Facebook and Instagram advertisers now have access to a new suite of in-app commerce tools designed to convert product discovery directly into purchase. Meta announced the changes on June 18, 2026, ahead of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which opens June 22.
Live Video Ads Extended to Instagram and Expanded Globally on Facebook
Meta is bringing Live Video Ads to Instagram and expanding the format globally on Facebook, with the feature designed to help businesses promote livestreams, reach new audiences, and drive sales. Facebook has had variations of livestream ads available for some time, with this latest iteration providing livestream promotions that link to an actual broadcast, as well as in-stream product tabs that link to purchase options.
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.
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.
Virtual Card Checkout Launching This Summer via Mastercard and Visa
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. This allows users to buy items securely without exposing their actual financial data to third-party merchants.
Affiliate Program Expands with Flipkart, Lazada, and Mercado Libre
Meta is also expanding its affiliate marketing partnerships. Facebook affiliate partners will now include Flipkart in India and Mercado Libre in Brazil and Mexico. In addition, Lazada will soon be available to Facebook creators in Asia, and Flipkart will soon be available to Instagram creators in India.
These updates will enable Facebook and Instagram creators to add affiliate product links from these businesses directly into their content, with creators also able to earn commissions from resulting sales. Meta also announced that creators in 22 countries can now add affiliate links or tag products from a business's catalogue directly on Instagram.
This marks a further extension of the affiliate program Meta first introduced at Shoptalk in March 2026. Meta announced an expansion of its affiliate program in the U.S. in March, with eligible creators able to link to product listings from Amazon, Shopee, eBay, and Temu.
Product Data to Power All Sales Campaigns This Summer
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.
According to Meta, richer product data will also help brands appear across emerging shopping experiences, including Meta AI Shopping mode in the U.S., recommendations from Business Agents, and creator-led product tagging on Reels.
What This Means for Advertisers
Advertisers running Sales campaigns on Facebook and Instagram should expect changes to campaign setup workflows once the product data unification rolls out this summer. Under the updated system, maintaining complete and accurate product feeds, including titles, pricing, and availability, will become more consequential, as that data will feed Meta's AI matching across all Sales campaign formats, not just catalogue-specific ad types. The virtual card checkout integration does not replace existing payment options but adds a tokenized layer that may reduce abandonment at checkout for privacy-conscious shoppers.
Meta said it will showcase these developments at Cannes Lions as part of its broader AI-driven commerce strategy to improve returns for businesses.
