TikTok has built a “direct channel” for e-commerce.

After years of competition, e-commerce platforms have, to put it plainly, been solving one problem: how to make the path from consumer “interest” to “payment” as short as possible. TikTok recently announced its first batch of “agentic commerce” features, and they are aimed squarely at this path.

Two core features: one is called Shopping Assistant, a conversational AI shopping assistant; the other is Buy Direct, one-click checkout. After users come across a product while scrolling, they can complete an order without leaving the app, using their saved address and payment information, and order progress can also be viewed within the app. What used to require scattered actions across watching videos, checking products, and opening websites is now consolidated into a single scenario.

Image source: TikTok Shop

One protocol brings the checkout counter into the information feed.

The underlying technology behind this experience is the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). The protocol was initiated by Google in January 2026, with the goal of enabling shopping entry points and merchant systems to exchange information under unified rules, so that merchants do not have to rebuild a transaction process every time they connect to a new channel.

TikTok’s publicly disclosed UCP partners include Salesforce, Shopify, Shoplazza, and Stripe. For independent-site brands using these services, their existing systems now have an additional channel to connect to TikTok—no longer just for running ads, but for completing transactions directly in the feed. More notably, merchants still retain their “merchant of record” status, with orders, customer information, and after-sales all managed by the brand itself.

But consumers’ purchase decisions often get stuck on a few specific questions: Do these shoes run true to size? What material is the jacket? Can I receive it before heading out next week? Shopping Assistant is designed to solve exactly these. It can answer questions about sizing, material, inventory, and delivery in conversation.

Image source: Salesforce

It’s not just TikTok—everyone is competing for the same entry point.

The battle for shopping entry points has long ceased to be TikTok’s alone. Google has extended this path into Search and Gemini, launching brand AI shopping guides and advancing in-app checkout, so users can browse products and complete purchases without leaving the AI chat interface. Shopify also announced a partnership with Meta to let Muse complete checkout via Shop Pay within merchants’ stores, and Shopify’s stock rose about 15% cumulatively in the two days after the news was announced.

The governance architecture of the UCP protocol is also expanding. In April 2026, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Stripe joined the UCP Technical Committee, working with founding members such as Google and Shopify to develop standards. Different platforms are converging in direction on “reducing redirects for consumers.”

Image source: theverge

Fewer redirects do not necessarily mean a higher conversion rate.

But fewer redirects do not necessarily lead to more sales. A Walmart executive disclosed a set of data: for the "instant checkout" feature embedded in ChatGPT, the actual conversion rate was only one-third of that for transactions completed after redirecting to the official website, a drop of about 66%. Daniel Danker, Walmart's Executive Vice President of Product and Design, admitted that users' willingness to complete purchases directly within the AI chat interface was far lower than expected.

Item-by-item checkout also does not match some consumers’ habit of making combined purchases. Walmart subsequently adjusted its strategy, positioning AI as a “shopping guide” rather than a “cashier,” letting AI handle product discovery and recommendations while login, cart synchronization, and payment still return to its own system. This shows that shopping convenience is not just about tapping the screen a few fewer times; consumers are accustomed to the cart, combined payment, and familiar after-sales processes, and these steps are still difficult to replace.

Image source: winningwithwalmar

What should sellers pay attention to?

The boundaries between content platforms and brands’ owned channels are blurring. Where consumers complete a purchase no longer fully determines where brands run this business.

From consumers actively seeking out products, to products actively finding consumers, and then to AI assisting with selection and completing orders, e-commerce traffic entry points and transaction entry points have been continuously evolving.

For sellers, what needs to be prepared in advance is not to bet on which AI assistant will become the ultimate winner, but to organize product information clearly so that transaction systems can integrate smoothly and fulfillment services can keep up. In this way, once a new shopping entry point emerges, existing operational capabilities can extend naturally into new channels.