TikTok has introduced a conversational AI Shopping Assistant alongside a new in-app checkout feature that allows users to buy directly from brands, the company announced on Monday.
According to TikTok, the Shopping Assistant is an AI agent built to help users discover and purchase products. The company said it understands context and remembers users’ preferences and needs throughout a conversation, offering real-time guidance on product details, shipping, sizing, availability and completing a purchase. The new checkout tool lets users buy from a brand with a single click directly from the For You feed, the app’s main algorithm-driven video stream.
TikTok said the features are being developed in partnership with commerce and payment providers including Salesforce, Shopify, Shoplazza and Stripe. By embedding AI-powered shopping help inside the app, TikTok appears to be aiming to keep users on its platform rather than turning to outside AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, while capturing more of their shopping journeys.
The move extends TikTok’s commerce strategy beyond TikTok Shop, its in-house marketplace launched in the U.S. in September 2023, which eMarketer estimates generated about $15.8 billion in U.S. sales in 2025, roughly 18% of all U.S. social commerce.
