Research and analysis

FCC 26-67 takes effect November 25, 2026. A short video on the optional official opt-out method, the seven stop words, message categories and the 10-business-day limit.

The IRS lists three ways to confirm an EIN, including the new CP575 in Business Tax Account. A short video on the yearly revalidation of account access and what to do if access lapses.

Verify an EIN through three official IRS methods, choose a CP575, Entity transcript, or Letter 147C, and keep partnership Business Tax Account access active during annual revalidation.

The FTC announced Walmart, Cleo AI and GOAT payments in October 2026. Learn who may receive a check or PayPal payment, which deadlines apply, who to call and how to spot an FTC impostor.

In October 2026 the FTC announced refunds for Walmart, Cleo AI and GOAT customers while scammers pose as the FTC. A short video on the real payouts, deadlines and the one rule the FTC repeats.

The FBI says 2026 election scams may use fake voter links, bogus PACs, undelivered merchandise and investment pitches. Use this check routine before paying, clicking or sharing data.

On October 15, 2026, the FBI warned that scammers could exploit the 2026 midterm election. A short video on the four schemes, AI voices and what to check before you pay, donate or click.

On October 5, 2026, the FCC removed Digital Solutions Inc. from the Robocall Mitigation Database. A short video on what removal does to calls, when the blocking starts and what to ask your vendor.

The FCC removed Digital Solutions Inc. from the Robocall Mitigation Database. Here is what that changes for call acceptance, when blocking starts, and what small businesses should ask providers.

Agents are spreading fast, yet Gartner expects over 40% of agentic AI projects to be canceled by end of 2027. Four failure points, what the evidence says about each, and what teams that ship do differently.

Most sales calls to businesses sit outside the National Do Not Call rules, but the purpose of the call, specific exceptions, FCC rules, and truthfulness duties still shape compliance.

According to the FTC, most sales calls made to a business to get the business itself to buy are exempt from the National Do Not Call rules. A short video on where that exemption stops and what callers and receivers should do.

FCC 26-67 lets businesses limit an opt-out to one category of informational robocalls and name a clear opt-out method. Marketing opt-outs still stop all marketing robocalls from that caller.

On October 1, 2026 the FCC released order FCC 26-67. Once it takes effect, a STOP to an informational call or text may count only for its own category, while for ads and telemarketing one STOP still stops all. A short video on what changes and when.

A plain-language map of AI agent payment rails as of October 2026: x402 and its foundation, Google AP2, ACP, MPP, Visa and Mastercard, what changed since July, and why adoption numbers disagree.

A step-by-step walk through one x402 v2 payment: the 402 response, the PAYMENT-REQUIRED and PAYMENT-SIGNATURE headers, what the facilitator can and cannot do, fees, assets and refunds. Plus where the protocol fits and where it does not.

When an AI agent pays the wrong party or is tricked, Regulation E and Z set loss rules for unauthorized payments but never mention AI agents. Here is what they say, what the Fed's Waller asked, and what owners can check now.

What a clinic, law office or medspa can actually do today to accept payments from AI agents through Stripe, Shopify, Square or x402, and why capturing the phone request still comes first.

In February 2024 the FCC ruled that a call made with an AI generated voice counts as an artificial voice under the TCPA. The ruling covers calls your AI starts, not a customer calling in. Here is what it says on consent, identification and opt out.

The FCC's February 8, 2024 AI voice ruling covers outbound calls an AI starts. See when prior express consent and prior express written consent apply, plus what to check before dialing a customer.

The October 15 filing deadline is real for individual taxpayers with an IRS extension. The FTC's August case shows why a tax debt letter or sales call still needs an independent source check.

If you asked the IRS for more time, October 15 is the last day to file without penalties. Separately, the FTC's August 13 alert describes fake government letters about tax debt and gives three checks before you call or pay.

On September 28, 2026 the FTC warned that health insurance scams pick up during Open Enrollment, and that scammers sometimes pay to appear at the top of search results. The dates, how the paid ad trick works, and a three step rule: type it, skip the ad, check .gov.

The FTC asked on September 24, 2026 whether the ad tools of social media and search engines help impersonation scams, which cost Americans nearly $3.5 billion in 2025. Four dated September examples and a four-check rule a business can adopt this week.

In fiscal year 2025 the U.S. Treasury helped prevent, detect or recover an estimated $11.7 billion in fraud and improper payments, 38% more than the year before. How its screening works, why a person still decides, and the three-part payment check a small business can copy.

The FBI counted nearly 61,000 complaints about fake police and government callers between January 2025 and July 2026, with more than $1.6 billion lost. The script is always the same, AI now helps it on video calls, and one callback rule stops the payment.

Most customer spreadsheets break because of three habits: two customers on one row, the same status typed several ways, and the same person entered twice. Four rules keep the sheet usable, based on Microsoft's Excel documentation and the FTC guide for businesses: one row per customer, drop-down lists through Data Validation, removing duplicates only on a copy, and treating the file as personal data.

Gartner estimates only about 130 of the thousands of vendors selling agentic AI are real, and expects over 40 percent of agentic AI projects to be canceled by the end of 2027. Three questions expose the three failure causes before you sign: what one completed task costs, what you will measure in ninety days, and what the agent can touch and how you switch it off.

Three stories from the week of September 14 to 18, 2026: the TSA's agent Ace handles 100,000 conversations a month and resolves 96 percent without escalation, Live Nation took its Venue Agent from festival pilot to production in under 30 days, and OpenAI published six reports of its own models acting outside instructions.

The Stop Rogue AI Act, introduced September 15, 2026, asks NIST to write standards for four things: find every AI agent, verify who built it, monitor it in real time, and revoke its access. The same four rules fit any business that runs agents.

The safe harbor rule puts the underpayment penalty out of reach: pay 100% of last year's total tax, split across the four dates. What the rule requires before September 15.

Federal Reserve data show AI use is common among small employers, but full integration is rare. A depth ladder turns one trial into a measurable, controlled process without widening a weak pilot.

An agentic AI audit traces calls, leads, quotes, recurring work, and revenue through real records. It reveals measurable process gaps and a safe sequence for fixing one of them first.

The federal government already answered the question buyers argue about. Robotic process automation is excluded from the official definition of AI, and the line is drawn at whether a system follows written rules or decides.

The third of four 2026 estimated tax payments is due Tuesday, September 15. The underpayment rate is back to 7 percent and compounds daily, but one line in the tax code makes the penalty unreachable.

Traffic reports show visits. Key events show which of those visits became an inquiry, and the Lead acquisition report shows which channel produced it.

Automated marketing calls and texts to wireless numbers generally require prior express written consent. Here is what that means, what invalidates it, and how customers revoke it.

SBA has proposed a major redesign of federal small business size standards. The rule is not final, but the comment deadline and eligibility implications deserve attention now.

Google says no special AI file or markup is required. Small businesses should strengthen ordinary Search fundamentals, accurate local data, useful content, and measurement.