TikTok on Monday announced the launch of an AI shopping assistant and a new in-app payment feature that allows users to purchase directly from brands.
TikTok describes its new shopping assistant as a conversational AI agent designed to help users discover and purchase products. The company says the assistant understands context and remembers user preferences and needs throughout the conversation. It offers real-time AI-powered shopping advice, such as product details, shipping information, size, availability, and help completing a purchase.
As for the new payment feature, TikTok says users can purchase directly from a brand from their For You feed (the app’s main algorithm-driven video feed) with just one click.
The new features could allow TikTok to capture more of users’ shopping journeys, and potentially more transaction value, without sending them elsewhere. By combining a shopping assistant with direct payments, TikTok is transforming its impulse discovery feed into a place where users can get their product questions answered and make a purchase on the spot.
By creating an AI assistant for shopping directly within its app, TikTok also appears to be hoping that users will stay on its platform when they have questions about a product, rather than turning to external AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The company says these new features are being developed in partnership with commerce platforms and payment providers, including Salesforce, Shopify, Shoplazza, and Stripe, among others.
Although TikTok Shop, the app’s internal marketplace, has been the platform’s main driver for the company’s e-commerce ambitions, these new features expand its approach beyond the existing shopping center. Rather than relying on TikTok Shop to drive purchases, the social network is now integrating shopping tools more directly into the broader app, including the For You feed.
This expansion comes as TikTok’s influence on shopping continues to grow. According to TikTok’s economic impact report released last week, activity on the platform helped generate $81 billion in GDP for U.S. businesses, while 54 million Americans reported purchasing a product after watching a TikTok video.
TikTok Shop launched in the United States in September 2023. Market research firm eMarketer estimates that it generated approximately $15.8 billion in sales in the United States in 2025, representing approximately 18% of all U.S. social commerce.
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