Excitement over the continued development of AI technology has never really waned. People have always looked forward to their deeper integration into everyday life. And for good reason!
However, what are the ways in which AI can actually help run an E-commerce business? Are the benefits really as great as they are often lauded to be?
Well, let us take a look at the link between AI and E-commerce, and you can decide on the answer yourself!
Better Automation
The first way in which AI and E-commerce come together seamlessly is automation. Repetitive tasks associated with running an E-commerce business can all be placed on the AI. And that’s not even all!
Machine learning means that AI will soon be able to assist in all sorts of tasks related to running a website. For example, right now, constructing new web pages is best done with the assistance of professionals.
However, it will soon be possible to leave even such a complex task up to your AI. They will be able to efficiently construct your website all the while following the latest SEO trends.
This, of course, is not where the link between AI and E-commerce ends. They will also be able to do all the current automation tasks better. Security concerns and similar can be expected to become much less prevalent.
Efficient Data Gathering
Another way in which AI and E-commerce compliment each other is through enhanced data gathering capabilities. Since the inception of E-commerce, must-have tools for business have always included various data gathering software. A lot of time and effort is dedicated to staying on top of various data-hungry tasks.
Market research, customer satisfaction, marketing effectiveness… the list goes on and on. The way AI can help is, of course, through considerably simplifying all of this.
Smart AI, when machine learning finally advances enough, will be able to sift the internet and your own website for all of this data much more easily than any current software. In fact, AI are already quite useful for this particular task. And it can be expected that they will only rapidly get better at it!
Improved Customer Service
With the tech we have access to right now, when discussing CRM and E-commerce, it must be admitted CRM can be a good solution. However, this does not come even close to the full usefulness which AI will be able to offer when it comes to improving customer service. Even right now, chat bots are immensely helpful.
They can handle most common questions which your customers tend to ask. And they are very easily accessible with the simple inclusion of a chat bubble in the bottom of the screen. However, the ‘intelligence’ of advanced AI would make it a breeze to handle much more complex inquiries.
Imagine not having to waste a number of your employee’s time on just sitting around doing customer service! And the usefulness of AI to customers is incredible, too. Virtual assistants which help navigate the site and identify best products would appeal to anyone.
Incredible Demand Forecasting
Naturally, the link between AI and E-commerce does not end here. Just as the usefulness of AI concerning data does not end with collecting it. Currently, data analysis software does exist. However, its autonomous use is very limited.
It can sort out data and present it in a coherent and structured way. But your employees still need to go through it and actually do the analysis. This means that, ultimately, demand forecasting will always be colored by the subjective opinions of whoever is analyzing the data.
AI, on the other hand, do not have such an inherent limitation. Not to mention the fact that they are capable of analyzing data much faster, more thoroughly, and with a smaller error margin. The more advanced the AI get, the more accurate their forecasting will become. And the faster they will get at actually coming to a conclusion, allowing for higher profits.
Optimized Logistics
The analytical powers of AI are not just useful for forecasting demand, either. In fact, software is already being used to optimize the logistics process quite successfully. Warehouse management, delivery routes, placing orders, keeping track of vehicles en-route and predicting their arrival times.
There is already AI, albeit simplistic, used for all these purposes. The experts from MoversTech CRM like to point out how much resources the efficient handling of such tasks saves! And this is only what the current generation of software an AI can do.
The world of logistics will change significantly when AI finally has the capacity to truly monitor all routes and keep all drivers updated on roads they need to avoid, shortcuts they can take, etc. Something that is admittedly already being done to a point, but imperfectly with frequent errors.
Greater Personalization
The final manner in which AI and E-commerce meet beneficially is through offering much greater personalization of services to customers.
Collecting data on your website visitor’s activity and then recommending the most suitable products and pages to them is something every E-commerce business tries to achieve.
However, it can take a lot of time to do this reliably. Which is why such services are currently only available to registered users who have spent some time interacting with the site. Anyone who wants to stay on top of the new era of digital commerce, however, needs to work on improving this process.
Which, of course, is where AI comes in! AI eCommerce software can do this much faster than any regular old software. And as they improve, especially with the inclusion of the previously mentioned virtual assistants, we can expect their efficiency to increase massively.
The Final Consideration
Knowing more about the link between AI and E-commerce, it is hard not to get excited about the potential future holds. The only damper is the fact that we currently do not know how long it will take for AI tech to actually develop enough to allow for some really fun applications. The only thing we can do is patiently wait for that day to come.