What you need to know about e-commerce & AI

Posted on Friday August 17, 2018

Many business owners are looking to artificial intelligence (AI, or "machine learning") for its potential to improve communications with their customers. It is predicted that by 2020, 85% of all interactions will originate from machine learning "bots." If you operate an e-commerce business and are wondering how you can benefit from bots, you're in luck. We've compiled a few of the most important reasons to adopt AI for e-commerce.

Predicting what your customers want

There are many ways AI can benefit businesses and consumers. For example, machine learning algorithms can identify customers' habits and their interests, simply based on their search histories. Properly configured, AI can analyze customers' shopping behaviors to customize the online experience based on a variety of factors like browsing pattern and purchase history.

Product recommendations, pairings, and promotions can also be targeted to individuals, improving the customer experience and your bottom line.

More intuitive product recommendations

Machine learning is also great for cataloging products. In the past, businesses would send out cumbersome product catalogs that made it difficult for customers to find what they were looking for. In the near future, customers will be able to upload photographs of clothing that's similar to what they want to purchase. Through AI, a website will be able to analyze the photographs and create a catalog of suggestions based on the uploaded image.

Customers can still talk to a "representative"

With advances in "plain language" systems, more and more users will rely on e-commerce over face-to-face sales interactions. Machine learning is getting better at interpreting conversations, and answering with natural-sounding responses.

If the choice is either searching "Blue summer dress," or "Billowy summer dress in a warm blue color," which do you think would make customers' shopping experience better?

By replicating the in-person shopping experience over the internet, businesses can shift away from brick and mortar overheads to an e-commerce-centered structure. They will realize significant savings on capital expenditures and human resource investment, as well as reduce costly human errors.

If you're ready to begin integrating more "machine learning" into your business model, we already have the means to make that happen. Contact us as soon as you're ready to transform your e-commerce business into a money-making powerhouse!