The feed
Martech news and analysis. Every story says what changed, why it matters and what marketers should do next.
On September 22, 2026 Shopify and Meta announced one-tap Shop Pay checkout inside Meta's Muse AI assistant for Shopify stores, reachable through the Muse app or WhatsApp.
Why it matters
It makes a social and messaging platform a place where shopping starts and ends, so merchants may be reached by an agent rather than a search or an ad.
On September 28, 2026 Shopify extended WebMCP to checkout so agents can read and update the checkout in a shopper's browser tab. The shopper confirms before the order is submitted.
Why it matters
It sets a rule for agent shopping on Shopify stores: the agent prepares, the buyer approves, and payment goes through Shop Pay.
On June 24, 2026 Salesforce said its Shopper, B2B Buyer and Merchant Agents are generally available, with ChatGPT and Google integrations scheduled for the summer.
Why it matters
Retailers can put an agent on their own storefront, in B2B channels and in back-office work, and plan for shoppers arriving through AI assistants.
Sprinklr's Social Index, reported in May 2026, found that retail brands lead in social activity while 78% fail to generate meaningful engagement. Chief administrative officer Joy Corso: "Brands don't lack visibility. They lack relevance."
Why it matters
It supports shifting effort from output volume to relevance and response.
On September 2, 2026 Genesys introduced four capabilities that it says advance Genesys Cloud as an agentic orchestration platform for customer experience, at Xperience in Las Vegas.
Why it matters
Governance of agents is a core selling point, which fits the concerns of regulated industries.
Qualtrics completed the acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta in May 2026 for $6.75 billion, according to CX Today. The deal covers more than 41,000 healthcare facilities, including most US hospitals.
Why it matters
Healthcare patient experience is a regulated, high-value niche, and data scale is the asset.
On March 18, 2026 Qualtrics announced Omnichannel Experience Management with connectors for Genesys, NICE and Salesforce, automated text analytics and Experience Agents. Customer results are Qualtrics' own.
Why it matters
Feedback programs often fail at the step between insight and action, which the agents target.
At its Relate conference on May 22, 2026 Zendesk announced an Autonomous Service Workforce of specialized AI agents priced on outcomes, and a Resolution Platform that unifies data, knowledge, workflows and governance.
Why it matters
If vendors are paid per resolved issue, definitions of "resolved" and audit rights become key contract terms.
On April 20, 2026 Treasure Data changed its name to Treasure AI, moved its domain to treasure.ai and introduced Treasure AI Studio. It says existing customers get more AI credits at the same price.
Why it matters
It shows the data platform category folding into agent platforms, with pricing based on AI credits.
Snowflake announced on September 9, 2026 its most comprehensive Partner Network update in years: services partners standardize on CoCo, credits expand up to 5x, and tiers gain regional zones from November 2.
Why it matters
Agencies and consultancies that implement Snowflake for marketing data must meet the new requirements.
