Rachael Dunfell knew two things about her husband’s 21-year-old cousin: that he liked specialised racing bikes and that he was interested in the Vikings.

But those pieces of information yielded few ideas for a suitable Christmas gift. So Rachael, 33, from Manchester, turned to artificial intelligence.

She inputted his age, his hobbies, and his interest in Copilot, the Microsoft-owned chatbot, which led her to the website of a niche retailer that sells Viking-themed metal bike parts.

“It’s just something that I really would never have known existed,” she said, “but it was perfect.”

AI is shifting the holiday shopping experience.

People are increasingly turning to AI tools, from Copilot to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Gemini, for help with gift ideas and to compare prices, with implications for bargain hunters and retailers alike.

John Harmon, a senior technology analyst at Coresight Research in New York, called this year the first holiday season shaped by AI-powered shopping.

While there is not a great deal of data on spending directly linked to AI, Salesforce has said AI is expected to drive 21% of all holiday orders globally, for a total of $263bn (£197bn) in sales.

More than half of US consumers say they would probably or definitely use AI to help with their shopping, a Coresight survey found.

In the UK and Ireland, a survey of 2,000 consumers by the technology company CI&T, released this month, found that 61% use or have used AI tools while shopping – most often to find where to buy an item or locate the best deal.

But more than two-thirds of respondents could not think of an AI-powered retail experience that impressed them.

Companies are rushing to leverage AI channels for product promotion.

“Retailers feel urgency because AI is already shaping what people buy,” said Melanie Nuce-Hilton, senior vice president of customer success at GS1 US, an information standards organisation.

“If the product information the model learns from is outdated or inconsistent, the recommendation may not be accurate, leading to a loss of visibility for small brands,” she continued.

The technology is starting to move beyond using AI tools to help find a product on a retailer’s website to letting shoppers buy items without even leaving a chatbot.

OpenAI at the end of September announced an Instant Checkout feature. In the weeks since, the ChatGPT maker has announced partnerships with several major retailers and marketplaces to list some of their products directly on the chat service. Etsy and Shopify took the lead, followed by Walmart in October and Salesforce and Target in November.

Walmart, for example, said its partnership with OpenAI “allows customers and Sam’s Club members to plan meals, restock essentials, or discover new products simply by chatting.”

But at this stage, there are limitations for shoppers seeking to offload their holiday shopping entirely. Buying items without leaving AI chats is still a nascent phenomenon, only weeks in the making.

Analysts stated that AI companies hold the power.

Not every retailer is set up for direct purchases within ChatGPT, Mr Harmon said. Some have not yet received approval from OpenAI.

“It’s OpenAI’s game. They’re in control of who is listed and how long it takes,” he said.

“The smaller ones will be left out for now, until they’re able to convert their data and get approved to have it listed on OpenAI.”

Analysts said retailers could attract customers by prioritising partnerships with AI companies.

The agreements have the potential to boost brand perception among consumers, said Yanliu Huang, a marketing professor at Drexel University. She noted the benefits for a company like Walmart, which is known for its low prices but is seeking to appeal to higher-educated and younger consumers, too.

Ms Huang predicted that other large retailers like Costco, as well as smaller brands, are likely to follow suit.

Burlap & Barrel, a spice company based in the US, sees AI-powered shopping as an opportunity to boost sales.

Ori Zohar, the firm’s co-founder and co-chief executive, acknowledged that the company is better positioned than many other small businesses in his sector to draw in shoppers, given its robust online presence.

“That ended up being really, really good content to feed to the AI models,” Mr. Zohar said. He attributed the company’s recent growth, in part, to AI searches that led customers to its website.

But Mr Zohar said Burlap & Barrel is not currently seeking direct partnerships with AI companies like OpenAI. Instead, executives are concentrating on expanding the company’s spice database, which AI tools can identify and display to shoppers.

Allan Binder, a teacher and sound engineer currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam, said he started using AI last year to brainstorm gift ideas for friends and family in the US.

Having already used AI tools for research purposes, using them to find niche presents felt like a “natural extension,” said Allan, 35, originally from Detroit, Michigan.

Among his AI-powered discoveries are scissors from an artisan manufacturer in England and pottery from Indonesia, a birthday gift for his mother last summer.

This holiday gifting season, his AI searches have led him to historic prints.

“[Chatbots] have the potential to connect very targeted products with their audience,” he said.

But he acknowledged the risks of offloading shopping to AI agents, especially for those who undertake less research on their own to supplement AI-generated results.

“I think AI shopping will help informed consumers become more informed,” he said, “while making it easier for uninformed consumers to buy without much thought.”

Queen Camilla has visited the set of TV drama Rivals for a behind-the-scenes tour.

The Queen met members of the cast and crew during filming of the second series of the hit show, based on the book written by Dame Jilly Cooper, at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios.

During the visit on location, the Queen learnt how production has been a boost for creative industries in the south-west of England, providing training and opportunities for young people.

Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O’Hara in the series, said it was “lovely to have Jilly’s best friend” on set.

Dame Jilly died in October at the age of 88 after sustaining a fatal head injury during a fall at her Gloucestershire home.

Following her death, the Queen paid tribute, describing her as a “legend” and a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many”.

The pair were long-standing friends.

