Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve heard of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it’s revolutionising how businesses serve their customers. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2020 AI will be a top five investment priority for more than 20% of CIOs.
Not convinced? Here are some more mind-blowing statistics about artificial intelligence:
- Gartner predicts that by 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed without human interaction.
- By 2018, 45% of the fastest-growing companies will “employ” more virtual assistants and smart machines, than people.
- Constellation Research estimates that by 2025, the AI market will surpass $100 billion.
AI-powered technologies are expected to replace tasks reserved for human sales professionals and merchandisers. It won’t replace humans 100%, but it will speed up transactions and improve the experiences of online shoppers.
So, should you jump into the trend and leverage AI technology? In this article, we’ll discuss the three reasons why you need to take the leap.
AI Enables Personalised Product Recommendations
For the past year, I bet you’ve seen ecommerce websites where the product recommendations you receive, are based on the products that you’ve previously bought or searched. Make no mistake: These convenient recommendations are made possible through the help of AI.
With machine learning algorithms, AI has helped ecommerce websites deliver data-backed search results that are in-line with a customer’s past and present behaviour.
AI Enables Fast and Efficient Consumer Experiences
Many brands have used chatbots through messaging apps, like Messenger. These chatbots function as sales agents, who entertain consumer questions and provide product recommendations.
For instance, eBay has created a virtual personal shopping assistant called Shopbot. All consumers need to do is let the bot know what they’re shopping for, it will then ask relevant questions to narrow-down the search.
Clothing brand Aerie by American Eagle Outfitters has also developed chatbots for the Kik messaging app. Similar to eBay, Aerie’s chatbot asks what you’re looking for, followed by a series of questions to help narrow down the search. What sets it apart; however, is its ability to communicate with millennials via a millennial “voice.” It also has a “this” or “that” option to help you pick the one you love the most.
These examples show how conversations with AI are rapidly changing our shopping experience. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2018, 30% of our interactions with technology will be through “conversations” with smart machines.
AI Can Conduct Predictive Analytics
Another amazing thing about AI is its ability to conduct predictive analytics. With AI, marketers will be able to predict the number of digital interactions that must be sent before a specific customer makes a purchase. It can then create segment these customers and group them, according to the customer journey that will entice them to make a purchase.
Predictive analytics can also determine the products which need to be discounted, and which ones will be sold out with or without sales or promos.
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In summary, its certain that AI will change the ecommerce landscape in the upcoming year. They will make customer experiences faster and more efficient. But the question is: Is your business ready for AI in 2018?
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