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Dive Brief: - TikTok is launching an agentic AI shopping experience that will let customers discover and purchase products without leaving the social media platform, the company announced Monday. - The experience starts with Shopping Assistant, a conversational AI agent that understands context and remembers user needs. The tool can provide information including product details, shipping, sizing and availability. - Customers can then check out using Buy Direct, which enables customers to make purchases directly from a brand with one click from inside the For You feed. Dive Insight: TikTok is a significant source of product discovery, and now it’s looking to further enhance its discovery offerings and make the channel an easier place to make a purchase. More than half — 55% — of TikTok users say the social media platform has helped them make more informed purchasing decisions, according to a survey of more than 11,000 U.S. adults released last week by TikTok and PF Global. An estimated 54 million U.S. consumers went on to purchase a product after watching a TikTok video. TikTok’s latest commerce tools reignite a question that arrived with third-party shopping agents: Who owns the experience when the customer journey never reaches the brand ecosystem? When the entire shopping journey occurs outside of a brand’s ecosystem, the company whose products are being bought can lose control over the customer relationship and access to valuable information about that shopper’s preferences and habits. Customer data is a cornerstone for retailers’ experience, especially if they want to introduce their own AI tools. As customer activity shifts toward alternative channels like third-party AI and social media platforms, companies may need to reexamine how to capture that information. Brands can also lose control over the experience. When third-party AI makes a mistake, it leaves some shoppers frustrated and retailers may not even know. Even if third-party AI is responsible for a bad experience, the retailer can get stuck with the blame, experts say. Some companies are already responding to the challenge of potentially losing customer relationships. The Retail AI Council, which includes major brands like McDonald’s, Best Buy and Whole Foods Market, last year formed the Shopper Context Protocol Working Group to help brands maintain relationships with shoppers who use third-party AI tools.
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