Use Cases for AI in E-Commerce

Since utilizing generative AI for summarizing customer reviews, Amazon has advanced its AI integration with the launch of an AI-powered shopping assistant in early 2024. This tool allows customers to interact and inquire about products using advanced AI technology, marking a significant step in Amazon’s foray into the highly competitive AI domain.

On product pages, the “Looking for specific info?” section, which previously utilized customer reviews and questions for searching and allowed users to submit new queries for seller or customer responses, now operates with AI assistance on the iPhone/Android app. This AI feature utilizes product details and reviews to provide AI-generated answers to a wide range of possible questions.

Image credit: Marketplace Pulse.

For instance, when considering a pair of wireless headphones, customers might ask questions like “Do these headphones have noise-cancellation features?” or “How long does the battery last on a single charge?” or even “Are they comfortable for long periods of use?” The AI responds with a specific text answer to each question, aiming to condense the information from individual reviews into a summary that addresses the features most relevant to the shopper.

Amazon’s AI assistant, currently limited to handling one product at a time without comparing or suggesting alternatives, lacks features like adding items to carts or providing historical pricing. In its experimental phase, it’s a bit overshadowed by Amazon’s myriad features. Future updates promise significant improvements, including the ability to make purchases or add items to wish lists, and an expanded scope covering Amazon’s entire catalog, potentially marking a major shift in its capabilities.

Ebay also has developed an AI-powered tool, known as the “magical listing” tool, intended to assist sellers in creating detailed product descriptions more efficiently. This tool is particularly useful for new sellers, helping them overcome initial challenges associated with crafting competitive listings online. The primary purpose of these AI assistants is to simplify the listing process, especially for those who are uncertain about how to start.

In its business strategy, eBay is increasingly incorporating AI technologies. The specific timeline for the development of the magical listing tool has not been disclosed, but its earlier version allowed sellers to generate listing titles, categorize their items, and use AI to create product descriptions.

Image credit: eBay.

Additionally, eBay has launched an image-based version of this tool. By leveraging AI, it can produce detailed product descriptions from a single photograph. The user experience is straightforward: taking a photo triggers the AI to generate key information such as titles, descriptions, release dates, and sub-categories, and it can also suggest pricing and shipping costs.

For the time being, this new tool is only available to iOS users through the eBay app, but there are plans to expand its availability. The previous version of this tool, which used user-input titles to create product descriptions, was well-received, as indicated by eBay’s data: 30% of U.S. sellers on the app engaged with it daily, and a majority preferred the AI-generated descriptions.

Image credit: Lengow.

Dynamic pricing, enhanced by AI, enables real-time adjustments to prices and offerings, considering user behavior, global market trends, and competitive landscapes. AI empowers multichannel retailers with flexible price structuring across various sales channels, allowing for intelligent discounting in response to demand spikes on platforms like Amazon. Additionally, AI supports assortment intelligence, optimizing product variety and selection based on data-driven insights into market trends and competitors. This approach ensures that retailers can adapt their selection and maintain competitive pricing.

Integrating Netrivals into this framework elevates dynamic pricing by providing advanced market and competitor analysis, ensuring sellers can optimally adjust prices and offerings to stay ahead in their markets. As Yannick den Boer from Productpine, the sustainable D2C marketplace, puts it about his experience with Netrivals: “Netrivals has automated tedious manual work for us so we can focus on our core competencies. We saw results from the beginning and can no longer imagine working without it.”

Shopify Magic is a collection of free AI-enabled features integrated into Shopify’s products and workflows, designed to help users start, run, and grow their online businesses more efficiently. It utilizes advanced AI technology for personalized support in store building, marketing, customer support, and back-office management. Key features include automatic text generation using Large Language Models (LLMs) for creating product descriptions, email subject lines, and more. Shopify Magic also includes Sidekick, an AI commerce assistant for personalized task assistance, and app review summaries for quicker app selection in the Shopify App Store.

Dropshipping businesses can benefit from this Shopify AI experience. Based on feedback from numerous CEOs, Co-Founders, and Directors, Shopify Magic has significantly streamlined business operations. It automates tasks like generating product descriptions and managing inventory, making processes more efficient.