AI Apps to Get Things Done in 2025

Productivity and project management platforms have embraced AI to help individuals and businesses get more done. AI can automate workflows, optimize schedules, utilize data, and more.

Here is a list of tools to help you increase productivity in 2025. There are all-in-one project management platforms and AI assistants to manage tasks and calendars.

TimeHero

TimeHero

TimeHero is an AI-driven time management tool that automatically plans and manages daily tasks and projects. Plan projects with smart workflow templates, built-in multi-task time tracking, and autonomous recurring tasks. TimeHero automatically plans when to work on tasks based on availability. If events or priorities change, TimeHero adjusts everyone’s plan. Automatic risk detection shows when projects fall behind, pinpointing risky tasks and overloaded team members. Use project forecasting to see how schedules look for better decisions. Price: Plans start at $4.60.

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Trevor AI

Trevor

Trevor AI is a daily planning app and time management assistant that schedules and syncs tasks between to-do list applications and calendars in real-time. Schedule tasks through drag-and-drop, auto-scheduling, and in-schedule suggestions. Trevor AI assigns a base duration for each task, which you can overwrite. In-schedule suggestions provide optimal times to accept tasks with a click. Trevor integrates with task managers such as Todoist and Google and Microsoft calendar applications. Price: Free for individuals. Plans start at $5 per month.

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Motion

Motion

Motion is an AI-powered task management system and to-do list app. Its AI assistant prioritizes and timeblocks projects and tasks on your calendar and automatically optimizes your schedule throughout the day. Using deadlines, priorities, and dependencies, Motion’s AI will provide the best task to work on at any moment. Use it to turn a batch of tasks into an optimized plan. Price: Plans start at $12 per month.

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Reclaim

Reclaim

Reclaim, part of Dropbox, is an AI-powered smart calendar assistant. Its Smart Meetings tool automates schedules with participants’ time zones, availability, and priorities. Teams can auto-schedule recurring meetings across any number of people, using advanced AI scheduling to optimize times. Set your amount of focus time, or adjust your calendar for work-life balance. Track skipped or rescheduled meetings, with daily recommendations to teams to keep them connected. Price: Free for one user. Premium plans start at $8 per month.

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Notion

Notion

Notion is a productivity workspace to collaboratively generate ideas, manage projects, and run a business. The workspace includes Kanban boards, tasks, wikis, and databases. Notion AI is a collection of connected AI tools within the workspace. Use search to find answers from Notion and connected apps such as Slack and Google Drive, with answers limited to your trusted sources. Generate and edit text in any document and autofill databases with summaries and insights. Notion also has an integrated calendar to set meetings, manage project timelines and deadlines, and connect to Notion docs and collaborators. Price: Notion is free for individuals. Premium plans start at $10 per month. Notion AI is an additional $8 per month.

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Taskade

Taskade

Taskade is an application layer for AI-driven workflows. Build, train, and deploy custom AI agents that automate tasks across workflows and learn from real-time project data. Automatically generate task lists, flow charts, mind maps, and more. Let AI prioritize and organize tasks, manage progress, and provide insights to streamline your workflow. Automate information gathering, distill web content, research topics, watch competitors, and monitor trends. Price: Free for one AI agent. Premium plans start at $8 per month.

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ClickUp

ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management and productivity platform that features tasks, whiteboards, document collaboration, and chat. Its AI feature, ClickUp Brain, suggests what to work on next, highlights urgent tasks, summarizes documents and notes, and provides information on team members and project targets. Link to knowledge from all files and data sources across Google Drive, GitHub, Figma, Salesforce, and more. Price: Plans start at $7 per month.

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Monday.com

Monday.com

Monday.com is a productivity and project management platform for teams. Use building blocks, such as boards, views, charts, automations, and integrations, to create custom workflows to manage projects and work, such as sales, social media marketing, and advertising. Monday AI provides an assistant to automate marketing and creative tasks, generate summaries, and more. Start from an AI-powered template, or click the AI icon on any board. Write any prompt in your own words to instantly create an AI automation that fits into your workflow. Aggregate data from multiple apps, including Slack, Google Suite, Mailchimp, Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and Excel. Price: Free for up to two seats. Premium plans start at $9 per month. 

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Asana

Asana

Asana is a work management platform for teams. Create projects, assign tasks, automate workflows, set deadlines, and communicate directly within the platform. Asana includes reporting tools, calendars, and goal tracking. Asana AI lets users design AI agents with a no-code builder and deploy them directly within teams’ workflows. Asana AI also allows users to assign incoming requests automatically, suggest timelines and resource allocations, highlight risks, generate content, and provide real-time insights for data-driven decisions. Use AI to draft goals, standardize them across an organization, and track the progress. Price: Free for up to 10 collaborators. Premium plans start at $10.99 per month.

New Ecommerce Tools: January 2, 2025

We publish a rundown each week of new tools from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on payment platforms, shopping assistants, advertising insights, AI chatbots, mobile services, and parcel delivery.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Klarna to be default payment option for merchants using WooPayments. Klarna, a buy-now-pay-later platform, has expanded its partnership with WooCommerce wherein Klarna will become a network of choice, offered as a default payment method to WooPayments’ merchants globally, alongside traditional card payments.

Klarna

Google Ads launches Brand Report for advertiser insights. Google Ads has introduced Brand Report, a dashboard tool that gives advertisers consolidated insights into campaign reach and frequency. The tool simplifies campaign tracking campaign by providing metrics in one place rather than across multiple reports. Advertisers can filter results by age, gender, and other demographics. Brand Report is accessible directly in the Google Ads dashboard under “Insights and reports.”

Sitoo and Adyen partner on Sitoo Payments. Sitoo, a point-of-sale commerce platform, has partnered with Adyen, a financial technology provider, to launch Sitoo Payments. The new payment solution combines Sitoo’s POS functionality with Adyen’s payment processing capabilities. According to the companies, Sitoo Payments simplifies how retailers manage payments across markets and channels, unifying physical and digital shopping experiences and unlocking payments as a first-party data source.

