Meta is making a bigger push into live commerce with new shopping and advertising tools for Facebook and Instagram. The latest updates are designed to help brands, creators, and advertisers turn livestreams into more interactive shopping experiences.
The move comes as social platforms continue to test new ways to combine entertainment, creator content, and online shopping. With TikTok also investing heavily in live commerce, Meta appears to be strengthening its own tools to help businesses drive product discovery and sales inside live video.
Meta Brings Live Video Ads to More Platforms
One of the biggest updates is the expansion of live video ads. Meta is bringing live video ads to Instagram while also making them available globally on Facebook.
These ads are designed to direct viewers into live broadcasts, giving brands and creators a better way to promote real-time shopping events. During a livestream, viewers may also see product tabs that connect them to purchase options.
For businesses, this creates a more direct path from discovery to purchase. Instead of only using livestreams for engagement, brands can now use them as stronger sales channels.
Facebook Gets New Live Shopping Features
Meta is also adding new live shopping tools on Facebook. These tools will allow marketers to showcase selected products during a live broadcast.
Viewers will be able to browse featured items, check product details, view pricing, and discover products without leaving the livestream experience. This could make live shopping more convenient and reduce friction for users who are already engaged with the broadcast.
For brands, this means livestreams can become more than product demonstrations. They can act as real-time digital storefronts where viewers can watch, ask questions, and shop in one place.
Meta Partners With Live Commerce Platforms
To support its live shopping push, Meta is also working with several live commerce platforms, including CommentSold, Firework, LiveMeUp, Sprii, and TalkShopLive.
These partnerships could help businesses connect their existing live commerce workflows with Meta’s platforms. That may be especially useful for retailers and creators already using third-party shopping platforms to manage product promotions, live selling, and customer engagement.
Virtual Cards Aim to Improve Checkout Security
Meta is also rolling out support for virtual cards. These temporary, one-time card numbers are generated from a shopper’s existing Mastercard or Visa account.
The goal is to make transactions more secure by reducing the need to share real credit card details directly with businesses. This could help increase buyer confidence, especially during live shopping events where quick purchase decisions are common.
Affiliate Marketing Expands for Creators
Meta is also expanding affiliate marketing opportunities for creators across Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook affiliate partners will now include Flipkart in India and Mercado Libre in Brazil and Mexico. Lazada is also expected to become available to Facebook creators in Asia, while Flipkart support is coming to Instagram creators in India.
These updates will allow creators to add affiliate product links directly into their content and earn commissions from qualifying sales.
Meta also says creators in 22 countries can now add affiliate links or tag products from a business catalog directly on Instagram. This means creators can feature products in Reels and Feed posts, helping audiences discover and purchase items while browsing.
AI Will Help Match Products With the Right Viewers
Meta is also updating how product data is used in sales campaigns. Instead of requiring advertisers to manually choose between different ad formats, Meta’s AI systems will use product data and creative assets to assemble the best-performing ad for each viewer in real time.
This could help advertisers deliver more relevant promotions based on what each user is likely to engage with. For brands running product campaigns, this may improve ad performance by letting Meta’s system automatically match products, formats, and creative assets to different audiences.
Why This Matters for Brands and Creators
Meta’s latest livestream shopping updates show that the company still sees major potential in social commerce.
For brands, the new tools could make Facebook and Instagram livestreams more useful for product launches, flash sales, influencer campaigns, and seasonal promotions. For creators, expanded affiliate options create more ways to monetize product recommendations.
The bigger picture is clear: Meta wants to make shopping feel more natural inside social content. By combining live video, affiliate links, product catalogs, virtual cards, and AI-powered ad delivery, Meta is building a stronger commerce layer across Facebook and Instagram.
As live shopping continues to grow, businesses that already use social video may want to test these tools early. The brands that succeed will likely be those that make livestreams feel useful, entertaining, and easy to shop.
