BigCommerce parent company Commerce announced a suite of platform updates at Commerce Live 2026 that push merchant product catalogs directly into AI chatbots and search tools while shaving checkout load times and expanding feed management across advertising channels.
The updates, spanning the BigCommerce core platform, Feedonomics feed management tool, and new agentic commerce capabilities, reflect the company’s positioning around what it calls the compressed path from product discovery to purchase.
Sharon Gee, senior vice president of product for AI at Commerce, said in the announcement that “commerce as an industry is entering a phase where the distance between discovery and transaction is shrinking rapidly.”
Commerce Rolls Out Practical Upgrades for Merchants
Commerce shipped several foundational updates aimed at day-to-day merchant operations. The platform now supports multi-language storefronts with translation APIs, addressing a long-standing request from merchants operating in multiple markets. Advanced promotions management tools give merchants more granular control over discount structures and campaign timing.
The company reduced checkout load times by one second, a change that may seem modest but carries measurable conversion impact. Industry benchmarks consistently show that each additional second of page load time can reduce conversions by 7 to 10 percent, making this a material improvement for merchants processing significant transaction volumes.
For B2B operators, Commerce introduced AI-driven purchase order automation designed to reduce manual entry and processing overhead. The feature targets the workflow friction that often slows repeat orders in wholesale and distributor channels.
A New Way for Customers to Discover Products
The most significant development centers on what Commerce is calling agentic commerce capabilities. These tools push merchant product data, pricing, and availability into conversational AI platforms including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity, as well as checkout surfaces within PayPal and Stripe.
This represents a notable shift in how platforms are approaching product discovery. Rather than waiting for consumers to visit a storefront or click through a traditional ad, merchants can now surface inventory in environments where purchase intent is forming but not yet directed to a specific retailer. A shopper asking Perplexity for “best running shoes for flat feet” could see BigCommerce merchant products embedded in the response, with direct paths to purchase.
The approach mirrors broader industry movement toward ambient commerce, where purchase opportunities appear inside communication, research, and entertainment contexts rather than requiring deliberate navigation to retail sites.
Amazon has pursued similar integrations with Alexa and third-party voice assistants. Shopify has enabled product discovery through Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Commerce is extending that model into the emerging layer of generative AI tools that increasingly mediate online research and decision-making.
For merchants, the operational question becomes catalog readiness. Product data structured for traditional search and advertising does not always translate cleanly to conversational AI contexts. Detailed attributes, clear categorization, and natural language product descriptions become more important when an algorithm is interpreting and recommending products in response to open-ended queries.
Feed expansion to Microsoft, TikTok, and Pinterest
Commerce also expanded Feedonomics Surface, its feed management and advertising tool, to support Microsoft Ads, TikTok, and Pinterest. This brings the total channel count for Feedonomics to include major paid and organic discovery surfaces beyond Google and Meta.
The addition of Microsoft Ads provides access to Bing shopping placements, which remain a smaller but often less competitive alternative to Google Shopping.
TikTok Shop integration continues the platform’s push into native commerce, particularly for merchants targeting younger demographics or testing short-form video creative. Pinterest has renewed focus on shopping ads and catalog integration, making it relevant for categories with strong visual discovery patterns such as home goods, fashion, and crafts.
Feed management across multiple channels remains a persistent challenge for mid-market and enterprise merchants. Product titles, descriptions, and attributes often need channel-specific optimization. Inventory and pricing synchronization across platforms introduces operational risk if not managed through a centralized system.
Feedonomics has built its business around solving this problem, and the expanded channel roster increases its utility for merchants running diversified acquisition strategies.
How to Make the Most of the New Features
The one-second checkout improvement is immediately actionable for all BigCommerce merchants and should result in measurable uplift for stores with meaningful traffic. Merchants should monitor conversion rate and cart abandonment metrics in the weeks following the update to quantify impact.
The agentic commerce features require more strategic evaluation. Merchants need to assess whether their product catalog is structured to perform well in AI-mediated discovery. This means reviewing product titles, descriptions, and attribute completeness. Categories with high search intent and clear differentiation, such as electronics, sporting goods, and specialized tools, are likely to see earlier traction than commoditized or impulse categories.
Merchants already using Feedonomics should explore the expanded channel options, particularly TikTok and Pinterest if their customer demographics and product visuals align. Testing these channels with modest budgets can surface new acquisition opportunities without requiring separate platform integrations.
How BigCommerce Stacks Up Against Shopify and Amazon
Commerce’s agentic commerce push positions BigCommerce in a space where Shopify, Amazon, and newer entrants are also investing. Shopify has integrated Shop Pay across multiple surfaces and is testing AI-driven product recommendations through its Shop app. Amazon’s product catalog already feeds Alexa responses and is rumored to be negotiating placements in third-party AI tools.
The difference lies in execution and merchant control. BigCommerce merchants retain more flexibility over where and how their products appear compared to Amazon’s walled garden, but face more complexity in managing those integrations. Commerce’s approach bundles AI surface distribution with core platform updates, making it accessible without requiring separate vendor relationships or technical builds.
Outlook
The expansion of product discovery into AI chat interfaces is still early, and consumer behavior is not yet settled. Merchants should view these tools as incremental channels rather than replacements for search, social, and direct traffic. The value will compound for merchants who optimize product data quality and monitor performance across these new surfaces as usage patterns mature.