DHL eCommerce and CTT Expresso partner to create parcel networks for Iberia. DHL eCommerce and CTT Expresso have partnered to address the ecommerce and parcel delivery market across Spain and Portugal, which, combined, form the fourth largest market in Europe. CTT Expresso will acquire the DHL eCommerce business in Portugal, ensuring CTT Expresso becomes the distributor of DHL eCommerce parcel volumes in Portugal. In Spain, DHL eCommerce will concentrate on B2B operations, while CTT Express, the Spanish entity of CTT Expresso, will cater to B2C services.

DHL Group

WeChat tests gifting feature for the holidays, sparking ecommerce potential. China-based super app WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, has added a gift-giving feature to its embedded ecommerce platform, allowing users to send presents to friends for the holiday season. Shoppers can search for products by keywords. All gifts are priced no more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,375) and exclude jewelry and tutoring classes. After the sender completes payment, the recipient must accept the gift and submit a postal address within 24 hours.

Coralogix acquires AI observability platform Aporia. Coralogix, a data monitoring platform, has acquired Aporia, a startup focusing on tools to observe and secure AI workloads and set guardrails to avoid hallucinations or unintended disclosures. As part of this acquisition, Coralogix will launch a dedicated AI research center, Coralogix AI, which Aporia co-founders will lead. Aporia’s technology will integrate into Coralogix’s service.

Gigs raises $73 million to help companies launch mobile services. Gigs, a platform for mobile services, has raised $73 million in a round led by Ribbit Capital and investments from Google’s Gradient and Speedinvest. Gigs will use the funding to expand its geographical footprint and invest in an expanded suite of products and services for tech companies. According to Gigs, this will enable more tech brands to innovate in telecom, provide more value to customers, and tap into a recurring revenue stream.

Gigs

LXRGuide to launch Intellichat AI chatbot for small businesses. LXRGuide, an AI-powered small business growth platform developed by NetElixir, will launch in January its Strategic Growth Dashboard and Intellichat, an advanced conversational AI chatbot designed to help small businesses thrive in a competitive market traditionally dominated by larger brands with specialized marketing resources.

Fiserv enhances embedded finance capability with acquisition of Payfare. Fiserv, a provider of payments and financial services technology, has agreed to acquire Payfare Inc., a payroll management platform. This acquisition complements the embedded finance solutions of Fiserv with card program management, a white-label consumer app, and a microservices orchestration layer. According to Fiserv, Payfare offerings enhance the Fiserv solution in embedded banking, payments, and lending.

Google expands Gemini’s research mode to 40 languages. Google is expanding Gemini’s latest in-depth research mode to 40 more languages. ​​Google launched the multi-step in-depth research mode in December, allowing Google One AI premium plan users to unlock an AI-powered research assistant. Gemini’s supported languages include Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Danish, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Malayalam, Marathi, Polish, Portuguese, Swahili, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Thani, Ukrainian, and Urdu.

Alibaba partners with marketplace in South Korea. Alibaba is establishing an online shopping venture with South Korean retailer E-Mart, a division of retailer Shinsegae Group, to combine the assets of their online platforms, AliExpress Korea and Gmarket, in a 50-50 joint venture with the two platforms operating independently. Shinsegae Group said it expects cooperation with Alibaba to help bolster its Gmarket services and customer experience.

Alibaba

New Ecommerce Tools: December 26, 2024

We publish a rundown each week of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on return solutions, pay-over-time services, first-order discounts, China-based sales, CPQ pricing, virtual try-ons, and more.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Swap launches AI-powered returns solution for DTC brands on Shopify. Swap, a shipping and packaging system for direct-to-consumer brands, has launched an AI-powered feature to streamline return operations for Shopify stores. Swap states it is an “ecommerce operating system” that can improve brands’ shipping, tracking, package protection, and returns, including cross-border.

Swap

WooCommerce designates Affirm as a leading pay-over-time provider. WooCommerce has selected Affirm as a leading pay-over-time provider, making Affirm a default payment service for the platform. Merchants using WooCommerce’s integrated payment solution, WooPayments, can offer Affirm’s customized pay-over-time plans at checkout. Eligible merchants can also access Affirm’s Pay-in-30 offering. This addition will enable merchants to offer Affirm across a wider range of transactions, making flexible payment plans available to more shoppers.

Google Merchant Center adds first-order discount option for retailers. Google has launched a feature in Merchant Center that enables retailers to offer discounts to new customers. Merchants can now configure targeted promotions specifically for first-time buyers through their Merchant Center accounts. The new discount type appears as a selectable option under the “Promotion conditions” section when creating promotional offers. The implementation allows retailers to specify percentage-based discounts exclusively for new customers making their initial purchases.

Walmart partners with Meituan to bolster China-based ecommerce unit. Walmart has teamed with China’s Meituan, a shopping and delivery platform, where Meituan will provide local delivery service for Walmart products and begin featuring the retail giant on its app. In a WeChat post, Walmart’s China unit stated that the collaboration will bolster its ecommerce efforts, which makes up close to half its sales in that country. The partnership comes approximately four months after Walmart sold its stake in JD.com.

Meituan

DealHub introduces API-first CPQ to deliver automated headless quoting. DealHub.io, an enterprise-grade configure-price-quote platform, has released its API-first, headless quoting architecture. The new quoting environment supports automation across all sales channels, including ecommerce and self-service portals. The headless environment provides a composable and modular architecture that can be seamlessly integrated with revenue applications and custom user interfaces.

Bell Media and Shopsense AI bring curated shoppable TV to Canadian viewers. Bell Media, a Canada-based media and entertainment company, has partnered with Shopsense AI, a provider of shoppable TV technology, to bring shopping experiences to Canadian viewers. The partnership will debut on daily shows “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg” and “Etalk.” Brands can sponsor experiences during pivotal moments on those shows and across social media, with a reach of over 1.5 million followers.

