Meta expands live video ads and affiliate commerce tools across Instagram and Facebook

Meta is rolling out live video ads across Instagram and expanding them globally on Facebook, as the social media giant moves to make more content directly shoppable for both creators and businesses.

The updates, announced ahead of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, include expanded affiliate partnerships, new virtual card checkout technology, and enhanced creator product tagging tools.

Live commerce takes centre stage

Live Video Ads will allow businesses to promote live video content to audiences beyond their existing followers on both Instagram and Facebook.

On Facebook, the feature is paired with Live Shopping Tools, which enable viewers to browse products, check pricing, and purchase items without leaving the livestream.

In the United States, Meta is working with live commerce platforms including CommentSold, Firework, LiveMeUp, Sprii, and TalkShopLive to allow sellers to convert eligible livestreams into ads reaching new customers.

Australian creators gain product tagging access

Australian creators can now add affiliate links or tag products from a business's catalogue directly in Instagram Reels and Feed posts.

Businesses can make catalogues discoverable for creators to search and tag, with creators earning commission through affiliate links when purchases are made.

The feature is available to creators across 22 countries.

Affiliate partnerships and virtual cards

Meta is also expanding its Facebook affiliate partner program to include Flipkart in India and Mercado Libre in Brazil and Mexico, with Lazada set to join for creators in Asia and Flipkart coming to Instagram in India.

Starting this summer, Meta will roll out a virtual card checkout experience on Facebook and Instagram in partnership with Mastercard and Visa.

The feature generates temporary, one-time card numbers from a shopper's existing account, allowing transactions without directly sharing credit card details with businesses.

Product data to underpin all sales campaigns

Meta also announced that product data - including product title, price, availability, and description - will become a foundational input across all Sales campaigns.

Rather than manually selecting ad formats, advertisers will provide both product data and creative assets, with Meta's system assembling ads in real time based on the viewer.

These updates reflect Meta's broader push to connect discovery and commerce across its platforms, helping people move from finding products to purchasing them within the same content experience.

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