How AI is Influencing E-commerce

September 29, 2017 by Paul Byrne


It’s no secret that artificial intelligence is part of the newest wave of technological advances. This feature can create a seamless user experience on mobile, as well as generate new options for the customer. This revolutionized way of shopping online can be tricky. There are several advantages to integrating this tool with your site. Utilizing AI technology gives the e-commerce site the opportunity to increase orders by providing every option available. When the customer uses voice command, the SEO on the site should be customized. This will not leave out any possible product options for the customer. By creating more recommendations for the user, this benefits both the consumer and the e-tailer.

The benefits of AI embedded on an e-commerce site:

Eliminates clicks in customer journey

By letting customers shop how they want on your website, this can create more purchase orders, and develop a seamless customer experience. Customers should be able to build a cart and checkout in less time.

Allows website to provide more suggestions for the customer

With a wide range of keyword search terms embedded on the site, more options can be available when using voice search. Having more options will benefit the ecommerce site, since it will provide more product options for the customer to see. This could also be another way to up-sell on the site.

Ability to check account information

With the Magento 2 AI extension, consumers can check their order status and even place orders.

Possible headaches for using AI for e-commerce:

Unable to track customer touch points

As your customer navigates through your website searching for products using voice commands, this limits the amount of data that can be tracked.Online retailers are going to miss out on key data measurements if this .

In-accurate phrases

Artificial intelligence is sophisticated enough to present options to the user, but it lacks accuracy of what the user commands. Voice command knows most vocabulary terms, but isn’t as intelligent as a regular search engine.

Voice commands are not as customizable

When searching for a specific item on the site, users may experience pain points. This can lead to frustration and cause site abandonment rates to sky-rocket.

Time

This could be viewed as an advantage, or a drawback. While voice command search is supposed to save time, if the command is read incorrectly, this increases time used.

AI can be costly

While there is the Chloe AI extension offered through Magento 2, it can be pricey.  This extension may not seem that expensive, but without knowing the functionality, it could be a risk. There’s also the customization route of in-house development, but this could be even more costly.

If time and money is being invested in AI, the goal is to get the most out of it.  To get consumers to use this feature, the design of the search bar should include similar features to Siri and Alexa. This way, customers will sense familiarity and are more likely to use the site’s AI to make purchases.

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