TIKTOK'S AGENT CHECKOUT ENTERS THE RACE

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

TikTok announced Shopping Assistant and Buy Direct at Advertising Week NYC on October 5, both now in eligibility-based testing in the US. Shopping Assistant is a conversational agent that handles product details, sizing, and availability, then hands the purchase to the in-app browser. Buy Direct is a one-click checkout inside the For You feed using stored payment and address details. Both run on Google's Universal Commerce Protocol, and the brand remains the merchant of record.