 The author based her fictional seducer and showjumping lothario Rupert Campbell-Black partly on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

Speaking with Dame Jilly’s son, Felix Cooper, and daughter Emily Tarrant on set, the Queen expressed her sadness.

“She was such a big part of my life for such a long time. We all miss her so much,” she said.

Ms. Smurfit told the BBC that Queen was “hilarious, funny, and kind” after she and other cast members had tea with her on set.

The actor added the visit was partly “sad” because Jilly was meant to be present.

“We chatted about Jilly, we chatted about the show, about all the different characters, about how she binge-watched it and really loved it,” Ms Smurfit said.

“Jilly will be watching from elsewhere.”

During the visit, the Queen also toured the costume department and viewed outfits and designs, which showcase the 1980s style and fashion of the era.

Filming on the second series of Rivals began in May and the show will return with an extended 12-episode second series in 2026.

It sounds like a simple merger deal, but it’s got all the ingredients of a Hollywood drama: a rich and powerful suitor, political intrigue, and plenty of cliffhangers.

Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Brothers Discovery’s storied movie studio and popular HBO streaming networks is a real-life tale of a conquering giant.

But with regulators and rivals still waiting in the wings, it’s probably just the start of the saga.

As the story unfolds, here are five key things to look out for.

Netflix has been pulling ahead in Hollywood for years now, ranking as the world’s biggest streaming subscription service and largest producer of new content in California.

But this deal – the biggest in the industry for years – would confirm its position at the head of the pack, handing the company a catalogue with nearly a century’s worth of titles and beefing up its already formidable production capacity.

That’s not to mention its sheer subscriber might, as Netflix prepares to add some of HBO’s 128 million subscribers to its already more than 300 million-strong base.

“Netflix is already the biggest streaming service, and now you add HBO Max to that, and it’s arguably untouchable,” said Mike Proulx, vice president at research firm Forrester.

The deal will unite beloved historic franchises like Looney Tunes, Harry Potter and Friends and HBO hits like Succession, Sex and the City and Game of Thrones under the same roof as Netflix’s less conventional output, including Stranger Things and K-pop Demon Hunters.

The purchase also includes TNT Sports outside the US.

Netflix said it hopes to complete the deal in the next year—18 months.

But executives are coy about how – or whether – they plan to incorporate Warner Brothers and its flagship HBO brand into the existing Netflix service.

Netflix’s co-chief executive Greg Peters said the HBO name was “very powerful” and would give the firm “a lot of options” but would not elaborate further.

Netflix could package films and programs into different bundles, although analysts say they would be surprised to see the HBO brand disappear altogether.

The impact on prices is also unclear.

Netflix’s dominance could allow it to charge customers more. But if viewers find they are paying for one streaming service rather than two, it could cost them less.

Warner Bros is one of the studios that defined Hollywood, creating classics such as Casablanca and the The Exorcist.

But this takeover is an illustration of how cinema’s golden age has faded.

The trajectory is clear, Forrester’s Mr Proulx said; the future is “all-streaming”.

“With this deal, it is official: legacy media is ending.”

Netflix has promised to keep releasing films in cinemas, a decision that makes some sense as it will be acquiring the DC superhero franchise, films that do very well in movie theatres.

But not everyone believes that will remain a priority for the streamer.

After all, earlier this year, Netflix’s co-chief executive officer, Ted Sarandos, said he believed moviegoing was an “outdated concept.” And the consolidation touches a nerve in an industry already wrestling with earlier job cuts, decline in production and the threat of artificial intelligence.

Titanic director James Cameron was one of many in Hollywood to greet the deal with dismay, warning just before it was announced that he thought it would prove a “disaster” for the industry.

Completion of the deal is far from certain.

First, Warner Brothers Discovery has to complete the spin-off of the parts of its business that it is not selling to Netflix, including CNN, Discovery and Eurosport.

Meanwhile, rival suitor Paramount Skydance may still try to convince shareholders that it can offer a better alternative, having hoped to buy the entire Warner Brothers Discovery business.

The biggest question, however, is whether the deal will get approval from competition regulators in the US and Europe – something that could pose a major challenge.

In Washington, lawmakers from both parties have already chimed in against the deal, citing worries it will lead to fewer choices for consumers and higher prices.

Mr Sarandos said Netflix, which has to pay Warner Brothers $5.8bn if the deal falls apart, was “highly confident” it would win approval.

It will hinge in part on how regulators define the competitive landscape, said Jonathan Barnett, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

If regulators only look at video streaming, Netflix’s increased share of the market could raise significant red flags. But if regulators adopt a broader definition, one that includes cable and broadcast TV and even YouTube as Netflix’s competitors, “the concentration concerns become less and less,” he said.

Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said usually a merger like this would be a “clear-cut case for a challenge”, typically pushing for better terms for consumers.

This time, she is worried the Trump administration might put pressure on Netflix over questions like diversity and political bias, as has happened in other cases.

Looming over the debate is whether President Donald Trump will weigh in.

This administration has promised a lighter regulatory touch when it comes to mergers.

But the president has spoken highly of Paramount Skydance’s owners, the tech billionaire and Republican donor Larry Ellison and his son David who are behind the rival bid for Warner Bros. And Trump has always shown a keen interest in the media and entertainment industry.

There has been no comment from competition regulators in the US, but a senior Trump administration official told CNBC that it views Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros with “heavy scepticism”.