Does TikTok have nine lives? Probably.
It just dodged another ban, and now U.S. investors are calling the shots.
- Pricing that works while you sleep 😴
- Your products, sold by AI 🤖
- TikTok lives to trend another day 🎵
- Your products aren't being found? 🔍
HOT TOPIC
AI shopping just crossed a line, and most sellers probably didn’t notice.
In a span of days, Etsy turned AI assistants into checkout lanes inside ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google’s AI Search. Shopify, PayPal, Stripe, Walmart, Target, and others are rushing in.
For shoppers, it’s frictionless.
For sellers, it quietly shifts who controls traffic, discovery, and fees.
🛒 AI is becoming the storefront
These assistants aren’t just recommending products, they’re closing the sale:
- Microsoft Copilot Checkout: instant purchase, no redirects, merchant stays on record
- Google AI Search: checkout via its new Universal Commerce Protocol
- Etsy + ChatGPT: shoppers buy inside ChatGPT, with Etsy paying OpenAI a commission
What sellers should watch closely: platforms are already floating paid visibility inside AI results.
💸 What sellers are worrying about
This isn’t just an Etsy issue, it’s a preview of what discovery may become:
- AI decides which listings get shown (and sold)
- New fees for “AI shelf space” emerge
- Price, reviews, and ads shape AI recommendations
- Sellers lose control over how listings are summarized or displayed
One seller has already reported Amazon scraping her listings into its app, complete with AI-generated errors.
⚠️ AI traffic won’t stay free forever
Agentic shopping is moving fast. Expect new attribution models, new ad products, and eventually, new fees tied to AI discovery.
The real question isn’t if sellers will pay.
It’s how much control they’ll still have after they do.
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BITES OF THE WEEK
- Bots Buy Now: Chinese super apps turn AI chatbots into end-to-end shopping, payments, and loyalty machines.
- ChatGPT Commerce: OpenAI eyes commerce as ChatGPT shifts from answering questions to driving purchase decisions.
- SAFE-T Shrinks: Amazon halves SAFE-T claim window to 30 days starting February 16, 2026.
- Back to Court: FTC appeals antitrust loss, dragging Meta into another legal round over Instagram, WhatsApp deals.
SOCIAL PULSE
TikTok just dodged a US ban… at least for now
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, has officially signed a majority U.S.-owned joint venture to secure user data and keep the app running for over 200 million U.S. users.
A major milestone after years of drama, starting in August 2020 when Trump first tried to ban the app.
🏛️ The deal in numbers
Trump weighed in, calling the deal a win for “Great American Patriots and Investors,” and thanked Xi Jinping for approving it.
- Ownership split: American and global investors hold 80.1%, ByteDance keeps 19.9%
- Managing investors: Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each hold 15%
- Other investors: Dell Family Office, Vastmere Strategic Investments, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, Via Nova, Virgo LI, and NJJ Capital
🔐 Data, algorithms, and security
The new venture will:
- Retain and secure U.S. user data, apps, and recommendation algorithms
- Retrain, test, and update TikTok’s content recommendation system using U.S. data
- House the algorithm in Oracle’s U.S. cloud
Revenue and operational control are split: the venture handles tech and data, while ByteDance keeps ad sales and ecommerce revenue.
📱 Why this matters
The deal keeps TikTok largely in American hands and sets a precedent for U.S. tech oversight.
For marketers, the win is continuity: your audience stays, the app keeps running, but now with added U.S. oversight over the algorithm shaping feeds, recommendations, and discoverability.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE
Here's how to get your products found
Product discovery isn’t only about typing in the right keywords. It’s about guiding customers, reducing friction, and helping them decide faster.
Here are 8 strategies to make your products stand out:
- AI recommendations. Show customers items they didn’t even know they wanted.
- Do this: Use AI-powered blocks like Similar Items, Frequently Bought Together, and Trending Products.
- Visual search. Let shoppers search by image, not just words.
- Do this: Integrate visual search tools so users can snap a photo and instantly see matching items from your catalog.
- Optimized descriptions and images. Clear, benefit-driven text paired with high-quality visuals improves conversions.
- Do this: Use descriptive keywords, multiple angles, real-life scenarios, and zoom features to make products easy to understand.
- Social proof. Reviews and user-generated content build trust and encourage clicks.
- Do this: Showcase reviews, photos, and videos from real customers, and respond to feedback to boost credibility.
- Mobile discovery. Most shoppers are on mobile, don’t make them struggle.
- Do this: Prioritize responsive design, thumb-friendly filters, and fast-loading listings so mobile users can browse and buy with ease.
📋 Your product discovery checklist
Even small tweaks can make a big difference.
Better search, AI suggestions, mobile-friendly design, and strong social proof help shoppers find what they want faster, convert more often, and drive stronger sales in 2026.
