You’ve probably heard about artificial intelligence (AI) unless you’ve been living underground for the last several years. However, how can artificial intelligence be used in Ecommerce? This article discusses effective and useful ways to use AI in Ecommerce. AI is starting to permeate every part of our lives.
Artificial intelligence is present almost everywhere, from the increasing number of self-checkout cash registers to sophisticated security checks at airports. With industry titans like Google and Microsoft already making significant investments in new AI projects, it is generally expected that AI will accelerate over the next several years.
One of the many anticipated purchases as the promise of such technology becomes a reality is Google’s acquisition of DeepMind, a start-up artificial intelligence business that focuses on algorithms and machine learning for good effect. Major internet companies like Facebook, IBM, and Yahoo have already made it clear that they are focused on creating artificial intelligence as a new commercial opportunity.
You will find hundreds of publications predicting a market controlled by artificial intelligence if you search for AI online. Indeed, according to a recent Business Insider report, up to 85% of client contacts may be handled automatically. AI is already being used by a lot of Ecommerce companies to better understand their clients, create new leads, and improve consumer satisfaction.
How Ecommerce Companies Use AI
1. Develop A Customer-Focused Search
The CEO of Twiggle, a company that makes it possible for Ecommerce search engines to think like people. If you watch any of the recent interviews, he will tell you that customers often give up on Ecommerce experiences since product outcomes are frequently meaningless. Twiggle uses natural language processing to address this issue by condensing, contextualizing, and eventually enhancing search results for online buyers.
Clarifai, a US-based software start-up, is another company working to enhance Ecommerce search. Early research by Clarifai concentrated on the visual components of search; according to its website, the program is “artificial intelligence with a vision.”
Through sophisticated picture and video recognition, the firm empowers organizations to create a customer-centric experience by allowing developers to create smarter applications that “see the world as you do.” By categorizing aspects of the picture or video, the AI program uses machine learning to automatically classify, organize, and visually search material.
Learn more about their custom training, which lets you create custom models that let you educate AI to comprehend any idea, whether it is a Pokemon, brand, product, or style. Then, you may explore or search media assets using keyword tags or visual similarities by combining these new models with pre-built models that already exist (such as general, color, food, wedding, travel, etc.).
Developers and companies of all sizes and budgets may use AI technology, which provides them a competitive advantage. An excellent illustration is the latest version of Pinterest’s Chrome plugin, which allows users to choose an object in any web picture and then request that Pinterest employ image recognition tools to find related things. AI is being used by more than just Pinterest to create new ways to use AI in Ecommerce.
2. Retarget Prospective Clients
Conversica reports that the sales staff does not follow up on at least 33% of marketing leads. This implies that prospective customers who are already qualified and interested in your offering will inevitably slip through the gaps. In addition, a lot of companies have an excessive amount of unmanageable client data that they seldom ever use. The sales cycle might be improved with the help of this amazing intelligence treasure trove.
If we look more closely at the retail sector, for example, we may see that shoplifters are already being apprehended by CCTV cameras using facial recognition technology. However, how might AI improve the purchasing experience for customers?
Nowadays, some companies use face recognition technology to record how long customers spend in-store. This implies that if a consumer spends a significant length of time near a particular product, such as an iPod, the data will be saved for use on their subsequent visit.
As AI advances, we will be able to predict special offers on customers’ computer displays depending on how long they spend in-store. To put it another way, omnichannel merchants are beginning to improve their capacity for consumer remarketing. Businesses are reacting directly to customers, which is altering the face of sales. Businesses seem to be able to read their consumers’ thoughts, and AI-powered data is the reason for this.
3. Determine Outstanding Target Possibilities
As an answer to how to use AI in Ecommerce, companies now have the timely information they need to address business problems like lead generation, thanks to new AI technologies.
AI solutions for marketing, sales, and CRM systems are offered by predictive marketing companies like Anaplan (previously Mintigo). By using Mintigo’s software to gather information about which companies have websites that use photographs from Getty’s rivals, Getty Photographs has been able to create a sizable number of new leads.
Getty’s sales force has a competitive edge in acquiring new business since they can identify high-quality prospects. Getty’s sales staff receives a large volume of useful sales information from millions of prospective client records. Getty’s system would not function at this level without AI and machine learning.