ReturnGo enhances post-purchase solutions with Easyship. ReturnGo, a provider of post-purchase tools, has partnered with Easyship, a shipping software provider. As part of this initiative, ReturnGo has launched “LabelGo,” which offers merchants discounted shipping labels from more than 550 global couriers. “Ship by ReturnGo” enables merchants to generate shipping labels directly from the ReturnGo platform. “Return Coverage Revenue Share Model” lets merchants use ReturnGO software at no cost, participating in a revenue share model based on profits from return coverage.

ReturnGo

Fabric debuts AI order management system. Fabric, an order management platform, has introduced its new AI agent. “Fabric AI Order Cloud” provides retailers with a centralized system for managing their orders, inventory, and fulfillment across multiple channels. According to Fabric, the AI-driven OMS delivers real-time data analysis, trend detection, and intelligent recommendations. Retailers can improve omnichannel shopping experiences with AI-enriched product information connected to real-time inventory to enhance product discovery, search engine visibility, site search, and conversions.

CallRail broadens attribution capabilities to include AI-powered search engines. CallRail, an AI-powered lead intelligence platform, has launched new capabilities to enable businesses to track and attribute unique traffic from AI-generated search engines, providing a more complete and accurate understanding of lead generation efforts. This new functionality allows businesses to track leads from sources such as ChatGPT, SearchGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini — ensuring that every lead is accounted for.

Worldline payment platform launches FlexPricing. Worldline, a provider of payment services, has launched FlexPricing for independent software vendors. With FlexPricing, software providers can implement various price strategies, including charging a percentage fee on bank transfer transactions, adding custom fees, and letting Worldline take on their billing duties. According to Worldline, FlexPricing empowers companies to enhance revenue models and optimize the billing experience. FlexPricing is available for current and prospective partners on the Worldline North America ecommerce platform.

Perfect Corp’s generative AI APIs driver virtual try-on and AI image enhancement. Perfect Corp., a developer of AI and AR beauty technology, has launched its AI APIs, a comprehensive suite of pre-built beauty and image-processing technologies. Developers can use generative AI to create images directly from text prompts, add color, enhance clarity, remove objects or backgrounds, and more. Perfect says its new APIs integrate into websites, ecommerce platforms, and mobile apps.

Perfect Corp

New Ecommerce Tools: December 19, 2024

Each week we handpick new products and services for ecommerce merchants and curate them in a list. This installment includes updates on returns, payment financing, AI-powered assistants, social commerce, shipping, and security tools.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

eBay and Klarna expand BNPL partnership. eBay and Klarna have expanded their collaboration to European markets. eBay is offering Klarna’s buy-now-pay-later payments to shoppers in the U.K., Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands, with more markets coming soon. Payment options include interest-free “pay in 3,” pay in 30 days, or financing for larger purchases. The European expansion follows eBay’s recent announcement of free selling in the U.K.

Ebay and Klarna

Amazon integrates Intuit QuickBooks for sellers. Intuit QuickBooks is now a preferred partner of Amazon for financial management solutions — integrated directly into Amazon Seller Central starting in mid-2025. The expanded Amazon-Intuit partnership will allow sellers to bring their existing Amazon data into Intuit products to understand and optimize profitability, manage cash flow, access capital, and simplify taxes.

Wix releases AI-powered virtual agent for customers. Wix.com, a website builder platform, has launched the AI Site-Chat virtual agent. According to Wix, with AI Site-Chat, businesses can connect with visitors anytime, answer questions, and provide relevant information in real-time. The customizable Site-Chat attempts to recognize the intent behind each user query, allowing it to deliver more precise search results and tailored recommendations.

Shopify releases Winter ’25 Boring Edition. Shopify has released its Winter ’25 Edition, called The Boring Edition, with more than 150 updates. According to Shopify, cart loading times are reduced, and checkout buttons are up to 58% faster. New customization options include checkout blocks, chat integration, and expansion of draft orders. Shopify POS has been updated, and Shopify Flow now automates more tasks, including returns and exchanges, marketing campaigns, and targeting with segment-based triggers.

Shopify’s Winter ’25 Boring Edition

ShipStation and Adobe Commerce partner on shipping tools for merchants. ShipStation, a shipping software from Auctane, has announced an expanded relationship with Adobe Commerce to provide merchants with shipping options to compare prices, print shipping labels, automate workflows, and more. Adobe Commerce sellers can unlock shipping features through the ShipStation extension, including in-cart delivery options within online storefronts and shipping cost calculators.

TikTok Shop launches in Ireland and Spain. TikTok Shop has launched in Ireland and Spain. Per TikTok, upcoming features include live shopping, shoppable videos in the “for you” feed, product showcases, affiliate programs, shop ads, and secure checkout. The launch in Ireland is in collaboration with Guaranteed Irish, which assists in identifying Irish products and merchants for consumers.

Shipium partners with DoorDash to improve local delivery for merchants. Shipium, an end-to-end shipping platform for ecommerce sellers, has partnered with DoorDash Drive On-Demand, a white-label fulfillment platform. Shipium customers now have immediate access to DoorDash’s services through the pre-integrated carrier network. Customers establish a relationship with DoorDash Drive On-Demand and turn on services. DoorDash Drive On-Demand helps retailers offer and outsource local delivery.

DoorDash’s Drive On-Demand

Loop acquires Wonderment to expand its returns platform. Loop, a commerce returns platform, has acquired Wonderment, customer experience and order-tracking software for ​​Shopify merchants. Wonderment’s tracking product includes real-time shipment insights, page tracking, proactive alerts, one-click integrations, and more, all from a single interface. Loop says the acquisition brings its merchants AI-powered insights that transform shipping and returns data into actionable intelligence.

