The collaboration supports TikTok’s new agentic commerce experiences, with a focus on helping merchants turn customer interest into sales.

TORONTO, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shoplazza, an AI-native commerce operating system, recently announced it is working with TikTok to support new agentic commerce shopping experiences. The collaboration reflects a shared focus on shortening the path from product discovery to purchase and helping merchants make more of the demand their content and advertising generate.

TikTok introduced Buy Direct and Shopping Assistant on October 5, naming Shoplazza among its commerce and payment partners. Buy Direct lets consumers buy directly from brands within TikTok, without being redirected to an external storefront. It uses Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to connect with merchant systems, while brands remain the Merchant of Record.

Shopping Assistant answers product questions using merchant-supplied information on product pages within TikTok’s in-app browser. Shoppers can get the details they need before proceeding to checkout on the merchant’s website within the same browser.

For merchants, a shorter purchase journey can help protect the value of their customer acquisition spending. Redirects and repeated forms add friction just as a shopper is ready to buy. Losing that purchase means losing potential revenue after already paying to attract the customer.

“As platforms automate more decisions, performance increasingly depends on how well data, creative and checkout work together,” said Chao Xu, Director at Shoplazza. “TikTok’s new shopping experiences make it easier to buy while interest is fresh, helping merchants turn that interest into revenue and use each transaction to inform smarter marketing decisions.”

Shoplazza sees these developments as part of a broader convergence between advertising platforms and commerce infrastructure. From transaction data sharing and Instant Pages to Buy Direct, the opportunity is to help algorithms understand completed purchases more accurately while making it easier for shoppers to follow through.

The collaboration builds on an established relationship. Shoplazza’s merchant admin already supports catalog syncing, TikTok Pixel and Events API setup. In May, it was the sole winner of the TikTok Partner Innovation Award for Innovation in Marketing Technology – Commerce. In July, it joined the first group of TikTok for Business Agentic Hub partners, introducing AI Skills that connect store data and business insights with TikTok’s advertising intelligence.

About Shoplazza

Shoplazza is a global AI-native commerce operating system that enables brands to build, launch, and scale their online businesses. Built on an AI agent-native framework, Shoplazza integrates storefronts, marketing, payments, and operational workflows into a unified system designed to support scalable, long-term growth across global markets. Learn more at https://www.shoplazza.com/.

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SOURCE Shoplazza

Lexsoft will deliver Clio products, including Clio Work and Clio Manage, and integrate them into the systems its clients already use

LONDON and MADRID, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lexsoft Systems, a provider of IT and business process solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Clio, the global leader in legal AI. Through this EMEA-wide partnership, Lexsoft will deliver Clio’s platform to law firms and corporate legal departments, and integrate it with the other business-critical systems those clients run.

This agreement strengthens Lexsoft’s position as an independent legal solutions provider, and reinforces its growing presence in the UK and across Europe. It also supports the continued expansion of its carefully selected product portfolio of best-practice, global market-leading legal systems. 

Clio brings together the context of a firm’s work with trusted legal intelligence. Clio Work can draw on the matters, clients, documents, and other information already in Clio Manage, then ground that work in Clio’s global library of more than 1 billion legal documents to support research, analysis, and drafting. For Lexsoft’s global clients, that means AI designed for legal work that understands both the firm and the law.

“A practice management system is the originating point for most major legal processes — from document management and time recording through to security measures such as ethical walls,” says Carlos García-Egocheaga, CEO of Lexsoft Systems. “Until now, we’ve been reluctant to commit to a single partner, despite a wide choice of technologically robust and functionality-rich practice management systems on the market. But with the Clio platform, we’re offering customers more than practice management. Clio Manage takes practice management to a new level, from user experience to advanced functionality. Clio Work, Clio’s legal AI workspace, helps lawyers research, strategise and draft alongside Clio’s global library of legal documents. By integrating these capabilities into customers’ existing systems, we can deliver AI that works the way they do. We’re excited about the value this partnership enables us to deliver to our customers, large and small.”

The partnership lets Lexsoft build tailored environments around Clio, with deep integrations into the other systems its clients run. It helps firms across EMEA move beyond adoption of AI tools to deeper integration and a more fundamental transformation of how legal work gets done.

