3 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Changing the eCommerce Industry
Artificial intelligence has been changing a number of industries for some time. It's often characterized as something futuristic, but in the world of eCommerce it's a lot subtler. Companies all over the industry are starting to benefit from the coming of artificial intelligence, even if they don't yet know it.
This article is going to discuss three of the ways in which the industry is being transformed by this new innovation.
The Change in Search
eCommerce is one of the largest industries in the world. With so much competition, you need to make sure people can actually find you. It's all in the keyword. Previously, it was almost a glitch whereby if a customer didn't enter the right keyword they would get a completely different set of results.
Search engines have been improving their offerings for years through introducing contextual keywords. If someone read a search string they would be able to tell what someone wants. However, search engines aren't able to take into account context, until now.
Artificial intelligence will learn to understand the nuances of language that humans would understand. This is about allowing people to be found without feeling like they have to stuff lots of awkward keywords into their web content. Google are leading the way, and we can see this because their results have become more relevant over the years.
eCommerce platforms will be able to take advantage of this because customers will simply have to express their desire and they will receive the most relevant stores. For the average store, this is going to lead to more relevant traffic. The people visiting their sites are more likely to buy.
Personal Shoppers for Every Customer
The key to being successful in eCommerce is to provide a personalized experience for every customer. People are not going to spend a long period of time trying to find what they want. They'll go elsewhere. Without coming up with a human salesperson, there's nothing you can do to stop that.
Artificial intelligence is coming to fulfill this need. Customers will be able to take advantage of personal shopping assistants. They will be controlled by artificial intelligence, and it's only going to get better as time has gone on.
The most popular innovation in this niche is Siri. The creators of Siri created Son of Siri. The makers claim this is the next generation of artificial intelligence. It will be able to handle complex tasks and take on multiple projects at the same time. This is closely connected with the increasing proficiency of voice control.
So why is this beneficial for stores?
The CEO of Chummy Tees claims that, "Personalization is what our customers are searching for. They want to feel like the entire store is geared towards their needs. The quicker they can find exactly what they want the more likely they are to make a purchase."
It also has to be said this innovation will reduce the need for human operators, which will save on costs and reduce the likelihood of human error.
Knowing What Customers Want Before They Do
Artificial intelligence will be able to look back at your search history, your actions, and your previous purchases. It can mix this information together to automatically program your shopping experience according to what you want. eCommerce stores will find this to be a huge advantage, and it's already here.
Amazon is one platform that has managed to benefit from this. They already use your previous purchases to put the products you like in front of your face. Google have also done this with their search results. It's all about providing more informed responses.
Understanding the behavior of consumers to tailor the shopping experience is a main priority for eCommerce stores, and artificial intelligence is putting that power in their hands for the first time.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence is set to be a multi-trillion-dollar industry. It's the future of retail and the future of selling online. It's only going to become better and more intelligent as technology improves. This is an exciting time to be involved in eCommerce.
What do you think is the biggest innovation put forward by eCommerce?
