- TikTok will require all TikTok Shop advertisers to use GMV Max starting September 1, eliminating manual campaign control.
- Large brands and agencies object to the loss of transparency and strategic oversight, while smaller sellers find value in automation.
- The move underscores TikTok’s bet on AI-driven commerce but risks alienating premium advertisers if results don’t match the promise.
The mandate spotlights TikTok’s aggressive bet on AI automation while exposing deep advertiser concerns over transparency, targeting, and strategic control.
The e-commerce arm of TikTok is making a dramatic shift in how brands run ads on its platform. Starting September 1st, all marketers who wish to promote products via TikTok Shop will be required to use GMV Max, an AI-powered tool that takes over campaign management and optimization.
While TikTok frames the change as a move toward efficiency and performance, the mandate has sparked unease among many advertisers who are reluctant to surrender control over targeting, creative allocation, and performance data.
An Algorithm That Decides for Marketers
GMV Max, introduced in 2024, functions as a closed optimization system. Brands select products they want to advertise, assign budgets, and set a target return on investment. From there, TikTok’s algorithm determines where to spend the money, whether by boosting existing creative assets or generating new campaigns within TikTok Shop.
The system promises to maximize gross merchandise value (GMV) for each advertiser, hence the name.
What makes this shift especially contentious is its compulsory nature. Other major platforms like Meta and Google have introduced similar automated systems, but they remain optional. TikTok is moving faster and leaving marketers little room for strategic discretion, effectively forcing brands to trust the platform’s black-box decision-making.
Marketers Push Back
The backlash among ad buyers centers on two points: transparency and control. Large brands and agencies argue that GMV Max provides insufficient visibility into key dimensions such as audience targeting, geographic breakdowns, or influencer-level performance. These insights are critical for shaping strategies that extend beyond TikTok’s ecosystem.
Ad agencies also fear erosion of their role. The automation of campaign management diminishes the need for complex human-driven planning, undermining the strategic value agencies bring to clients. For brands with sophisticated cross-channel plans, relinquishing this oversight to an opaque algorithm feels like a step backward.
Another source of frustration is TikTok’s attribution model. According to internal documentation reviewed by ad buyers and sent to Business Insider, TikTok credits all Shop purchases made during a GMV Max campaign to the tool, even if a customer never actually encountered an ad.
This raises concerns about inflated performance reporting and weakens marketers’ ability to measure true incremental impact.
Smaller Sellers See Opportunity
The divide is not universal. Smaller direct-to-consumer brands and independent merchants who depend heavily on TikTok Shop for sales have welcomed the move. For these sellers, GMV Max offers time savings and consistent sales growth.
TikTok has also introduced “ROI Protection,” a safeguard that issues ad credits if campaigns deliver less than 90% of the advertiser’s targeted return. This feature provides a degree of reassurance, particularly for businesses with limited budgets.
For TikTok, the enthusiastic adoption among small sellers strengthens its social commerce ambitions. The platform has consistently highlighted how its Shop offering has empowered small businesses, pointing to the hundreds of thousands of merchants globally who have already embraced it.
Industry Context and Strategic Stakes
The broader context reveals why TikTok is making this push. Across digital advertising, platforms are centralizing control through AI. Automated campaign tools not only promise higher efficiency but also consolidate data within the platform’s own ecosystem, limiting reliance on third-party measurement and reinforcing walled gardens.
By making GMV Max mandatory, TikTok accelerates this industry trend but risks alienating the very large brands that lend credibility and scale to its ad business. Many of these advertisers already juggle competing demands across Meta, Google, and Amazon.
A tool that restricts transparency and data portability may prove a tough sell, particularly when those same brands are scrutinizing their investments in social commerce channels.
The Power Struggle Over Automation
TikTok Shop’s decision marks more than just a technical update — it reflects a broader power struggle in digital advertising. On one side is a platform intent on consolidating control and betting on automation as the future of commerce. On the other are advertisers who fear being locked into a black-box system that limits their ability to steer strategy and measure true performance.
The outcome will depend on whether GMV Max delivers undeniable results across diverse categories and scales. If TikTok can prove its AI consistently drives higher returns, resistance may soften. But if the tool fails to satisfy larger advertisers, the backlash could threaten TikTok Shop’s ability to compete at the highest levels of digital commerce.