“Firms across Europe want AI in their daily work, and it only earns its place when it understands the context behind that work,” says Lisa Del Real, Vice President, Channel Partnerships at Clio. “Lexsoft has built its business on connecting the systems law firms and legal departments depend on. Through this partnership, Lexsoft’s clients can run Clio Manage and Clio Work on one shared foundation, so the context of each matter carries from the business of the firm into the legal work itself. They also get an implementation team that already knows how they work.”

Lexsoft is offering Clio’s products to law firms and corporate legal departments in EMEA immediately.

About Lexsoft Systems

Lexsoft provides IT and business process solutions to the legal sector across Europe, the United States, and Latin America. ISO 27017 and ISO 27001 certified, the company assists law firms and corporate legal departments (CLD) to improve their document management, knowledge management, practice management, and CRM processes, to facilitate business efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce risk. Lexsoft T3 is a proven knowledge management solution, offering one of the most comprehensive workflows for this business function. For more information, visit: www.lexsoft.com.

About Clio

Clio is the global leader in legal AI, empowering legal professionals and law firms of every size to work smarter, faster, and more securely. Purpose-built for the legal industry, Clio’s Intelligent Legal Work Platform streamlines workflows, improves decision-making, and combines powerful technology with industry-leading security. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of legal professionals in more than 130 countries, and approved by over 100 bar associations and law societies worldwide, Clio sets the standard for innovation and client success across the legal profession. Backed by world-class investors and a mission to transform the legal experience for all, Clio is defining the future of legal work through AI. Learn more at www.clio.com.

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BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — An interview from China.org.cn with Wang Xiaohui and David Ferguson on the Long March:

Wang Xiaohui:

When your path ahead is beset with obstacles and filled with lurking dangers, like boundless marshlands with no path to follow, no food to eat, one misstep could drag you into deep mire, the sudden drop of temperature could easily cause fatal hypothermia — how long could you endure in such utter despair?

David Ferguson:

To survive and continue to move forward in such a hostile environment would take extraordinary courage, the will and the ability to set aside all thoughts of life and death. Personally, with no idea of what lay ahead, I might never have chosen to venture into such danger in the first place.

Wang Xiaohui:

In August 1935, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) resolved to march north and establish revolutionary base areas in the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Blockaded by enemy troops externally and divided by disagreements internally, the sparsely populated grassland became the only viable route forward.

As the vanguard unit, the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division, 1st Corps of the Red Army ventured into the vast Songpan Grasslands. This terrain proved far more horrifying than anticipated — dry solid ground was almost impossible to find, replaced by tufts of wild grass, winding watercourses, and swamps hidden beneath the meadow surface. A single heavy footstep sank soldiers knee-deep in the swamp, and every further struggle dragged them further down, leaving them reliant on comrades for rescue. The Tibetan guide instructed them to tread only where grass grew thick, following each other closely in single file.

The grasslands also saw erratic weather. Temperatures plummeted at dusk, and heavy downpours mixed with hailstones pelted the soldiers without mercy. Worse still, nearly all firewood was soaked by rainstorms, making it impossible to start fires. Soldiers could only huddle back-to-back, drawing warmth from each other’s bodies.

Morale sank low. Then, Zheng Jinyu, a young soldier from the publicity department, magically pulled out several matches he had kept pressed close to his chest, sheltered from the rain, and lit a crackling blaze. Quick-witted and buoyant, Zheng always marched at the head of the column, grinning as he cheerfully sang songs and told stories to lift spirits. The warm orange firelight washed over every weary face. Some boiled a basin of hot water, sharing small cups that instantly chased away their cold. Others mixed a pinch of qingke (highland barley) flour with plain water — a single mouthful seemed to melt away a long day’s hunger and fatigue.

Later, Zheng fell ill. When Yang Chengwu, the regiment commander learned of his condition, he immediately sent his own horse, a portion of his reserved rations, and his water bottle to the young soldier.

But Zheng never made it out of the deadly grasslands. In his last moments, he shed tears and said: “May the CPC’s path prevail, and the revolution soon achieve victory… When that day comes, please tell my family I laid down my life for revolutionary triumph!”