Bloomreach Discovery launches self-service features to accelerate integrations. Bloomreach has released features to accelerate integrations with Discovery, its AI search and merchandising platform. Self-service Catalog Creation allows partners to create and manage product catalogs. Catalog Management helps users manage catalogs programmatically using APIs. API Key Management simplifies the management of Discovery modules. Feed and Indexing enables users to upload and index product data. Finally, Web Typescript SDK streamlines the integration of Bloomreach search features for front-end developers.

GroupBy partners with adCaptcha to strengthen ecommerce security. GroupBy, an ecommerce search and product discovery provider, has partnered with adCaptcha, a verification platform, to combine security measures with personalized product discovery. GroupBy and adCaptcha’s partnership empowers merchants to identify and block malicious bot traffic. According to the companies, by reducing bot traffic with adCaptcha and by leveraging GroupBy’s AI-powered ecommerce search and product discovery platform, retailers can focus on serving real customers with intent-driven search results.

Cart.com acquires OceanX and deepens capabilities for health and beauty brands. Cart.com, a unified commerce solutions provider, has acquired OceanX, the fulfillment operations arm of Guthy-Renker., the multi-brand, omnichannel retailer. According to Cart.com, the acquisition strengthens its position in enterprise logistics and expands capabilities to support high-volume beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands. Cart.com will add two new facilities totaling over 600,000 square feet to its network, including a distribution hub in Southern California and its third facility near Columbus, Ohio.

Cart.com

12 Top Online Form Builders, Compared

Form builders are handy tools for engaging users and collecting info, such as contact submissions, surveys, quizzes, polls, and more. Forms can also capture payment details, notify stakeholders, build automated workflows, and more.

Online Form Builders

Google Forms is the default choice for creating basic forms. Build surveys or quizzes in your mobile or web browser. Analyze responses in real time and summarize results at a glance with charts and graphs. Add custom logic that shows questions based on answers. Open the raw data with Google Sheets for deeper analysis or automation. Free with a Google account.

Paperform is a form builder for creating and maintaining automated forms, e-signatures, surveys, bookings, payments, and more — in more than 700 templates. Customize with built-in Unsplash and GIPHY libraries. Use Paperform’s “products” section to include fields for SKU, price, and minimum and maximum quantities. Use the “calculations” function to compute shipping rates and discounts based on real-time user input. Paperform integrates with Stripe, Braintree, PayPal Business, and Square. Automate your schedule and bookings by connecting your calendar. Access native analytics and connect with Google and Facebook. Premium plans start at $24 per month.

Paperform

WPForms is a popular form builder plugin for WordPress by Awesome Motive. WPForms features over 2,000 templates, smart conditional logic, secure payments, electronic signatures, and advanced security tools. Users can describe what they want in an AI chatbot and receive a working form with customizable contact fields, surveys, registration data, and feedback. The AI form builder can translate entire forms into multiple languages, automatically set up conditional logic on form fields, and tweak or adjust forms afterward. Premium plans start at $49.50 per year.

Typeform is a builder for conversational forms, mirroring real dialog by asking questions one at a time. Call for participants by name and ask follow-up questions in real-time based on their answers. Get a detailed analysis of the results for each form question. To build a form, choose from 28 editable question types and access more than 3,000 templates. Free plan available. Premium plans start at $25 per month.

Formstack lets you quickly build online forms via a no-code builder and AI. Capture leads, collect payments, administer surveys, and more. Formstack is a good option for businesses with strict data procedures, including compliance with GDPR or HIPAA. Formstack offers roughly 40 templates and a dozen customizable themes. Connect with CRMs, backend systems, and more. Formstack also provides an add-on conversion kit to run A/B tests and integrate analytics platforms. It also evaluates a form for accessibility. Premium plans start at $83 per month.

Formstack

Microsoft Forms, part of Office 365, facilitates custom surveys, polls, quizzes, and more. Export data to Excel for in-depth analysis and view live using the Present feature. Add or customize questions quickly with the visual editor. Click the Style button for AI-powered theme suggestions. Visualize data with real-time charts and automatically generated reports.  Free with an Office 365 subscription.

JotForm is an easy-to-use online form builder with more than 10,000 templates to cover seemingly any niche. Use the drag-and-drop editor to customize or the advanced editor to go deeper. Automatically send form submissions to CRMs, email marketing services, project management boards, and more with more than 150 integrations. Plus, get paid directly through your form. Free plan offers five forms. Premium plans start at $34 per month.

Wufoo, from SurveyMonkey, is a no-code form builder that collects data, files, and payments. Create registrations, applications, surveys, contact-us, payment forms, and more. Process payments through PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net. Create forms from more than 400 templates. Automate workflows with hundreds of integrations and transfer data to a CRM, marketing automation system, and more. Get notified via text or email when someone completes a form. Collect all types of files through your form and access them directly from your account. Free up to five forms. Premium plans start at $14.08 per month.

Wufoo

Zoho Forms, part of the Zoho Office Suite, is a free no-code app to create forms with customizable themes, situation-specific templates, and more than 30 field types — queries, feedback, orders, and more. Sort and view form entries, export them to spreadsheets, or send the data to your preferred apps. Trigger conditional email or SMS notifications whenever a new record is submitted or updated. Zoho Forms is free.

Feathery is a form builder with advanced logic capabilities for creating automated workflows between applications as users interact with the forms. Define custom logic in a natural language and conditionally show elements and steps of a form based on previous field responses. Pull data from APIs and write to in-house systems. Feathery supports 100-plus integrations to CRMs, email, analytics, payments, and project management tools. Free plan for up to five live forms. Contact for pricing on premium plans.

Ninja Forms is another popular form builder for WordPress. Use the drag-and-drop editor to create multi-page forms easily. Add-ons include Advanced Datepicker, Conditional Logic, File Uploads, Multi-Step Forms, and more. Send or export submissions as PDFs, Excel files, and Google Sheets. Send emails from any form to people who need it. Accept PayPal and credit card payments from any form, as single payments or subscriptions. Basic plan is free. Premium plans start at $59.40 per year.