4. Improve The Effectiveness Of Your Sales Process
Fortunately, almost everyone has evolved beyond the days of using antiquated sales tactics like cold calling prospective customers and scouring the reliable Yellow Pages. Nowadays, a wide range of media, including social media and TV advertisements, have a significant impact on consumers’ lives. Indeed, Snapchat has made a name for itself as a successful sales and marketing tool in the last 12 months, creating new prospects.
AI integration into your CRM is the way to go if you want to customize your problem-solving strategies and craft a compelling sales message that reaches customers on the appropriate platform at the right time. Many AI systems, like Siri and Alexa, allow voice input and natural language learning.
This enables a CRM system to respond to consumer inquiries, address their issues, and even find new prospects for the sales force. To manage all of these tasks and more, several AI-powered CRM systems can even multitask. An excellent example of a business stepping up its game by using AI to better understand its customers is The North Face, a major online store. Online customers may now find the ideal jacket by using IBM’s Watson AI service.
To do this, they pose questions to the client, such as, “Where and when will you be using your jacket?” using AI voice input technologies. Based on real-time client feedback and its research, including local weather conditions, IBM’s software then searches through hundreds of goods to discover the ideal pairings.
Without a doubt, AI is already beginning to influence Ecommerce and is using fresh data to enhance the sales process. Customers will no longer be presented with incorrect goods and services thanks to the modifications. With quicker access to information and the ability to better use staff skills, artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering how companies interact with their clientele.
5. Add A New Degree Of Customization To Various Gadgets
For Ecommerce, personalization is nothing new, and if you use Amazon often, you’ll understand precisely what we mean by ways to use AI in Ecommerce. But as artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to progress, new, deep degrees of personalization are beginning to seep into the rapidly expanding Ecommerce industry.
In contrast, Ecommerce customization powered by AI employs a multichannel strategy. To assist the company in assessing how consumers are engaging online, new AI engines like Zeta AI (previously Boomtrain) are placed on top of the various customer contact points.
To provide a global customer perspective, the AI engine constantly monitors all devices and channels, whether it be a website, email campaign, or mobile application. Ecommerce merchants can provide a smooth client experience across all platforms thanks to this unified customer view.
Customers may get a push message on their mobile device alerting them to your iPhone case flash sale the next time they browse your website. They save both parties a great deal of time by making the transaction straight from their phone.
6. With Chatbots, Provide A Personal Touch
Consumer expectations have been altered by a whirlwind of technical advancements, and businesses are increasingly concentrating on creating experiences for the individual rather than the mass market. Purchases are influenced by a wide range of contact points and factors for customers.
Many online shops are already improving their AI-powered attention-grabbing strategies, and “conversational commerce” is one strategy that is gaining popularity. This is the fusion of written, spoken, visual, and predictive skills in the Ecommerce industry. Retailers are finding it difficult to keep up with the fast evolution of consumer demands.
This is one of the most important business strategies that companies need to use if they want to thrive. In the next age of conversational technology, using artificial intelligence via “chatbots” is simply one method to steer the discussion.
7. Employ Virtual Assistants
We all sometimes need a little internet assistance. Ultimately, what is the purpose of cloud-based AI software agents? Siri, Google Now, and Alexa are all well-known and have effectively exposed us to the concept of speaking to a phone, laptop, or even a household device.
With a few helpful updates in recent months, many of these virtual companions have already evolved into dull commodities for the user. Natural language processing and the machine’s capacity to decipher spoken language in text or words are the foundations of virtual assistant advancements.
Let’s examine Alexa, the virtual assistant from Amazon. Their virtual assistant, which has lately become one of the most well-known voices in business, has been effectively incorporated into both Amazon’s and other manufacturers’ goods.
Customers may use Alexa on Amazon’s Echo device, for example, to find local events for the weekend via StubHub, schedule transportation to and from the event via Uber, or even book a pre-event meal from Domino’s (and check the progress of their order in real-time).
In the US, the increasingly well-known 1-800-Flowers allows customers to send flowers to their loved ones. Customers’ purchasing habits are being impacted by virtual assistants, which presents Ecommerce companies with an innovative possibility.
