2026 Optimizely Commerce Connect 15 general availability (GA) release notes

  • Updated

This article covers only the initial general availability (GA) release of Optimizely Commerce Connect 15. For subsequent updates, see 2026 Commerce Connect release notes.

For other Optimizely product release notes, see the 2026 Optimizely CMS 13 general availability (GA) release notes.

Optimizely Commerce Connect 15 is a major release that modernizes the commerce platform on .NET 10 and Optimizely CMS 13. This release replaces the legacy workflow engine with processor-based order APIs, introduces async order operations, migrates to System.Text.Json, and removes credit card storage APIs for PCI DSS compliance. Because Commerce Connect 15 extends CMS 13, catalog entries now use Visual Builder as the default editing experience and are surfaced in Content Manager alongside CMS content. External Content support enables integration with external PIM, ERP, and DAM systems through Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP) without duplicating data.

  • For ecommerce managers – Visual Builder provides a modern drag-and-drop editing experience for product content with real-time preview and autosave. Content Manager offers a search-first interface for discovering products, variants, and catalog entries, as well as CMS pages.
  • For developers – Async IOrderRepository methods enable non-blocking I/O for all order operations. The processor-based order workflow replaces the legacy workflow engine with IPaymentProcessor, IPurchaseOrderProcessor, and IShipmentProcessor. System.Text.Json replaces Newtonsoft.Json across the codebase, and the Optimizely.Graph.Commerce package provides commerce-specific search and content delivery through Optimizely Graph.
  • For administrators – Markets, warehouses, inventories, payment providers, and shipping providers are configured through the Settings interface. User access is managed through Opti ID. Opal and translation features require administrator configuration before use.

For breaking changes and migration guidance, see Breaking changes in Commerce Connect 15. For the step-by-step upgrade procedure, see Upgrade from Commerce Connect 14 to 15.

Commerce-specific features and enhancements

Commerce Connect 15 introduces the following capabilities on top of CMS 13:

Processor-based order workflow

Replaced the legacy workflow engine (Mediachase.Commerce.Workflow and ActivityFlow) with processor-based order APIs. All order processing now uses IPaymentProcessor, IPurchaseOrderProcessor, and IShipmentProcessor. The processor-based APIs provide a clearer separation of concerns and are easier to extend, test, and debug than the legacy workflow engine.

See Upgrade from Commerce Connect 14 for migration guidance.

Graph-powered catalog search

Added the Optimizely.Graph.Commerce package, which provides a commerce-specific search provider for the catalog panel, global search, and the order management Add Line Item dialog. This replaces Optimizely Search & Navigation (Find) for commerce search scenarios, aligning with CMS 13 where Optimizely Graph is the primary search and delivery mechanism.

See Optimizely Graph for Commerce Connect for more information.

Async order repository

Added async versions of all IOrderRepository methods, enabling non-blocking I/O for order operations. Async methods are also available on IPurchaseOrderRepository, IOrderProvider, ICartProvider, and IPaymentPlanProvider. The synchronous methods remain available for backward compatibility, but new implementations should prefer the async versions for better scalability and resource utilization.

See New in Commerce Connect 15 for more information.

PCI DSS compliance

Removed credit card data storage APIs (ICreditCardPayment, CreditCard, and related customer contact methods) to enforce PCI DSS compliance. Implementations now use tokenized payment solutions through third-party providers such as Stripe, Adyen, or PayPal. Removing direct card storage reduces compliance scope and security risk for Commerce Connect implementations.

See Breaking changes in Commerce Connect 15 for migration guidance.

System.Text.Json migration

Migrated all internal JSON serialization from Newtonsoft.Json to System.Text.Json, matching the CMS 13 migration. Custom JSON converters that extend the Commerce Connect serialization pipeline requires updates to use System.Text.Json types. If your project depends on Newtonsoft.Json for other purposes, add an explicit package reference because Commerce Connect 15 no longer includes it as a transitive dependency.

See Breaking changes in Commerce Connect 15 for more information.

Product catalog UI updates

Updated the product catalog editing interface with usability improvements for multi-language workflows, version management, and content publishing.

  • Language switcher – Improved the language switcher for catalog entries. The switcher now displays in read-only mode and correctly reflects available languages for each catalog entry.
  • Translate content using AI – Added the Translate content using AI option under the Options menu for catalog entries in non-master languages. Editors launch AI-powered translation directly from the catalog editor.
  • Version management – Improved version management for catalog entries. Draft and rejected versions are now removed immediately when an editor selects Revert to Published, keeping the version history clean.
  • View on website – Restored the View on Website function for catalog entries. Editors preview published product pages on the live storefront directly from the catalog editor.