HubSpot Form Builder is part of the popular marketing platform. Quickly create pop-up or embedded forms using the drag-and-drop form builder. Access templates ranging from registrations to ebook downloads and support queries. Choose from 1,000 form fields and a dozen field types. Follow up with automated emails and notifications. Enroll your contacts in lead nurturing campaigns. Automatically add form submitters to your HubSpot database. HubSpot Form Builder is free.

HubSpot Form Builder

New Ecommerce Tools: December 12, 2024

This week’s rundown of new products and services for merchants includes generative AI app builders, virtual commerce, product image tools, customer experience platforms, blockchain payment solutions, and drone deliveries.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Amazon introduces Nova foundational models for genAI apps. Amazon has announced Nova, a new series of foundation models, available in Amazon Bedrock, a generative AI application builder. The Nova models lower costs and latency for almost any generative AI task, per Amazon, including analyzing complex documents and videos, understanding charts and diagrams, producing videos, and building sophisticated AI agents.

Amazon Nova Foundation Models

Seguno introduces Shopify Connect for Canva. Seguno, a provider of built-for-Shopify apps, has released Shopify Connect for Canva, an app to streamline content creation and allow users to move seamlessly between Canva and Shopify. Per Suguno, the app enhances product photos and brings consistent designs across storefronts and other marketing channels. The integration also streamlines file management, allowing media to flow in both directions.

Alibaba International launches Pic Copilot, an AI-powered ecommerce design tool. Alibaba International has announced the U.S. launch of Pic Copilot, an AI-driven design tool to help ecommerce businesses save on photography and design costs. Pic Copilot provides 12 AI design features for swapping image backgrounds, editing images and videos, generating ads, and more. The tool’s virtual try-on facilitates multiple skin tones and body types, featuring more than 160 models. Pic Copilot also allows users to upload personal images for product try-ons.

Adobe and Amazon Web Services partner to bring Adobe Experience Platform to brands. Adobe has announced an expanded partnership with Amazon Web Services to make Adobe Experience Platform available on AWS. The collaboration enables brands to strengthen customer relationships through highly personalized experiences, per Adobe. Applications powered by AEP — e.g., Real-Time CDP, Journey Optimizer, Customer Journey Analytics — will also be available on AWS. According to Adobe, brands can create and engage with high-value audiences, orchestrate personalized customer journeys, and analyze and optimize campaigns.

Adobe Experience Platform

Roblox begins closed beta of Shopify integration. Roblox, the gaming platform, has allowed select developers to gain access to Shopify integration tools, including the creators of the Roblox experiences “Catalog Avatar Creator,” “Tower Heroes,” and “Creatures of Sonaria,” with more experiences expected to launch soon. The Shopify storefronts participating in the closed beta primarily sell merchandise tied to the in-game experiences rather than movie tickets or goods from external brands.

Amazon successfully tests delivery drones in Italy. Amazon has completed a test of delivery drones in Italy, the first country in Europe to receive the service. The test occurred in San Salvo, a town on the central Adriatic coast, with the new MK-30 drone, an automated Amazon system prompting drones to move away from obstacles and avoid other aircraft.

Nuvei launches blockchain payments in Latin America. Nuvei, a Canada-based fintech company, has launched a blockchain-based payment service for merchants across Latin America. Through Nuvei’s partnerships with Rain, a vertically integrated issuing partner for global platforms, BitGo, a digital asset custodian and wallet solutions provider, and Visa, Nuvei is enabling businesses to utilize stablecoin, including USD Coin, for faster global settlement and reduced reliance on traditional payments rails. The new service enables payments from a digital wallet anywhere Visa is accepted.

Nuvei blockchain payment service.

Clearco and Boundless launch integration to streamline funding for ecommerce brands. Clearco, a working capital provider for ecommerce brands, and Boundless, a capital marketplace, have announced an integration that builds on their partnership for working capital access. Clearco offers companies direct access to Boundless’s marketplace, while Boundless connects ecommerce brands to Clearco to secure funding in as little as 24 hours.

Asendia USA launches multi-service direct entry for ecommerce shipping to Mexico. Asendia USA has announced the launch of direct entry shipping to Mexico for ecommerce sellers. The offering provides Asendia logistics — from U.S. origin hubs through customs clearance and final Mexico delivery. The new service includes both delivered duty paid and unpaid options, multiple entry points to Mexico, simplified customs clearance, improved transit times for both expedited and standard deliveries, and enhanced tracking.

ShipStation provides U.K. SMBs with discounted daily collections from DPD. ShipStation, a shipping software provider, is serving small businesses in the U.K. with the launch of discounted daily parcel collections through DPD, the Geopost-owned parcel delivery company. This offering makes daily pickups for ready-to-ship packages more accessible and cost-effective for small businesses using ShipStation. U.K. consumers also have access to one-hour delivery windows with DPD Predict, real-time tracking through the DPD App, 10,000 drop-off shops, and next-day delivery seven days a week.

Maropost unveils AI-powered email marketing for commerce brands. Maropost, a connected commerce platform for mid-market merchants, has announced two AI-driven features for its Marketing Cloud product. The new eRFM harnesses AI to process and analyze four key dimensions of customer behavior: recency of interactions, frequency of interactions, monetary value, and enhanced metrics on other behavioral data points. Marketing Cloud’s new AI-driven product recommendation engine automatically populates email campaigns with personalized offers based on real-time purchase data and customer behavior.

Marapost

Build Your Own Ecommerce Platform in 2025

In 2025, advances in composable commerce may enable even smaller ecommerce merchants to build tailored, flexible online shopping experiences that drive incremental revenue in competitive markets.

Composable commerce is an evolution of the more familiar headless commerce model.

