to provide,” parent company OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the news.

Now, ChatGPT is refocusing its shopping experience on product discovery. The revamped rollout includes more visual research and discovery features, encouraging users to upload photos of the items they’re looking to find. The chatbot will then serve them different product images and price and product detail comparisons, in place of current text-focused results.

OpenAI said it’s improved the speed, relevance, and product coverage of its shopping tool, and that all merchants already integrated into its ACP — including Shopify merchants, as well as retailers like Sephora, Nordstrom, and Wayfair — are automatically enrolled into ChatGPT’s new discovery layer. Crucially, brands get to own the final step of the customer’s purchase journey: checkout. “They can complete purchases on the merchants’ online stores through an in-app browser, so everything happens seamlessly, with the merchant’s brand front and center. This is AI shopping at scale,” said Mani Fazeli, VP of product at Shopify.

The news: OpenAI shutters video-generation tool Sora and ends Disney deal.

Why it matters: OpenAI will shut down its Sora video app, launched last September, to refocus on its computing resources among other priorities — including competing with the likes of Anthropic for business customers, robotics, and shopping tools. The AI company is also abandoning a $1 billion deal it signed with Disney just four months ago. The controversial licensing agreement intended to integrate more user-generated content (and feared AI slop) into Disney+, but AI video generation uses up a huge amount of expensive computing power. It’s huge news for both Hollywood and the creative industries, and signals a refocusing from OpenAI on its main capabilities.