- Meta is expanding shopping capabilities across Instagram and Facebook to make product discovery and purchasing more seamless
- Eligible creators in 22 countries can now tag products or add affiliate links directly to Instagram Reels and Feed posts
- Creators can earn commissions from purchases while brands gain new ways to connect product catalogs with creator content
- The update is part of a broader commerce push that includes Live Video Ads, expanded affiliate partnerships, AI-powered sales campaigns, and virtual card checkout
- Together, the changes point to Meta's broader goal of shortening the journey from product discovery to purchase
"The era of link in bio is finally over."
That was how Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta's Head of Global Business Group, described one of the company's latest creator commerce updates during Shoptalk earlier this year.
It's a bold statement, but one that reflects where Meta is heading.
At Cannes Lions 2026, the company announced a series of shopping updates across Facebook and Instagram designed to make purchasing products feel like a natural extension of browsing content.
While the announcement included several new commerce features, one stands out for brands working with creators: eligible creators in 22 countries can now add affiliate links or tag products directly from a business's catalog in Instagram Reels and Feed posts.
For consumers, it removes several steps from the buying journey.
For brands and creators, it creates a much more direct path from recommendation to conversion.
Every Reel Can Now Become a Shopping Experience
Creator recommendations already influence purchasing decisions across social media, and as much as 27% of all beauty shoppers put their fate in influencers when it comes to beauty and luxury products.
The problem has often been what happens after that recommendation.
Viewers discover a product in a Reel, visit the creator's profile, click a link in bio, search through multiple products, land on an external website, and only then begin the checkout process. Every additional click creates another opportunity for someone to abandon the purchase.
Meta's latest update is designed to remove much of that friction.
Eligible creators can now tag products directly from a participating brand's product catalog or add affiliate links that take viewers to a specific product. A single Reel can include up to 30 tagged products, allowing creators to build richer shopping experiences around tutorials, outfit roundups, product reviews, or "get ready with me" content.
When purchases are made through those affiliate links, creators earn commissions while brands gain a more measurable path from content to sales.
Rather than asking audiences to leave the experience and search elsewhere, the product is presented where discovery already happens.
This Is Bigger Than Product Links
The Reels update is only one part of Meta's broader commerce strategy.
Alongside product tagging, the company announced the global expansion of Live Video Ads on Facebook and their introduction to Instagram, giving businesses new ways to promote livestream shopping sessions and reach larger audiences.
Facebook is also expanding its Live Shopping Tools, allowing viewers to browse products, compare prices, and purchase items without leaving a livestream.
Meta is also expanding affiliate partnerships with platforms including Flipkart, Mercado Libre, and Lazada, giving creators in additional markets more opportunities to earn commission from product recommendations.
Meanwhile, new virtual cards developed with Mastercard and Visa aim to simplify checkout by allowing shoppers to complete purchases without sharing their actual card details with merchants.
Perhaps the biggest change for advertisers happens behind the scenes.
This summer, Meta will begin using product catalog data as a foundational input across all Sales campaigns. Instead of manually selecting different ad formats, advertisers provide their product catalog alongside creative assets, allowing Meta's AI to dynamically assemble the most relevant shopping experience for each person.
Taken together, these updates reveal a much bigger strategy than simply adding affiliate links.
Meta is connecting discovery, creator recommendations, advertising, product catalogs, and checkout into a single commerce ecosystem.
What This Means for Brands
For marketers, the implications extend beyond another creator monetization feature.
Social commerce continues to move closer to a model where content, creators, and transactions exist within the same experience. Rather than treating influencer marketing as a top-of-funnel awareness channel, brands have more opportunities to connect creator content directly to measurable sales outcomes.
The update also places greater importance on maintaining accurate product catalogs and building stronger creator partnerships. As product tagging, affiliate commissions, AI-powered recommendations, and commerce infrastructure become more tightly connected, the quality of a brand's product data becomes just as important as the creative itself.
Meta's latest announcement reinforces a broader shift already happening across social platforms.
The future of creator marketing is becoming less about sending consumers somewhere else to shop and more about making every piece of content a potential point of purchase.
