A tutoring chain closed five centres and told parents to spend the money on AI subscriptions.

Dymocks Education CEO Mark Buckland told the Australian Financial Review on September 24 that Dymocks Tutoring and Talent 100 would shut its five Sydney centres that week, because the model is "no longer competitive on price or utility," and that most customers "would be better off using their hard-earned cash on cheaper solutions." Coverage citing the AFR puts packages at up to $900 per subject per term against $30-$40 a month for a premium chatbot plan. The AFR original is paywalled so the figures come secondhand. What's unusual is the incumbent naming the AI substitute as its reason for closing. That claim normally comes from the startup.