Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a constantly discussed topic, a topic of interest in various industries all across the globe. It has grown to the point where AI can be seen and used just about everywhere, from airports to retail stores, and for a wide range of applications. And with business giants, like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc., already investing a lot in the technology, AI is expected to take the next gear in the next few years, and the fact that it has entered and making significant changes in the eCommerce industry is no surprise.
Here are some amazing examples of AI in eCommerce and why we love it:
Customer-centric Product Search
One of the common reasons why customers tend to abandon making a purchase on an eCommerce website is the irrelevant product search results that get displayed. Now this is one problem that AI can easily tackle, by making eCommerce search engines think like shoppers.
Twiggle is a company that uses techniques like natural language processing and machine learning to narrow down products based on customer interests and expectations and thereby improve search results that get displayed in front of them.
There are also other companies out there that implement the technology to attain a more customer-centric approach with product search on their eCommerce sites. AI enabling online businesses offer a better overall experience on their site through advanced video and image recognition is perhaps the highlight in this respect.
Chatbots
If you are thinking that chatbots are dated, or just overrated, let us just clarify that AI has basically given new life to chatbots, especially in the eCommerce world. As most of you would be aware, a chatbot is basically a program that is designed to communicate with users over the internet. This system is widely known to be a cost-effective way to provide customer service, and is used in a myriad of industries, from food to finance, and everything in between.
With AI, chatbots today also use natural language processing to provide thoughtful responses to users, rather than sending out robotic answers. The differences are really significant when compared to traditional chatbots, because AI-enabled ones also have the ability to learn and get better with time, carry out human-like conversations, and of course, are accepted more. And all of these capabilities obviously lead to more purchases and satisfied customers.
Generate Product Descriptions
It is no exaggeration to say that eCommerce stores are heavily reliant on product descriptions, which plays a huge role in a customer’s decision-making process when it comes to purchasing a product. And yes, this is apart from the product images, because product descriptions matter even if you have amazing product images to go with. But, when you have a growing business, with ever-multiplying product inventory, writing descriptions for each product can be extremely tiresome and would cost you a lot of money to get help for the same.
Fortunately, artificial intelligence helps solve this problem by simply automating the whole product description writing process. AI-powered platforms like Quill enable eCommerce platforms to create data-driven stories or descriptions, all automatically, and they do this not just by using the manufacturer’s description of products, but also by hunting the internet for the most relevant and recent information about the same. As a result, you will be able to generate hundreds, if not thousands of product description in just an hour.
Product Recommendations
We all know that eCommerce giant Amazon is one company that has been proactive in implementing AI for many of their business processes, and this includes making product recommendations as well. One of the best ways for any eCommerce store to up their sales is by cross-selling and/or upselling. And Amazon has generated quite some money with this technique, thanks to their AI-powered product recommendation engine.
By using big data, this AI engine gathers information like a customer’s searches, purchase history, and more to give them product recommendations that perfectly suit their preferences and needs. This, of course, translates to increased revenue, leads to higher customer retention, brings about more repeat customers, and generates more useful data as well.
AI technology will continue to have a highly positive impact on the eCommerce industry in every way possible, and it is about time that you start implementing the same in at least some of your business processes.