See Catalogs (UI) and Catalogs (dev) for more information.

Framework modernization

Upgraded the target framework from .NET 6 to .NET 10 and adopted the Optimizely namespace alignment from CMS 13. This upgrade brings performance improvements, security patches, and access to the latest .NET APIs across the commerce platform.

See New in Commerce Connect 15 for more information.

CMS 13 platform features for commerce

Because Commerce Connect catalog entries are CMS content types, they inherit CMS 13 platform capabilities automatically. The following CMS 13 features now apply to catalog content:

Visual Builder on Product Catalog

Visual Builder is now the default editing experience for all catalog entries, replacing On-Page Editing. Merchandisers compose product content directly in the catalog editor using the same drag-and-drop interface available for CMS pages.

  • Drag-and-drop composition – Added drag-and-drop content elements for catalog entries, including products, variants, bundles, and packages. Merchandisers build rich product pages without switching between editing modes.
  • Real-time preview – Added real-time preview for catalog entries. Editors see exactly how product content renders on the storefront as they make changes.
  • Autosave – Added autosave for catalog content. Edits persist automatically, reducing the risk of lost work during product content updates.
  • Experiences and sections – Catalog entries support experiences and sections from CMS 13. Merchandisers create targeted product experiences for different audiences and markets.

See Visual Builder in CMS 13 for more information.

Content Manager

Products, variants, and catalog entries are now discoverable through Content Manager's search-first interface alongside CMS pages and blocks. This provides a unified content management experience across all content types.

  • Graph-powered search – Optimizely Graph-powered search surfaces catalog content in Content Manager. Editors find products and variants quickly using full-text search across catalog properties.
  • Catalog entry details – A details panel for catalog entries in Content Manager lets editors view and edit product metadata, pricing, and inventory information without navigating to the catalog module.

See Content Manager for more information.

External Content

Added External Content support for commerce catalog entries. Organizations that manage product data across multiple external systems connect those systems to the CMS editing experience without duplicating data.

  • PIM, ERP, and DAM integration – External Product Information Management (PIM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems integrate through Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP). External product data syncs to Optimizely Graph and is available in the CMS editing interface.
  • Graph-synced external content – External content automatically syncs to Optimizely Graph for storefront delivery. Storefronts query external product data alongside native catalog content using a single GraphQL endpoint.

See Integrate external content sources with CMS for more information.

DAM integration

Added DAM integration for catalog entries. Editors browse, search, and select DAM assets directly within the catalog editing interface without switching to external asset management tools.

See DAM integration for more information.

Optimizely Opal

Added Optimizely Opal support for catalog content. Opal provides AI-powered content generation within the catalog editor, enabling merchandisers to generate product descriptions, long descriptions, and other product content directly in the editing interface.

See Optimizely Opal for setup instructions.

For the full list of CMS 13 platform capabilities, see CMS 13 overview.

Deprecated and removed features

For the full list of breaking changes and migration code examples, see Breaking changes in Commerce Connect 15.

  • Workflow engine – The Mediachase.Commerce.Workflow project and the ActivityFlow engine are removed. Use processor-based APIs (IPaymentProcessor, IPurchaseOrderProcessor, IShipmentProcessor) for all order processing.
  • Legacy discount classes – The Mediachase.Commerce.Orders.Discount class hierarchy and related collections are removed. Use IPromotionEngine for all promotion and discount operations.
  • Credit card storage APIs – CreditCard, CreditCardPayment, ICreditCardPayment, and SerializableCreditCardPayment are removed. Use tokenized payment solutions through third-party providers.
  • On-Page Editing for catalog entries – On-Page Editing (OPE) is replaced by Visual Builder as the default catalog editing experience.
  • Obsolete APIs – Over 50 methods and classes deprecated between 2018 and 2021 are removed across the catalog, order, and customer systems.
  • BinaryFormatter – Dependencies on BinaryFormatter serialization are removed throughout the codebase.
  • Optimizely Search & Navigation for commerce – Deprecated in favor of the Optimizely.Graph.Commerce package. Optimizely Graph is the primary search and delivery mechanism for Commerce Connect 15.

Coming next for Commerce Connect 15

The following capabilities are planned for upcoming Commerce Connect 15 releases:

  • Service API support
  • Official Product Recommendations and Content Recommendations support
  • Content Delivery (CD) API support
  • New content selector integration in the Marketing UI: the updated content selector is not integrated with the Marketing UI in the GA release. A future update integrates the new selector for selecting associated content types when configuring promotions and campaigns.