The day after he passed away, the 4th Regiment made it out of the marshlands.

The regiment tried their best to leave clear trail markers to guide troops following behind. But relentless rainfall washed away some signs, while others sank beneath the mire. With no defined pathways, soldiers often trampled through knee-deep, toxic, muddy water. Many lost their way or collapsed from exhaustion, and were silently swallowed by the unforgiving swamps.

Harsh as the natural conditions were, the gravest challenge was a crippling food shortage. Most units had barely enough provisions for two days at most.

At first, they still had qingke barley flour to live on. Later, they turned to anything remotely edible: horse mounts, grass roots, tree bark, wild tubers, even undigested qingke grains picked from horse manure…

Later, when even these meager resources vanished too, soldiers resorted to leather goods — belts, leather shoes, even animal hide covering military drums. They cut off strips and roasted them over the fire; the leather sizzled and bubbled, turning tender and golden with a faint roasted aroma. Each soldier would get a tiny share, chewing slowly and swallowing gently. Some said they tasted like “fried millet cakes, far from unpleasant.”

The path to survival for China’s Red Army and the Chinese nation was soaked with the blood of these soldiers. They had no idea how far they could reach or how much longer they could survive. Then, what sustained them?

The answer lies in resilience, unbreakable under pressure, and growing firmer with heavier weight borne. This resilience was rooted in the Party’s founding aspiration to serve the people and nation, nourished by unshakable faith in ultimate victory amid adversity, and ultimately merged into the torrent of the Long March spirit.

They embraced sacrifice fearlessly: neither the agonies of crossing snow-capped mountains and vast grasslands nor enemy forces outnumbering them many times could intimidate them. All Red Army officers and soldiers understood one ingrained truth: revolution demands sacrifice.

They dared to face up to mistakes. Every setback encountered along the Long March became a steppingstone toward the right course. The Communist Party of China has always possessed the courage to confront and rectify its own mistakes.

They consistently relied on the people, upheld mutual solidarity, and maintained revolutionary optimism even in adversity.

David Ferguson:

When I was crossing the Jiajin Mountain Pass, I heard a story.

During the Long March, some of the Red Army soldiers were approaching the summit — more than 4,000 meters above sea level — they fed themselves on snow and they pretended it was Guanshengyuan “ice cream”.

What struck me most about that story was the fact that these soldiers were able to maintain a sense of humor in such hardship. If I were part of an army equipped with a clear direction, extraordinary courage and optimism — I believe that I could commit myself to the journey and see it through. I don’t know how long I would endure, but one thing is certain: giving up is not an option. As long as I was still standing on my feet, I would keep moving forward.

Wang Xiaohui:

From June 1935 to July 1936, the three main forces of the Red Army crossed more than 20 snow-capped mountain ranges and traversed the Songpan Grasslands which stretches roughly 500 li (about 250 km). Tens of thousands laid down their lives along the way. Yet, this arduous trek, almost unparalleled in global warfare history, did not crush the Red Army soldiers. Instead, it tempered their will and steeled their faith.

For nearly a century, the stories of the Red Army crossing snow mountains and marshlands have inspired generations of Chinese people. The spirit of enduring hardship without fear, the readiness to embrace sacrifices, and the determination to carve out a path to survival from utter despair have continued to inspire those who followed, urging steady, resolute progress along new journeys.

Today, the historic mission of building a strong country and advancing national rejuvenation has been passed on to a new generation of Chinese people. This new expedition has new “snow-capped mountains and grasslands” to conquer — in the form of key technological challenges, reforms in critical sectors, and the trials that no one has ever tried. Yet the spirit of the Long March, forged through fire and blood, tells us that step by step, even the longest trek can reach its destination. Such a spirit continues to guide us to seek truth from facts, take concrete action, and surmount all difficulties.

The Chinese people are marching forward with confidence and resolve along the new Long March of the new era.

China Mosaic 
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm 

Resilience: The Life-or-Death Trek Across Snowy Peaks and Marsh Grasslands
http://www.china.org.cn/2026-10/18/content_118738296.shtml 

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SOURCE China.org.cn