Welcome back. Investors are bullish on using artificial intelligence to help solve customer-service inquiries, even if chatbots remain distinctly lacking in the human touch. Grocery stores are making strategic decisions about empty shelves as a result of the supply-chain crunch. And the company once known as Weight Watchers is further emphasizing wellness in its member experience.

Netomi, a provider of customer-service chatbots that use artificial intelligence, raised $30 million in a Series B funding round that values the company at $210 million, up from a valuation of $67.5 million in 2019.

New investors include WndrCo, a technology and media investment firm co-founded by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ann-Marie Alcántara writes for the Experience Report.

Many chatbots can still underwhelm consumers who desire a more human-like tone. But Netomi CEO Puneet Mehta said the company’s automated customer-service agents aren’t designed to re-create human beings, drawing a comparison with the capabilities of autonomous cars.

“Self-driving cars do not analyze and handle driving situations exactly like human drivers,” Mr. Mehta said in an email. “Human drivers are having to work with vision and hearing, while a self-driving car could have several cameras facing all directions, distance sensors, data on road conditions and so much more.”

Supermarkets are turning to age-old tricks of the trade, and developing new ones, to fill the gaps on their shelves from the supply-chain crisis, Katie Deighton reports.

One tactic is to move shelf-stable items that some people choose to refrigerate—such as condiments and oat milk—into empty fridges.

Managers are also increasing the number of “facings,” or rows, that a certain item is given on shelves.

But some are deliberately leaving empty spaces to communicate that items are only temporarily out of stock and haven’t been completely discontinued.

“For certain things, I’m afraid people will come in, see it’s not here and wind up not coming back for it,” said Matt Santarpio, the owner of the Walnut Food Market in Newton, Mass.

WW, the company once known as Weight Watchers, revamped its core system of counting points as it continues to try to shift its emphasis toward wellness and not just dieting, reports Ann-Marie Alcántara.

The new system lets members raise their assigned daily budgets of points with activities such as walking the dog, drinking water or eating a non-starchy vegetable.

The company has been trying to reposition itself since 2018, when President and Chief Executive Mindy Grossman famously told stock analysts “the world doesn’t need another diet” and the company later dropped the “Weight Watchers” name.

But WW’s long history complicates that effort, said Jeannie Walters, CEO of Experience Investigators, a customer-experience consulting firm.

“It is going to be a hard thing to overcome when they already have so much competition and they haven’t always talked about things in a way of health and wellness,” Ms. Walters said.

Apple said it would introduce a self-service repairs program that would allow customers to fix their own devices using Apple parts and tools. Apple has been known for its tight control of the repair process, focused on Apple Stores and authorized service providers. (WSJ) 

Huawei introduced a customer-service add-on in China that cuts the cost of replacing lost or damaged earbuds. (Android Authority)

The Federal Trade Commission said businesses need to make it at least as easy to cancel their services as it is to sign up for them. (NiemanLab) 

The Justice Department sued Uber for charging wait-time fees to passengers with physical disabilities. (WSJ)

Amazon said it would next year stop accepting Visa credit cards in the U.K. due to high transaction fees. (WSJ) 

It still takes hours to get through to airlines’ customer service departments on the phone. (NYT)

YouTube will stop publicly displaying dislike counts in a bid to cut down on creator harassment. (Variety)

Airbnb said a specialized team will now review the accessibility features advertised by hosts to ensure they are accurate. (The Verge)

Narvar, a platform for post-purchase customer care, named retail veteran Anisa Kumar as its first chief customer officer. (WWD)

Researchers are exploring chemical methods to make visitors to the metaverse feel cold, heat or even stinging sensations. (Gizmodo) 

Newsletter compiled with Katie Deighton and Ann-Marie Alcántara