AI for eCommerce: Putting AI to Work to Sell Products

Are you looking to leverage AI to boost your eCommerce sales? Want to know how to apply AI to your business?

In this article, we explore how to employ AI in an online business.

The Power of AI and Personalization in eCommerce

In the rapidly evolving eCommerce landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizes how businesses connect with customers and optimize their operations.

One of the most significant impacts of AI for eCommerce is its ability to deliver highly personalized experiences based on customer data. Gai illustrates this with a futuristic scenario:

“Imagine one day in the future, you step outside of your door to pick up a package, and there's a drone that flies out to you and drops off a package in front of you, and you have never touched any type of shopping app to order it. You didn't go to Amazon to get it. You didn't go to any type of .com. The company knew what to send you because it knows you so well.”

While this may sound like science fiction, we're closer to this reality than many people realize. 

This level of personalization is made possible by AI's ability to analyze vast amounts of data from customer interactions, including:

• Clicks
• Impressions
• Conversions
• Add-to-cart actions

By creating detailed consumer profiles, eCommerce platforms can predict customer needs and wants with increasing accuracy.

AI can also be used to enhance internal processes and decision-making.

For example, eCommerce strategist and consultant Sharon Gai uses AI in her business via a custom GPT model trained on her presentation materials. This AI assistant helps her:

• Prepare for speaking engagements by recalling relevant information from past presentations
• Suggest improvements for upcoming talks based on audience demographics and industry specifics
• Quickly access and adapt content from her extensive library of decks and scripts

But we're here to help you improve your eCommerce. Ready?

#1: Before You Use AI-Powered Tools: The eCommerce Equation

To understand and optimize your online retail performance, you can use the “eCommerce equation.” The equation is simple to apply:

GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) = Traffic x AOV (Average Order Value) x Conversion Rate

This equation helps businesses focus on critical areas where AI can make a significant impact on your results:

1. Traffic: Increasing the number of visitors to your site
2. AOV: Encouraging customers to spend more per order
3. Conversion Rate: Improving the percentage of visitors who make a purchase

Gai recommends examining any AI tools and optimizations you're considering through the lens of this equation and asking how incorporating them could impact these core metrics.

#2: AI-Powered Tools to Improve Your eCommerce Results

Several AI-powered tools are reshaping the eCommerce landscape. Here are six types to consider.

AI-Powered Email Marketing

Platforms like MailChimp and Movable Ink use AI to:

1. Segment customers based on behavior and preferences
2. Personalize email content based on the customer's journey
3. Adjust messaging for different stages (e.g., abandoned cart, frequent browser, new customer)

Gai notes that even small businesses can access these tools, with some platforms offering starter plans for as low as $13 per month.

AI-Powered Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Tools like Finn by Interplay offer AI-powered chatbots that:

• Guide customers through the purchasing process
• Suggest complementary products to increase AOV
• Provide personalized recommendations based on customer preferences

Gai explains, “If there's somebody on the site guiding you, talking to you, or figuring out this purchasing process with you, you are more likely to buy more because this person, this bot, will always be asking you, so you just got this tent, do you need this outdoor cooker, these waterproof shoes, or this type of very sturdy mug to go with it?”

AI-Powered Visual Search and Optimization

Amazon is experimenting with AI-driven product photo selection:

• Merchants upload multiple product images (e.g., product on white background, model holding product, product in use)
• AI tests different images to see which drives higher conversion rates
• The system can automatically suggest or change the main product image based on performance

AI-Powered Personalized Live Streaming

In China, AI is being used to create personalized live-streaming experiences:

• AI-powered avatar streamers can be customized to resemble the target audience
• These avatars can be programmed to appeal to specific demographics, increasing relatability and potential sales

Gai provides an example: “If I'm selling sunscreen, for instance, and I have this streamer who's, I don't know, 60 years old, he's a male, he lives in Costa Rica, and he's selling me sunscreen… that sale will probably be a bit less likely to happen versus if the live streamer that was selling me this product was somebody that's around my age range, kind of looks like me, Asian, located in a large city, talking about the things that I would relate to.”

AI-Powered Sales Engagement

Apollo.io is an AI-driven platform that enhances sales processes and customer outreach, which is particularly valuable for B2B eCommerce:

• Crafting AI-Generated, personalized outreach messages.
• Gathering and analyzing vast amounts of data about potential customers, providing sales teams with rich, actionable insights.
• Create and optimize personlized email sequences based on customer behavior and preferences.
• Predictive lead scoring
• Analyzes campaign performance and suggests improvements.

Gai highlights the efficiency gains: “Sometimes we want to be perfectionists, and we want every T crossed, every I dotted. And we, or at least I, have sat for a long time and written out this very short email message, but I just took so long doing it. And now, you can use an AI tool to write it for you.”

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

As more users turn to AI-powered “answer engines” like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity for information, a new form of optimization is emerging: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). This involves tailoring your content to appear in AI-generated responses, similar to traditional SEO for search engines.

Gai notes that platforms like Perplexity are beginning to explore monetization through ads, potentially creating new opportunities for businesses to reach customers through AI-powered search and recommendation systems. She suggests understanding and optimizing for these new platforms will be crucial for future eCommerce success.

#3: How to Implement AI-Powered Solutions in Your Business

Gai suggests using a matrix inspired by the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which AI solutions to prioritize. This approach helps businesses evaluate potential AI implementations based on their impact and the effort required:

1. High Impact, Low Effort: Prioritize these “low-hanging fruit” solutions
2. High Impact, High Effort: Invest in these for long-term gains
3. Low Impact, Low Effort: Consider implementing if resources allow
4. Low Impact, High Effort: Avoid or deprioritize these options

Gai emphasizes the importance of focusing on initiatives that will significantly impact your GMV, even if they require more effort.

#4: Measuring the Success of AI Implementation

When implementing AI solutions, tracking performance using quantitative metrics is crucial. Gai recommends:

• Comparing your GMV, traffic, AOV, and conversion rates before and after implementation
• Considering customer satisfaction metrics like NPS scores, ratings, and reviews
• Evaluating employee satisfaction, as AI can often streamline processes and improve work experiences

While there's no universal benchmark for success, Gai emphasizes the importance of looking at the overall impact on your business, not just individual metrics.

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Facebook and @Mike_Stelzner on X.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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