In Monopoly, the winner owns the squares everyone lands on.

TikTok just bought a few more, and Meta is rebuilding two apps to look more like TikTok.

Checkout moves into the For You feed. TikTok's Advertising Week updates include Buy Direct, one-click buying straight from the feed. Also new:

• Shopping Assistant: an AI chat that answers sizing, shipping, and stock questions.
• Agentic Leads: an AI agent that qualifies leads in DMs and on your website's lead forms.
• MCP connector: you can now plan, launch, and manage TikTok campaigns from Claude, Perplexity, or Replit.

And your TikTok targeting can now leave TikTok. US advertisers can run ads on the TikTok Ad Network (formerly Pangle), which covers nearly 400,000 third-party apps.

Agency buyers aren't rushing in. They want app-level allow lists and proof that the extra reach drives results.

Over at Meta, they want you to watch Reels first:

• Facebook is testing a Reels-first app in India that opens into full-screen video and moves the classic feed to a second tab.
• Instagram is trialing a setting that opens straight to Reels, where people already spend over half their app time.

If these tests stick, vertical video becomes the default way people see your brand on Meta, while static feed creative becomes the side dish.

Finally, Pinterest is turning mood boards into salon briefs. Its new Beauty Guides translate hair and nail Pins into stylist terms like "balayage," plus time, price range and upkeep.

Salons get clients who show up already knowing the rough price.

Common thread? TikTok, Meta, and Pinterest all want people to stay in the app and act there.