Meta appears to be embedding a full shopping experience directly into Meta AI on the web. According to the reports, the recent builds of the platform include a dedicated shopping option visible to users accessing Meta AI from the United States.
It is expected to rival both AI shopping assistants from ChatGPT and Gemini.
Meta's AI Commerce Strategy Gains Momentum
When a user enters a shopping-related prompt, the assistant automatically initiates a product search. During its reasoning phase, Meta AI shows real-time progress, then presents results in a sleek carousel of product cards complete with images.
Clicking on a product opens a side panel featuring descriptions, visuals, and apparent quick-purchase options. However, the final checkout flow and buy button remain unavailable in this early build.
This emerging shopping feature is, in fact, under Meta's plans in the e-commerce space. According to Bloomberg, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told investors that upcoming AI models will carry significant "implications for commerce," including agentic shopping tools designed to help users discover products from Meta's business catalog.
Meta has also acquired Manus, an autonomous AI agent technology intended to enhance conversational platforms and scale social commerce.
The new shopping capabilities in Meta AI seem to represent an early execution of that strategy, targeting U.S. consumers who are already active across Meta's ecosystem.
Google Gemini Integration and Meta's Avocado Model
Interestingly, some Meta AI search queries are reportedly routed internally through Google's Gemini 3. It is not yet clear whether the final shopping system will rely solely on Meta's in-house AI model, codenamed Avocado.
According to Testing Catalog, Avocado, developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, is expected to launch in the first half of 2026. It will focus on advanced reasoning and coding capabilities.
Aside from ChatGPT and Gemini, Perplexity has its own "one-stop solution" for products through its AI shopping experience.
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