How AI, Chatbots and Voice Commerce are Affecting Ecommerce
Ten years ago, the concept of AI, chatbots and voice commerce seemed like science fiction to most of us. These days we hear about them on a daily basis. Take the self-driving car, digital assistants (Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Amazon’s Alexa), the vacuum cleaner (Roomba), and transport solution (Uber) are a few examples. They are already working in our lives.
One estimate says that by 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationship with a company without interacting with a human. Should you be concerned if you are an eCommerce merchant? The market competition will be stiff for sure, but the idea behind the technology is to process information and orders faster. AI helps businesses become more efficient and beneficial to their customers.
Layman’s Terms for AI, Chatbots and Voice Commerce
Focusing on building intelligent machines, Artificial intelligence (AI) is the area of computer science that replicates the thought process of humans.
Chatbots are AI systems that interact either through text or voice interface. With voice commerce, consumers can speak to a device rather than typing on a keyboard.
You’ll find examples of chatbots in Facebook Messenger, Slack, and text messages.
They can adapt to any language and dialect depending on the service area. It’s an advantage to eCommerce especially those who handle international requests in a multitude of languages. And it eliminates the dialect and language barriers faced by human agents.
How Does This Technology Affect eCommerce?
AI technology has changed eCommerce and the way we shop online. It affects all areas of eCommerce brand development; including payments, security, logistics, purchasing, inventory management, and fulfillment.
Merchants have tremendous data and analytics at their disposal to instantly promote, upsell, and otherwise market to their customers wherever they are. With artificial intelligence and machine learning, retailers can offer highly accurate customer support without hiring humans.
In this article, we’re looking at AI, Chatbots and Voice Commerce technology and their effect on eCommerce. Let’s look at AI first.
Man Holding Credit Card Using eCommerce AI To Shop Online
AI has improved eCommerce in every area including:
One of the best uses for AI technology has been chatbots. They have enabled retailers to automate the most common questions and responses to help their customers find the right information.
Have you ever called customer service and barely understood what he was saying? It’s one of the main reasons AI-powered “Chatbots” are rapidly replacing human-based call centers. Programmed to answer any question a customer may have; machine learning allows the answer database to grow with every call.
Modern chatbots can adapt to any language including dialects for local service. Other uses for chatbots are:
Just like their human counterparts, chatbots improve over time. There are two significant advantages of chatbots, lower long-term costs, and limitless language capabilities.
It’s just a matter of time until voice commerce is as common as smartphones. Here are some of the ways voice commerce is changing eCommerce:
Of course, voice has its limitations. People buying big-ticket items will want to get close, see it and touch it. But voice will become ubiquitous with people searching from their phones or interactive TVs. With voice activation already showing up on home appliances and shopping lists, it will play a much more significant role in the shopping interface than it does now.
AI has Improved CRM in Every Area.
AI brings a lot to the eCommerce table. For instance, predictive analysis has made it possible for stores to offer shoppers closely related items based on history or current activity. The more history a shopper has with a company, the better the bot can predict and address their needs.
Voice eCommerce SEO teams make the voice systems work easier and safer. We can carry on a conversation with our heads up rather than buried in a keypad. If a shopper abandons her cart, a bot can send a direct reminder that won’t get lost in a spam folder.
With image processing, a shopper can snap a picture of an item (someone wearing a dress, shoes, handbag, etc.), forward it to the store’s bot and get information back about what it is and where they can get it.
Bots and AI keep merchants up to speed on the backend too. Inventory management and fulfillment ensure a quality experience for the shopper and a profitable one for the merchant. Predictive analysis helps match inventory levels with future demand.
In the end, AI enhances both the user experience and improves management controls. Shoppers get what they want just by asking, and retailers can track shopper’s habits to offer targeted goods and services. It’s a win-win for everyone.
To get the most out of AI and all it has to offer, get in touch with Eventide.
References:
https://www.infostretch.com/chatbots-voice-interfaces/
https://uxplanet.org/https-bit-ly-2vpnnsu-2e0c20391078
https://vux.world/the-difference-between-chatbot-and-voice-search-refinements/
1 Comment
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