Headless commerce decouples the frontend presentation layer from the backend code for faster updates and improved performance. Composable commerce takes it further, allowing the integration of best-of-breed tools and applications for a tailored, scalable, and, likely, more profitable ecommerce platform.

Composable commerce is the integration of best-of-breed tools and applications for a tailored and scalable platform.

Headless to Composable

For example, a headless commerce retailer might use an API to complete an ecommerce transaction in multiple channels, such as a website, app, social media, or point-of-sale system.

Composable commerce does the same and integrates a “packaged business capability” such as a return management system or an influencer marketing platform.

“Headless is still growing and evolving,”  wrote Allison “Al” Williams, general manager of business to consumer at BigCommerce, in an email to Practical Ecommerce. “What started as a very dev-centric ‘best practice’ primarily driven by front-end development teams…has now turned into a more holistic and modular approach…for managing overall ecommerce architecture (e.g., composable commerce).”

This trend toward modularity can benefit online merchants. Composable commerce is flexible, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changing customer needs and market trends. Its modular design scales, making adding or removing components relatively easy, and encourages innovation by integrating technologies such as AI and low-code platforms.

Composable Commerce Benefits

Composable commerce is both compatible and an alternative to traditional, all-in-one ecommerce platforms such as BigCommerce and Shopify.

Combined, the benefits of headless and composable commerce produce dynamic and personal shopping experiences.

“With this evolution from headless to composable commerce, the merchant can pick and choose different applications to build a tech stack that best fits their business and their customers,” wrote BigCommerce’s Williams.

Flexibility allows users to custom-build a technology stack. Online shops that feel platform-constrained can use composable commerce to integrate microservices, APIs, cloud, headless, and Jamstack (JavaScript, APIs, and markup language).

The result could be faster mobile loads, new personalization methods, and data-driven product placement and pricing.

Adaptability of composable commerce ensures businesses can pivot as needs change. For example, a gourmet food retailer could launch subscription meal kits and use a customer data platform to offer recipes and ingredients tailored to each customer.

A modular stack means the business can add custom tools and capabilities regardless of its ecommerce or point-of-sale platform. Thus a change does not require overhauling or disrupting the entire system, enabling rapid time-to-market.

Scalability means composable commerce supports growth without breaking existing infrastructure.

For example, a regional home goods store might expand into international markets. By adding multilingual and multi-currency applications, the business meets the needs of new customers while maintaining its existing infrastructure.

Configurability facilitates customization. A shop can build experiences tailored to its brand and customers.

Imagine a fitness equipment retailer that integrates a virtual reality tool, allowing shoppers to visualize a home gym setup before purchasing. This versatility differentiates the retailer from competitors relying on more generic solutions.

Challenges

To date, most headless and composable commerce users are enterprise businesses and small shops with technical chops.

“A common challenge we hear is the perceived complexity of transitioning to a headless architecture, particularly managing multiple vendors and ensuring the seamless integration of components,” wrote Williams. “This complexity compounds based on the number of brands, geographies, and channels.”

Yet that is why 2025 might be a breakout year for composable commerce, especially for smaller businesses, judging from the number of companies building modular services. Practical Ecommerce has identified many composable commerce rollouts, including releases Commercetools, LTImindtree, PhaseZero, and Vtex.

All-in-one platforms recognize the opportunity. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Salesforce offer composable storefronts and address the topic in guides and blog posts:

New Ecommerce Tools: December 5, 2024

Every week we curate and publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on virtual stores, tax management, cross-border commerce, circular packaging, sponsored product display, product images, and quick commerce.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Walmart updates virtual store with seasonal shopping features. Expanding its Realm experience with virtual-world developer Emperia, Walmart has added four new virtual shops themed as mountain chalet, holiday party, the white elephant game, and the sweetest gifts. Influencers curate gift ideas within the virtual spaces. Walmart also debuted a feature to create and share wish lists. Earlier this year, Walmart launched Realm with three environments.

Walmart Realm

Shopify supports multi-currency payouts. Shopify now supports payouts in multiple currencies for European merchants. The feature is available for users of Shopify Advanced and Plus in six European countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, and Austria. Payout currencies include the U.S. dollar, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Danish krone, euro, Hungarian forint, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Polish złoty, Romanian leu, Singapore dollar, South African rand, Swedish krona, Swiss franc, and Czech koruna.

Solidgate launches cross-regional tax management platform. Solidgate, a payment processing platform, has launched its tax compliance portal, a self-service, pay-per-use solution to simplify VAT and sales tax management for multinational businesses. The new portal automatically synchronizes data from hundreds of payment processors — including Worldpay, Adyen, Checkout.com, Nuvei, and Stripe — and calculates applicable taxes based on predefined parameters, such as customer location and transaction type.

Movopack raises funds to launch circular packaging in U.K. Movopack has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to launch its circular ecommerce packaging in the U.K. The company produces its reusable packaging from recycled plastic bottles and recycled polypropylene (plastic), designed to withstand postal handling and be reused up to 20 times. Movopack’s packaging can be returned via Royal Mail. The E.U. mandates that at least 10% of ecommerce packaging must be reusable by 2030, increasing to 50% by 2040.

Movopack

Flipkart to expand quick commerce to more cities. Flipkart, an India-based ecommerce company backed by Walmart, is planning to expand Minutes, its fast delivery service, amid rising demand for 10-minute deliveries. Flipkart Minutes is currently live in the pilot stage in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi. Flipkart began piloting Minutes in Bengaluru in August and expanded to the Delhi region in September. Flipkart’s move came in response to the rise of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Tata-owned BigBasket.

Walmart and DoorDash partner across Canada. DoorDash Canada and Walmart Canada have announced a collaboration spanning 300 Walmart Supercenters across 10 Canadian provinces. Customers shopping on DoorDash can now browse thousands of unique items from Walmart, ranging from fresh produce and kitchenware to pet food and electronics, including private-label brands. All Walmart Supercenters on DoorDash will be available on DashPass (a subscription program), providing $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible orders.