8. Enhance Customer Recommendations
As an answer to how to use AI in Ecommerce, brands can more effectively and intelligently comb through petabytes of data using AI to forecast consumer behavior and provide personalized, relevant suggestions. This degree of intelligence is essential for providing the customer with a customized purchasing experience.
Starbucks has played a significant role in this process by using AI to analyze all of the customer data it has collected and provide more tailored recommendations. For example, Starbucks has introduced “My Starbucks Barista,” which uses AI to let users make orders by SMS or voice command.
Account information, consumer preferences, past purchases, third-party data, and contextual information are just a few of the inputs that the algorithm uses. This enables the massive coffee company to produce and provide its consumers with more tailored messages and suggestions.
In our mobile age, the dynamic industry of Ecommerce has completely changed how consumers purchase. Many Ecommerce companies aim to provide clients with a smooth approach to finding things they are actively searching for, therefore bringing the greatest aspects of an offline shopping experience to the online arena.
There is a significant emphasis on “hyper-personalization,” which can only be achieved by analyzing real consumer behavior and forecasting using the massive volumes of data gathered from user actions on PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Ecommerce merchants often use the suggestion process to assist clients in finding the best option.
For instance, Amazon suggests products to consumers based on their online behavior and previous purchases. Based on how a user interacts with genres like drama, comedy, and action, Netflix recommends TV shows and movies.
eBay manually gathers product reviews to suggest items to customers who have shown comparable actions. And with several permutations and combinations in place, this keeps changing. AI is already being used effectively to provide members with tailored suggestions based on their interests, and we anticipate this to advance rapidly over the next year.
9. Engage In Intelligent Agent Work
As artificial intelligence and agent technologies have advanced, new intelligent agent negotiation systems have emerged as a common tool in Ecommerce. Matching buyers and sellers, facilitating transactions, and providing institutional infrastructure are the three primary tasks carried out by the automated agent.
The agents have total control over their behaviors and are fully automated. In addition to responding to their surroundings, they may also use initiative, such as creating their own goals, and they have their own language for communication. Finally, they are helpful for Ecommerce, and it’s AI at its most brilliant.
Wrapping Up
Even though the word “artificial” could conjure up negative or dehumanizing connotations, finding ways to use AI in Ecommerce enables companies to provide their clients with a more customized experience. Every marketer aims to be able to tailor offers down to a single consumer, and AI enables Ecommerce businesses to evaluate millions of interactions every day.
These days, sales teams have access to information that has never been seen before. With AI-powered tools that assist salespeople in reaching the appropriate prospects with the right message at the right moment, they can tailor the sales cycle.
The effects of AI, especially on sectors that depend on manual labor, have been the subject of several publications. “Artificial intelligence does a job we weren’t necessarily crazy about doing anyway, and it does it quietly and well, and then we take it for granted,” as marketing expert Seth Godin recently said.
In the next few years, AI technology is anticipated to have a significant and positive influence on the Ecommerce sector. It will improve and maybe enhance how customers look for things on the internet. There is evidence that new AI-driven platforms will be crucial to Ecommerce success in the era of Instagram, Snapchat, and increasingly declining attention spans. AI is already brazenly walking and talking among us.
FAQ
Q: What benefits might artificial intelligence provide in the Ecommerce sector?
A: Personalized product suggestions, chatbots, virtual shopping assistants, dynamic pricing, fraud detection, and logistics optimization are a few instances of artificial intelligence in Ecommerce. Additionally, AI may assist with user review analysis to enhance marketing tactics and product design.
Q: How might customer experience be enhanced by AI?
A: By automating processes like data input, lead scoring, and follow-up reminders, artificial intelligence in customer experience may greatly improve CRM systems. Additionally, it may provide insightful information, such as forecasting which leads are most likely to convert, which helps sales teams concentrate their efforts more efficiently.
Q: Can my online shop be operated by AI?
A: Indeed, you can integrate chatbots driven by AI into your WooCommerce shop to help consumers, respond to their questions, and increase engagement and conversion rates. Well-liked choices The AI chatbot builder from HubSpot.
