AI is everywhere these days. No matter where you look, from our phones to our TVs and, of course, all over the internet. Heck, even our microwaves will one day be powered by AI; it’s sooner than you’d think. In a pre-COVID world, AI was always seen as this thing that would spell doom for us all. The concept of a maleficent, domineering threat stemming from man’s hubris can be traced back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth in today’s age. 

The AI we use daily is more placated than Stanley Kubrick’s HAL 9000. The AI we use today has more in common with physical tools used in the Industrial Revolution than with the whims of science fiction. In around 5 years, we’ve even used it to explore new frontiers. And there is no greater frontier to explore than online commerce. 

So, with that in mind, let’s explore the best AI tools for online business and shopping. 

What does AI in e-commerce mean?

AI in e-commerce is all about one thing: algorithms. Suppose you’ve ever browsed a website’s recommended section. In that case, you’ll probably know that these items are being brought to you not by the sellers themselves, but by an algorithm carefully constructed to get you any items that may pique your interest based on previously bought purchases. AI is also similar to how the algorithm works, the main difference being that AI is much more intelligent. 

Algorithms are strictly bound to a series of code, rules, and statements to prevent them from bugging out. They do not think; they only act. AI, on the other hand, simultaneously thinks and acts to create the most efficient and desirable experience for its client. 

This becomes much more important in e-commerce. After all, AI is geared towards thinking about desired items based on not just past purchase history but also other subsets of data, such as the customer’s wish list, reviews, and even how long they’ve lingered on a store page hoping that they could buy that really nice dress but stopping themselves short because it’s too expensive. AI remembers every little detail and catalogs it for the future. 

Why would a business want to use AI for their e-commerce needs?

Arjun Narayan, CEO of SalesDuo said, the main way AI is to be used by businesses is divided into 3 distinct aspects: automation, attraction, and retention. Because AI is essentially a robot, it can achieve tasks and solve problems with as little human intervention as possible. If a business needs to send an email or would like something to automate its loyalty program, AI is there for them. It also acts as an automated guide in funneling customers to the exact pages they would want to go, like through a service chatbot that can act similarly to an online “retail” clerk. 

In terms of attraction, AI is used to advertise efficiently. For example, a business has just gotten a customer to visit their website. The business doesn’t know exactly where the customer wants to go or what their tastes are. In retail, the easy solution is to send a clerk and ask the customer what they’re looking for, and from there, guide them while offering some advertising for another product in the same vicinity. But AI is different because it already knows about the customer due to data collection; it knows exactly what to recommend to them, said Simon Brisk, Cofounder of Click Intelligence. Therefore, it can advertise the exact type of products they would be interested in from the store’s front page in a completely seamless manner. However, it should be noted that as of the time of writing, only 15% of retailers have implemented personalization as part of their e-commerce strategy.

Finally and most importantly, AI is highly adept at retaining people on a specific website. When a website ensures its marketing is highly targeted and personalized to its demographic, it can easily increase retention rates. AI not only automates the process of personalization but also enhances it to such an extent that it’s the most critical component of digital marketing in the modern age. AI can also ensure that abandoned cart inquiries are sent and followed up on in time so that the business does not lose sales. 

These factors are being brought up so that there’s an understanding of what exactly AI tools need to achieve to be labelled the best in e-commerce marketing.

The best e-commerce tools for businesses:

1. ChatGPT. As of the time of writing, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the number one tool for e-commerce marketing. For starters, ChatGPT is the AI with the largest database amongst any AI tool on the market, and it’s no competition. Due to its stellar understanding of language, ChatGPT knows exactly what to write and therefore can be used to generate the exact keywords one would need for their brand’s products. ChatGPT is also good at proofreading and a great tool if you need to craft a creative digital story for your brand. To add to this, ChatGPT is free on the lowest level, and its pricing tiers are relatively cheap. No business should overlook the importance of ChatGPT. 
2. Shopify. Shopify is basically, at its core, an e-commerce platform to host your brand and business. Where it becomes important to businesses is in its AI suite of tools called Shopify Magic. Shopify Magic is an AI assistant that allows a store owner to more easily curate content and their business accordingly. It also gives them an easy avenue to summarize user reviews and better understand what people are saying about their product. Shopify Magic also allows businesses to edit their product images on the fly. Generally speaking, Shopify Magic is good for small, bite-sized edits that a business would want to make and is not a tool meant to be underestimated. 
3. Salesforce Einstein. Salesforce Einstein is a customer relations management (CRM) tool for e-commerce that allows businesses to automate tasks and make the right decisions when it comes to sales. Its AI can turn customer data into actual insights that businesses can act upon. It also takes pre-existing products and adds supplementary products to the list to convince customers to buy more. 
4. Competera. If a business needs an AI tool to understand the competition, it doesn’t get any better than Competera. This bot cleverly analyzes real-time market changes based on the competition and adjusts prices accordingly. It also analyzes current business trends to give an edge in the market. It also has the relevant features embedded in such a way that it goes through the proper steps before making a decision and any changes.
5. Uxify Navigation AI. This navigation tool is best used in tandem with the overall UX of a website. It’s a handy bot that predicts the final destination of the user and guides them there by pre-loading pages. The prediction process can be equated to something like magic, even though for the most part it’s simply guessing based off of large data sets and models. 

To new frontiers

Despite all the tools mentioned above being something quite relevant to today and the future, AI itself is an ever-evolving and new technology. We don’t know exactly where it will go or how it will change our lives. We can only hope it’ll do so for the better, of course. But it is a given that in its current state it has transformed the landscape of e-commerce completely. 

AI has given the businesses the power to make better, more efficient decisions. It’s allowed for shoppers to do less thinking and more shopping. Companies that embrace these technologies will only have more to gain and maintain a more competitive edge than those that don’t. So if you’re an e-commerce business looking for some tools to try, take a peek at the ones listed above.

FAQs

1. Could AI ever be used by users to perform e-commerce tasks?

As it currently stands, no. AI is only really good at making searches convenient on the user’s end. Outside of that, there exists no software at present that could be used for the sole benefit of the user.

2. Could we see the rise of websites and e-commerce stores made solely by AI?

Yes, we definitely could. However, the current state of the e-commerce landscape doesn’t allow for such a thing to be sustainable. This is mainly because AI-generated stores are seen less as a practical business and more so as something that only exists to funnel traffic. For this reason, Google is doing its best to shut these places down. 

3. What kind of innovations can we expect in the future with AI?

As of right now, the future is unknown to us. A lot of companies are playing catch-up in terms of incorporating AI technologies, so until a majority do it, it’s very hard to see any real form of innovation happening.