GroupBy and Topsort partner to optimize sponsored product display. GroupBy, a provider of ecommerce search and product discovery, has announced an integration with Topsort, an AI and auction-based retail media infrastructure company. By combining GroupBy’s AI-driven platform with Topsort’s retail media capabilities, merchants can increase visibility for sponsored products, ensuring only relevant products will be sent for validation in Topsort’s retail media platform.

GroupBy

Aiarty Image Matting released for ecommerce photos. Aiarty, part of Digiarty Software, has launched Image Matting, an AI-powered tool to streamline image processing for ecommerce businesses. Following the release of Aiarty’s Image Enhancer, Image Matting utilizes AI models for background removal and bulk background replacement. Together, the tools enable ecommerce sellers to enhance product visuals across channels and remove and replace the backgrounds on up to 3,000 images at once.

HSBC launches a platform for domestic and international payments. HSBC, a London-based bank and financial services provider, has launched Smart Transact, a one-stop domestic and cross-border payments platform. Users can access additional services, including corporate cards and integrated HSBC tools. Smart Transact is available in India, the U.K., the U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, The Netherlands, and France.

ImageKit unveils API to simplify video post-production and delivery. ImageKit, a developer of media solutions, has launched its video API to automate the time-consuming and repetitive tasks required to publish videos across the web. ImageKit allows users to resize and transform videos in real-time by modifying URL parameters and optimizing for any device or platform without manual effort. The video API features real-time tools such as resizing and cropping, adaptive streaming capabilities, overlays, styling options for captions, and more.

Mollie and PayPal partner on payments for marketplace platforms. Mollie, a payment processing company, has partnered with PayPal to deliver payment solutions for marketplace platforms across Europe. The partnership enhances Mollie’s range of Europe-based payment options, including credit and debit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, buy-now-pay-later options, and local payment methods.

Mollie

New Ecommerce Tools: November 28, 2024

We publish a rundown each week of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, search engines, APIs, reverse logistics, and local delivery.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Miva 10.11 launches with precision tools to enhance ecommerce control. Ecommerce pioneer Miva, Inc. has released version 10.11 of its platform. This update introduces tools for greater control over pricing, shipping charges, and fee management. Sellers can now set pricing with accuracy to less than $0.01 (one cent) and weight measurements smaller than two decimal places. An updated module provides flexible fee applications, control over taxability, and other rules to improve the checkout process.

Miva

Temu opens to all U.S. sellers. Over the last six months, China-based marketplace Temu has invited select U.S. sellers to join its site. Temu has now opened the application process to any U.S. brand or seller. According to Temu, applications take just 10 minutes and are typically reviewed within one business day. Plus, Temu sellers can now ship directly from U.S. warehouses.

Button announces general availability of an iOS Creator App. Button, a mobile commerce optimizer, has announced the general availability of its PostTap native mobile app, which enables creators to produce, optimize, and manage affiliate links. PostTap says it allows creators to generate and customize shortlinks instantly for sharing and monitoring across social platforms. Utilizing AI-powered technology ensures accurate attribution and in-app purchasing, per PostTap.

AI search tool Perplexity adds a shopping assistant. AI search engine Perplexity has debuted its “Buy with Pro” shopping recommendation feature within search results and the ability to place an order without going to a merchant’s website. For shopping-related searches, users receive visual cards containing product details, pricing, seller info, a short description, and the pros and cons of the item. Perplexity’s shopping assistant integrates with Shopify.

Perplexity

European AI search engines plan index with merchant rankings. Germany-based CO2-neutral search engine Ecosia and France-based privacy-focused search engine Qwant have unveiled plans to create their own AI-powered European search index, providing merchants an alternative to Google. The joint venture — called the European Search Perspective — plans to break from Google and Bing ranking systems by early 2025, potentially shifting consumer spending as the new index prioritizes European businesses. The combined search companies will initially focus on French and German results.

Coveo expands partnership with SAP to deliver AI capabilities across channels. Coveo, an enterprise platform for AI search and genAI functions, is expanding its partnership with SAP with an app called “Coveo AI Search and Recommendation for SAP Customer Experience.” Coveo says its AI search, recommendations, and generative answering can be used across multiple interfaces, from interfaces in SAP solutions to standalone search pages, in-app experiences, self-service portals and communities, and more.

Searchspring introduces dynamic custom profiles for ecommerce engagement. Searchspring, an ecommerce search and merchandising provider, has released dynamic custom profiles for personalized shopping recommendations. According to Searchspring, the profiles adjust in real-time based on shopper behavior and site variables, such as search terms, applied filters, and customer attributes. Dynamic custom profiles allow retailers to create a flexible framework that recommends products tailored to each shopper’s intent. Search results and product suggestions evolve dynamically without manually configuring profiles for every scenario, per Searchspring.

Appy Pie Endpoint introduces virtual try-on APIs. Appy Pie Endpoint, an AI API provider, has launched a suite of virtual try-on APIs that enable retailers to offer shoppers an interactive, customizable shopping experience. Shoppers can try on fashion, cosmetics, eyewear, or decor products before purchasing.

Appy Pie Endpoint

Stage TEN unveils a live show network for creators to sell Shopify products. Stage TEN has launched a live show network, enabling creators to blend content creation with commerce. With the platform, anyone can turn a live show into a storefront, connect with an audience in real-time, and monetize shows by featuring products from any Shopify store. By leveraging Shopify’s Collective and Collabs programs, Stage TEN’s live show network allows creators to select, showcase, and sell products.

MikMak expands API-first platform with launch of Insights API. MikMak, a provider of ecommerce enablement and analytics, has launched the MikMak Insights API. The API integrates MikMak commerce intelligence data, such as Purchase Intent and Attributable Sales, into data lakes, analytics platforms, and business intelligence tools, including Tableau, PowerBI, and Google Data Studio. According to MikMak, this enables multichannel brands to unlock a holistic view of their performance quickly and easily.

