Four Ways Artificial Intelligence is Changing E-Commerce

For all the bad people say about artificial intelligence; how it’s putting people out of work; many believe that it’s doing the jobs that we don’t want to do anyway. It does those jobs well, quietly, and is often taken for-granted.

Today, we can find AI in just about every industry, company, and type of business. While it is artificial, the technology has brought a personal touch to how people shop and do business. E-commerce AI has changed the way that the buying and selling process works, for the better.

How AI in E-Commerce Makes Things Better

1. Chatbots
There’s no way to discuss AI in e-commerce without first discussing chatbots. These are chat boxes on home pages of mobile applications and w-commerce websites where computers are programmed to talk to customers in a friendly and personalized way. These chatbots allow people to find the right products for them, check product availability, compare products, and help them to make payments. Chatbots can also be used to connect customers with the proper service personnel if they have questions or complaints. Buyers are able to “talk” to the machines using text and voice and, on occasion, pictures. Chatbots allow companies to bring a personal touch to their customers without having to employ manual labor.

2. Predictive Sales
Artificial intelligence makes it possible to undertake deep learning, predictive analysis, and statistical programming. Companies make use of this to learn more about how their customers behave. Popular Netflix original TV show House of Cards was created by the use of these learning techniques, which were applied to datasets of the most-watched TV shows. Predictive sales have also helped to manage warehouse inventories, ensuring that companies are well-stocked, especially with products that are in high demand.

3. Recommendation Engines
Many retail companies, such as Amazon, use recommendation engines to identify a target audience for a product. AI algorithms use the recent search history of potential customers to record important information on the products being looked for. Based on the results of the algorithm, the search engine employing the algorithms provides appropriate recommendations and lists them on a personal dashboard to help people find products they would likely enjoy.

4. Warehouse Automation
Properly maintaining and managing warehouses is one of the most important parts of the e-commerce industry, especially when determining sales trends. Beijing-based company JD.com teamed up with Siasun Robot and Automation Co Ltd. to employ robots to improve warehouse processes like packaging, sorting, and categorizing. The efficiency and speed of those sorting mechanisms dramatically improved the delivery schedule for those products.

While AI has only impacted e-commerce in a limited number of ways, the impact and scalability of AI is expected to increase. That increase will allow for companies to find better prospects, establish better relationships, boost sales, and bridge the gap between personalization and privacy.