Two platform moves...same signal.

This week, Shopify enabled merchants to sell directly inside ChatGPT.
And TikTok tightened control over how orders get fulfilled on its platform.

Different companies. Different mechanics. Same direction.

Platforms aren’t just driving discovery anymore.
They want ownership over the transaction and what happens after it.

AI is becoming a sales surface.
Marketplaces are becoming stricter operators.

If you’re building a real brand, this isn’t bad news…but it does change how growth works from here.

Let’s break it down.

Topics we'll cover today:

💠 Brands Can Now Sell Inside ChatGPT
💠 TikTok is Tightening Fulfillment
💠 Latest news in the DTC space

January 26 will be remembered as an inflection point for e-commerce.

Since then, Shopify merchants can opt in to making their products purchasable directly through AI interfaces, including:

(With Perplexity on the roadmap)

Here's everything you need to know about it.

For U.S. merchants selling in the U.S., they can choose which AI channels they want to participate in, and Shopify made it clear that Instant Checkout is optional.

You can access this section from Settings → Sales channels.

Shopify confirmed that sales made through ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout will carry a 4% fee paid to OpenAI, on top of Shopify’s existing payment processing fees.

In practice, that puts AI checkout costs around ~7% for most merchants (and more if you’re not using Shopify Payments).

This makes ChatGPT the first AI interface to explicitly monetize transactions.

This isn’t just: “Is 4% worth it?”

It’s:

Because the real cost of AI checkout may not be the fee.

It may show up after the purchase.

Returns.
Reviews.
Repeat rate.
Support load.

That’s the data that will decide whether AI becomes a true sales channel, or stays a discovery layer.

We’re clearly entering a new era of e-commerce, where AI is becoming a place where transactions happen, not just decisions.

But right now, this is a testing phase.

If you’re a brand:

Test it.
Segment it.
And watch post-purchase metrics closely.

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There’s been a lot of noise about TikTok Shop’s latest logistics update.

In short, TikTok is ending “Seller Shipping” in the U.S. and pushing merchants toward its own logistics layer.

TikTok confirmed that U.S. sellers will soon be required to fulfill orders through TikTok Shop Logistics Services.

Timeline:

What qualifies as compliant fulfillment:

Seller Shipping, where brands buy their own labels and just upload tracking, is going away.

This policy already exists for cross-border sellers, so U.S. sellers are just catching up.

Let’s be clear:

You are not being forced into TikTok warehouses.
You are not losing your 3PL.
You are not rebuilding your ops stack.
TikTok is not killing Shopify-first brands.

Approved 3PL software like ShipHero and AfterShip can still be used, as long as they fully integrate with TikTok’s logistics API (more providers are being approved).

Your warehouse can still pick and pack.

TikTok wants control over:

In other words: TikTok wants to be the source of truth for fulfillment, even if they don’t physically touch the inventory.

This is TikTok moving toward an Amazon-style logistics standard, without owning the trucks.

And that distinction matters.

Amazon controls fulfillment end-to-end.
TikTok still relies on USPS, FedEx, UPS once packages leave the warehouse.

So this is less about speed supremacy, and more about platform trust.

If you’re already:

You’ll be fine.

Most $50M-$500M brands already operate this way on Amazon and Walmart.

This doesn’t hurt operators.

It hurts:

TikTok is cleaning house.

And honestly? That’s good news.

A few.

Yes, some brands may see cost shifts.

Those costs will get passed into pricing.

Consumers always pay the toll eventually.

This isn’t about shipping labels.

This is TikTok saying: “If you want scale, act like a real brand.”

Centralized logistics isn’t optional when a platform wants trust, consistency, and scale.

Amazon learned that years ago. TikTok is just catching up, fast.

For serious operators, this is not a threat.

If anything, this is bullish.

Less junk. More standards. Better buyers.

More leverage for brands who already have their house in order.

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Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

Season 6 will be released NEXT WEEK! 🎉

In the meantime, I wanted to share another episode I really enjoyed in 2025, and I think many of you will too.

It’s the episode with one of Luxeire’s founder, Margot Adams.

Luxeire is a mother-daughter clothing brand blending luxury, comfort, and performance, so you never have to choose between style and function.

Check it out 👇 

🎧 Tune in

If you found this interesting, please leave us a review. It’d mean the world to me.

📰 What’s a Good LTV To CAC Ratio? How To Calculate LTV To CAC [read more]
📰 Will TikTok Change Under US Ownership? [read more]
📰 OpenAI to Start Testing Ads Soon [read more]

Brian Roisentul is the founder & CEO of BSR, a growth marketing agency he started in 2013 to help e-commerce brands unlock hidden revenue by identifying misalignments between their marketing and customer behavior. He is also the host of The DTC Insider podcast, where he interviews thought leaders, founders, and directors in the e-commerce space.

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