Live shopping: what it is and where brands sell live
How it works, where brands can sell live in 2026, what it costs, and where an AI host fits.
Updated 29 October 2026
Short version: Live shopping, also called live selling or live commerce, is a livestream built around products. A host demonstrates each item, answers viewer questions in real time, and viewers buy during the stream: through the app's own checkout on marketplaces like TikTok Shop and Whatnot, or through a link to the brand's store.
What happens in a live shopping stream
Four parts, wherever you stream.
Step 1
Pick the products
Keep the list short and show one product at a time, with its price and how to buy it on screen.
Step 2
Show it, then answer
The host demonstrates the product and answers questions from chat: sizing, ingredients, shipping, how it compares.
Step 3
Make buying quick
Viewers buy through the platform's own checkout, a tagged product, or a link to your store, depending on where you stream.
Step 4
Reuse the stream
Replays and short clips keep showing the products after the live ends.
Where brands sell live in 2026
Each platform handles the sale differently, and each has its own rules for sellers.
| Where | How viewers buy | Who can sell |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok Shop LIVE | In the TikTok app, from products pinned to the live | TikTok Shop sellers, and creators who link Shop products |
| YouTube | Tagged products send viewers to the retailer's site | Channels in the YouTube Partner Program that meet the Shopping requirements |
| Instagram Live | Not inside the live: product tags in Live ended on 16 March 2023, so you send viewers to your store | Accounts that can go live |
| Amazon Live | On Amazon, from the products shown in the stream | Eligible brands selling on Amazon, through the Amazon Live Creator app |
| eBay Live | Buy or bid during the stream | Sellers in its beta categories, such as collectibles and luxury |
| Whatnot | Auctions, fixed prices and flash sales on Whatnot | Sellers who sign up, with no monthly fee |
| Your own site | Your store's own checkout | You, with live shopping software or an embedded player |
Checked on each platform's own help and seller pages on 29 October 2026. Seller rules change, so confirm them in your seller dashboard before you plan a schedule.
Who hosts the stream
You or your team. It costs nothing but time, and every hour live is an hour someone is on camera instead of doing other work.
Creators. They bring their own audience, and you pay for their time, a share of sales, or both.
An AI host. It presents your products and answers product questions from chat, without a person on camera. It has to be labelled as AI, and TikTok Shop US does not allow AI voices in shopping lives, so those stay with a real person.
What makes a live shopping stream sell
- One product on screen at a time, with its price and how to buy it
- A demo that shows what a photo cannot: how it fits, feels or works
- Chat questions answered live
- A regular schedule, so viewers know when to come back
- A checkout or buy link that works on a phone
- Replays and short clips from each stream
Live shopping with an AI host
TwinTone runs an AI host that presents your products and answers product questions from chat. It imports your Shopify catalog with read-only product access, so it never sees orders, customers or payment data.
TwinTone streams to YouTube Live, Instagram Live, TikTok Live and Twitch. On Growth and Always-On it also runs on your own site, where viewers tap Shop product, then Continue to cart, and check out in your Shopify store. Facebook Live is coming soon.
Every stream carries an AI-generated label that cannot be removed. TwinTone does not run AI hosts on TikTok Shop US shopping lives, because TikTok Shop bans AI voices there, so keep a real person on those.
Plans are monthly: Starter is $880 for 40 streaming hours, Growth $1,900 for 100 hours and Always-On $6,800 for 400 hours. Every plan includes AI clips cut from your streams, starting at 20 a month on Starter.
Questions about live shopping
Terms, platforms, AI hosts and cost, answered.
What is live shopping?
A livestream built around products. A host shows each item, answers viewer questions in real time, and viewers buy during the stream, either inside the app or through a link to the store.
Is live shopping the same as live selling or live commerce?
Yes. All three mean selling products on a livestream where viewers can buy. Live commerce is also used for the whole category, including the software behind it.
Where can brands do live shopping in 2026?
On marketplaces with their own checkout, such as TikTok Shop LIVE, Amazon Live, eBay Live and Whatnot, on YouTube with tagged products, on Instagram Live by sending viewers to your store, and on your own website with an embedded player.
Does Instagram still have Live Shopping?
No. Instagram ended product tagging in Live on 16 March 2023. You can still go live on Instagram and point viewers to your store, but they cannot buy inside the live.
Can an AI host do live shopping?
Yes, where the platform allows it and the host is labelled as AI. YouTube, TikTok and Instagram all ask for realistic AI content to be disclosed. TikTok Shop US is the exception: it bans AI voices in shopping livestreams, so those lives need a real person.
What does it cost to run live shopping?
It depends on who hosts and where. Your own team costs time on camera, creators charge for their time or a share of sales, marketplaces such as Whatnot take a fee on each sale, and software runs from free Shopify apps to monthly plans. TwinTone plans start at $880 a month for 40 streaming hours.
More on selling live
Live shopping platforms compared
Marketplaces, live shopping software and Shopify apps, with prices checked on each vendor's site.
How AI live streaming works
What an AI host does on a live stream, and the rules each platform sets for it.
The TikTok Shop AI voice ban
What TikTok Shop US bans in shopping lives, and where an AI host can still run.
Run live shopping with an AI host
Connect your Shopify catalog, pick an AI creator and go live on your channels.
TwinTone is not affiliated with the platforms or vendors named on this page. Their names are trademarks of their owners.