AI (Artificial Intelligence) is rapidly becoming the rule in business, not the exception. We’ve been reporting on this trend, watching the rapid adoption of this technology, and it now seems safe to say:
AI is here to stay.
Not that it ever wasn’t; we knew this day would come. Now that it has, however, it’s time to make another astute observation:
If you’re not using AI in your business yet, you should be.
Specifically if you’re a large seller it would be wise to start bringing that future closer to the present, as quickly as possible. Not just to ride the wave, but to reap the very real rewards of this amazing new technology.
The Future Is Now: AI for Ecommerce
AI is transforming ecommerce at a rapid clip. Objections to adoption of AI at this stage could be distilled down to two:
- “The benefits won’t offset what it takes to implement.”
- “I have no idea where to start.”
For the first objection we would say – very politely, of course, and with the utmost respect for the amazing things you’ve accomplished – that’s silly.
This article will explain why.
For the second, let us direct you to one of our earlier articles:
RELATED: AI in Business: How To Find the Right Tools to Make Selling on Amazon Easier
You’ll also note we now have an entire new section of our blog dedicated to AI & Automation. In addition to the above article, in that section you’ll find lots more insight on the AI revolution and how to make it work for you.
Now, to the main thrust of this article.
How is generative AI transforming ecommerce for large sellers?
Generating Optimized Content
“Generative” is the root word in the latest version of AI, as that’s how it works: it generates outputs from a massive trove of data. In that sense it’s not truly “Intelligent”, as it’s really only regurgitating information, but dang does it do it well. So well you’d swear it was thinking like a person.
For that reason one of generative AI’s best uses is in the generation and optimization of written and visual content. Early demonstrations of that were where the world first sat up and took notice. From there we began to put it into practical use. Once that “proof of concept” bore out, it wasn’t long before businesses everywhere began making generative AI part of their operation.
This same technology is being used for listings.
How to do that?
Product description generators like Jasper help you efficiently create product listings, improving conversions by showcasing products attractively.
And the big news, Amazon itself is making new generative AI capabilities available to sellers to simplify the process, right in Seller Central. At the recent Amazon Accelerate event Amazon showcased this new feature.
In fact, some users are already experimenting with it.
RELATED: Amazon Accelerate: Trends and Predictions for Ecommerce from the Annual Sellers Event
Automating Customer Service
For sellers, the idea of having an automated human-like presence to help customers is huge. Generative AI makes it possible.
There are now ways to add this to your support model. SecondBrain and LivePerson are but two examples.
- SecondBrain: An AI platform that enables users to create ChatGPT-like bots with specialized knowledge about your business.
- LivePerson: Designed to automate authentic, ongoing conversations.
With each of these, and with similar offerings, you can make your own chatbot using content from web pages, PDFs, text docs and more.
The beauty is that, if you have your own site, you can embed your newly trained chatbot to provide real-time customer support. Fully automated.
Meaning you can focus on expansion while your AI helpers help customers.
(Let us just say, if you’re an agency or an aggregator running multiple online shops, this sort of thing can be especially useful.)
Generative Design for Branding & Marketing
In the same way generative AI can provide and optimize text, it can help you with your branding and marketing.
Two examples in that arena are Looka and the popular DALL-E.
- Looka: An AI-powered platform designed to help you craft a logo and build a brand.
- DALL-E2: An AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.
With the help of tools like these you’re able to efficiently and effectively build recognizable brand identity.
Forecasting Demand
Delayed inventory or inaccurate shipments negatively impact your profit and upset customers. Although 80 to 90 percent of supply chain planning can be automated, most sellers still rely on manual forecasting.
Instead of using traditional forecasting methods, AI demand forecasting lets large sellers process and analyze data much faster, avoid overstocking (or perhaps worse, understocking) and capture more sales.
Avoid costly stockouts and overstock with tools like SoStocked from Carbon6.
RELATED: The 5 Biggest Amazon Inventory Mistakes FBA Sellers Make & How to Fix Them
Automated Bid Management
Managing your advertising bids across thousands of keywords is virtually impossible for one seller. Even with a team of live human VAs (Virtual Assistants) this time can be much better spent.
Automating your bid management is yet one more way variations of AI can be brought to bear to make your Amazon business more efficient and more profitable.
Boost your advertising ROI by saving time with automated campaigns. Tools like Carbon6's PPC Entourage enhance communication and automation between ad types, including Sponsored Product, SBVs, and more.
AI for Ecommerce: Not Just a Trend
These are but a few samples of how AI can be brought to bear to make your online retail business more profitable. Still hesitant? Pick one AI tool or solution and try it. Give it a test run and see how it works.
An easy one, which is in your Seller Central right now, would be using AI to generate listing info. Under Product Info and Generate Listing Content in your Seller Central you can try this one now.
See what you think.
Indulge us for one last reference?
Amazon Bedrock.
Amazon Bedrock is an offering from Amazon that has been gaining traction. Using Bedrock customers can create AI agents, enabling generative AI to complete tasks in just a few clicks. With Bedrock you automate complex tasks and deliver customized, up-to-date answers for your applications and more, all based on your proprietary data.
We wrote an article on that, too:
RELATED: What Is Amazon Bedrock? The Good, the Bad, and the Profitable of the New Amazon AI Toolkit
In conclusion, it will probably never be too late to start using AI in your business (eventually everyone will be), but it will also never be too soon.
The time is now. The future is now.
Generative AI has the power to transform your ecommerce business. Start making it part of your operations today.