Cirro Fulfillment partners with Loop to streamline returns for retailers and brands. Cirro Fulfillment, a global provider serving ecommerce brands, has partnered with Loop, a reverse logistics platform, to enhance the returns process. Cirro says the integration with Loop’s automated portal enables customers to initiate returns, request exchanges, or secure refunds effortlessly. The streamlined process reduces manual tasks, making returns management faster and more efficient, thus enhancing the customer experience.

FedEx introduces enhanced visibility tools for secure package delivery. FedEx has upgraded package tracking and visibility features in its mobile app. Map View shows the real-time delivery truck location along with the latest timestamp. Picture Proof of Delivery Attempt provides customers with a photo of a door tag in the event of a missed delivery to see exactly when a delivery was attempted.

FedEx

New Ecommerce Tools: November 21, 2024

Every week we publish a selection of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on local search marketing, video generators, AI-powered shopping assistants, email marketing tools, conversational commerce, online review tools, and influencer marketing.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Google Maps launches product search. Google has updated Maps to include product-specific search. The update lets users search for products directly within Google Maps and find real-time inventory availability at nearby stores. Shoppers can find a wide range of items and have immediate access to local pickup options. For accurate inventory tracking, merchants should regularly sync with Google Merchant Center and ensure accurate Google Business Profile information.

Google Maps

TikTok launches AI-powered video platform to advertisers globally. ByteDance-owned TikTok has announced the global availability of Symphony Creative Studios, its generative AI video creation platform and a component of the Symphony creative content suite, which aims to help businesses, creators, and agencies customize content to their brands. The suite includes Symphony Creative Studios, Symphony Assistant, Symphony Digital Avatars, and TikTok ads manager. Symphony Creative Studios, which also includes a virtual assistant, helps users automate tasks to create content on the platform.

Alibaba releases AI search tool for small businesses in Europe and the Americas. China-based ecommerce giant Alibaba has released an AI-powered search engine for small companies in Europe and the Americas to source inventory. With a few text or image prompts, businesses can use the AI-assistant Accio to find wholesale products, including an analysis of their popularity with consumers and projected profit. The technology uses generative AI from Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen large language model. The initial version of Accio is web-based and supports English, German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Bluecore acquires AI shopping assistant Alby for conversational commerce. Bluecore, a retail technology provider, has acquired AI shopping assistant Alby in preparation for a new conversational shopping release. Using Bluecore, retailers can soon make their ecommerce sites, email campaigns, SMS, and mobile apps conversational by anticipating and answering shoppers’ questions. The shopping assistant will leverage the retailer’s product catalog and customer lifecycle stage data to generate real-time prompts, responses, and recommendations that progress the shopper toward purchase.

Alby

PhaseZero launches commerce-ready AI agents. PhaseZero, an AI-native composable commerce provider, has announced commerce-ready AI agents integrated with its CxCommerce platform. Pricing Agent provides insights into competitive and channel pricing trends. Inventory Agent provides visibility into alternate products and suppliers for out-of-stock items. Visual Search Agent makes it easy for customers to find products matching pictures. SEO Agent enables improved rankings. Insights Agent helps merchants identify sales opportunities, perform data-driven planning, and maximize return on investment.

CommerceIQ launches Nexis, an omnichannel AI assistant for commerce. CommerceIQ, a retail ecommerce management platform, has launched Nexis, a generative AI-powered omnichannel commerce tool. Nexis is a role-based teammate that enhances Amazon Copilot and retail media management solutions with advanced AI capabilities tailored to ecommerce. With the sales module, merchants can enhance Copilot with tailored templates to generate insights from Amazon sales and operations data. With the marketing module, merchants can deepen analysis across global retail media platforms.

MailReach releases tools for email marketing campaigns. MailReach, a provider of email deliverability solutions, has launched a suite of tools to enhance email marketing campaigns. The tools feature email warmup, advanced spam testing, real-time analytics, A/B testing, and integration with popular ecommerce, CRM, and marketing automation platforms. The platform’s intelligent inbox placement tester and domain health checkup tools help businesses address deliverability issues proactively to overcome spam filters and achieve higher engagement rates.

MailReach

Thryv launches AI tool to help small businesses respond quickly to online reviews. Thryv, a small business software platform, has launched Thryv AI Review Response, allowing businesses to respond quickly to positive and negative feedback on Google Business Profile listings, YP.com, Trustpilot, and 20 other popular review sites. Thryv aggregates review sites into one view. Users select the AI wand to generate review responses. Other AI-enhanced platform tools include social media management and Pro Campaign Editor.

StackAdapt integrates with the Shopify platform to optimize merchant campaigns. StackAdapt, a multichannel advertising platform, has announced its latest application on the Shopify App Store. Shopify store owners can now automatically install the StackAdapt pixel through the App Store or directly from StackAdapt. The integration enables users to onboard pixels and audience activations, tracking conversion events for monitoring and optimization. StackAdapt also offers predefined templates that enable users to define their audiences with rule-based segmentation.

Popcorn AI secures funding to define conversational commerce. Popcorn AI, a conversational commerce developer, has announced a $500,000 pre-seed funding round, with participation from Spring Studios. Popcorn AI says the funding will accelerate its development of conversational commerce for business-customer interactions, advancing the platform’s conversational AI capabilities and expanding its team of AI and commerce experts. Popcorn AI’s platform creates intelligent AI agents that handle the entire customer journey, from personalized product discovery to payment processing, all within life-like conversations.

BrandLink launches an influencer marketing platform for businesses and creators. SooNet Inc., a business application developer, has launched BrandLink, a mobile-first platform to provide accessible and affordable influencer marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes. BrandLink allows firms to search for and connect with influencers based on specific filters such as niche, location, and audience size. Influencers, in turn, can set their own rates and customize service packages, making the platform flexible and transparent for both parties, according to BrandLink.

BrandLink