Commerce

Google launches Universal Commerce Protocol, ads in AI Mode

Yesterday, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference, Google unveiled several new eCommerce initiatives: Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open…

January 12, 2026

Podcast: Understanding the Shopify Product Network (with Amanda Engelman)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0t4t73AajImnE40UtvF8gm?si=36d5ce3270a04e1a My guest on this week's episode of the podcast is Amanda Engelman, Shopify's Director of Product for Advertising. The…

December 30, 2025

Natura non facit saltus

The New York Times reports on internal discord at Meta related to its superintelligence project (emphasis mine): In meetings this…

December 17, 2025

Ads in chatbots as a distribution necessity

On December 5th, Judge Amit Mehta issued the final remedies decision in the Google Search antitrust trial. The initial remedies…

December 10, 2025

Apple embraces mini app monetization

Last week, Apple introduced the Mini Apps Partner Program, which creates a commercial framework for "mini-apps" hosted within a native…

November 19, 2025

Podcast: Heidegger’s caution

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dUofScdAVEMSFqiFq6a2B?si=8860ab0127544c6a In this episode of the podcast, which is a companion to ⁠Affiliate links, personalized ads, and chatbot revenue optimization⁠,…

November 12, 2025

Affiliate links, personalized ads, and chatbot revenue optimization

Generative AI has undeniably penetrated consumer awareness at an incredible clip: this NBER paper finds that "overall genAI adoption (including…

November 11, 2025

ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout is an advertising data feed

OpenAI announced yesterday that it has partnered with Stripe to facilitate in-chat commerce. From OpenAI's blog post (emphasis mine): U.S.…

September 30, 2025

Agentic commerce is a mirage

In late July, The Information reported that Amazon had begun blocking external chatbots and shopping agents from accessing product listings…

September 3, 2025

The retreat from social commerce

Last week, TikTok owner ByteDance told staff in its Shops division that it would initiate a round of layoffs. This…