From a cat video to a countertop ice maker

Maybe you open Instagram to send a friend a video. Something harmless. A cat being dramatic, probably. Ten minutes later, you’re watching someone explain why a countertop ice maker has changed their life.

You have a freezer. It makes ice. This has never been a problem. And yet, suddenly, you have opinions about nugget ice.

That little journey from casual scrolling to surprisingly specific shopping interest captures the heart of social commerce. A product can enter the conversation before we’ve decided there’s anything to shop for.

Recommendation algorithms have been shaping those moments for years. Now, generative AI, automated messaging, and new shopping tools are helping merchants do more with the interest they create.

Welcome to The Trend Report.

Your product could find consumers before they know they need it

You don’t always have to wait for someone to search for what you sell. With predictive shopping feeds, your product can reach a potential customer before it’s even on their shopping list.

Platforms like TikTok use signals from viewing behavior and interactions to personalize what people see. For merchants, that creates an opportunity to introduce products to people whose interests suggest they might care, even if they’ve never heard of your brand.

But getting into the feed is only part of the job. Your content needs to help someone see where your product fits into their life.

Take that countertop ice maker. Showing its features gives shoppers information. Showing it in action during an elaborate iced-coffee routine gives them a reason to picture it in their kitchen. Suddenly, their current freezer ice situation feels a little less exciting.

That’s an opportunity worth building your content around. Show the everyday problem your product solves, the routine it improves, or the experience it makes possible.

The product demo is getting an upgrade

Live shopping already gives people something a static product image can’t: the chance to watch a demonstration and ask questions as it happens.

AI is adding new ways to support that experience. TikTok’s Auto Remix tool, for example, can turn footage from past or ongoing livestreams into short ads that help bring viewers into live shopping sessions.

AI hosts are also being tested and deployed in some markets. In China, agency PLTFRM reported using virtual hosts for Brother’s stores on JD.com and Tmall, extending livestream operations around the clock. That offers a glimpse of how automated presenters could expand live selling, though the approach will depend on the platform, audience, and product.

Meanwhile, virtual try-ons bring product evaluation closer to the shopper. American Eagle’s Snapchat campaign included a Jeans Try-on Haul Lens, giving people another way to explore the assortment.

AI and augmented reality can help people visualize a look, but a convincing preview still needs useful sizing, material, and fit information alongside it.

The practical question for merchants is simple: What’s stopping someone from feeling confident enough to buy? Choose the tool that helps answer that question.

Merchants can do more with the moment of interest

Behind every convincing social shopping experience is a team trying to create content, answer questions, and figure out which campaigns deserve more budget.

AI is changing all three jobs.

Content creation is becoming more flexible. 

Tools like TikTok Symphony can turn product images and text prompts into video assets, making it easier to explore different creative approaches.

That gives teams more room to test whether shoppers respond to a demonstration, a particular use case, or a different opening line. The useful measure is what the team learns and how the content performs.

Customer conversations can move faster. 

As Forbes explores in its reporting on social commerce, automated direct messages can help brands handle interest without manually managing every exchange. AI can support responses to routine questions, while simpler automation can deliver a requested product link.

Campaign adjustments can happen more frequently. 

TikTok’s GMV Max offers an optional feature that increases budgets when specified performance conditions are met, using current campaign data.

Merchants still need to define success. A campaign that generates orders can look very different once margins, returns, and repeat purchases enter the picture.

Shoppers are connecting the dots across channels

The path from a social post to a purchase can be short. It can also involve several detours.

Someone might discover a product through a creator, ask an AI assistant to compare alternatives, and return to social media to see how people actually use it. Another shopper might start with an AI recommendation and look for a creator’s demonstration before deciding.

Adweek’s coverage of Brandweek describes this relationship between AI recommendations and validation from real people. Social content and AI-assisted research can influence the same purchase at different moments.

For merchants, that suggests a broader role for social content. A video should be able to answer a useful question even when the viewer already knows the product exists.

Does the bag fit under an airplane seat? How does the jacket look on someone my height? How loud is that ice maker, really?

Relevant proof helps people translate a recommendation into a decision. Work with creators who can demonstrate those details, and use questions from comments and messages to identify what needs explaining next.

More generated content raises the stakes for trust

Generative AI makes polished product content easier to produce. It also gives merchants a reason to be more deliberate about what that content promises.

A beautiful image creates an expectation that a product has to be capable of meeting.

For a brand, that makes real demonstrations, specific customer experiences, and clear explanations valuable companions to generated creative. Let shoppers see the product in ordinary conditions. Show how it works after the exciting unboxing part. Answer the slightly inconvenient questions, too.

Creator partnerships can help when creators have room to bring their own perspective. In the Adweek article cited above, Bissell’s agency describes encouraging creators to explore formats beyond familiar before-and-after videos. The lesson for merchants is to make space for useful, distinctive content that fits the creator’s audience.

Apply the same care to AI-generated assets. Check product details, disclose AI use where appropriate, and make sure the content accurately represents what customers will receive.

Trust gets built in the details, so sometimes you have to include the ones that don’t make the product look perfect.

Shopping agents are the next development to watch

As AI assistants take on more shopping tasks, social discovery could become an input to a more delegated buying process.

Imagine saving a creator’s kitchen video and asking an assistant to find the featured appliance, compare prices, and check whether it fits your counter.

The infrastructure for AI-assisted discovery and checkout is developing. PayPal’s agentic commerce services, for example, are designed to connect merchant product data, inventory, and fulfillment with shopping experiences on AI platforms.

A personal agent routinely negotiating with a brand’s agent remains an emerging possibility. Today, merchants can prepare by making the underlying information dependable: accurate dimensions, clear compatibility details, current availability, and consistent pricing.

That preparation is essential across channels. A creator can make someone want the product, but the information behind it needs to help a shopper or an assistant work out whether it’s the right choice.

The final word

There are plenty of places to start: a clearer product demonstration, a faster response to a common question, or a campaign test built around a specific customer need.

Choose a point where shoppers lose momentum, then use AI to help improve it. Keep the product information connected to the experience, and measure whether people move closer to a confident purchase.

The opportunity in social commerce is to make those moments work together: the introduction, the explanation, the reassurance, and the sale.

Because in today’s social world, someone may open their phone in search of a funny cat video and end up leaving with a countertop ice maker.

When curiosity turns into intent, your brand needs to be there.