Have you heard about the major changes in the digital commerce world as of late, in regards to how the influence of AI (artificial intelligence) is affecting just about everything? Omer, the CEO of NeoWize, a business intelligence firm and VTEX partner, was kind enough to do an interview with us, sharing his infinite knowledge discussing the exciting world of AI from his unique and experienced perspective. Considering NeoWize’s great accomplishments in the area of machine learning, and how they’re using this technology to enhance the reach of online businesses, we were eager to hear Omer’s answers regarding some of the most intriguing questions we’ve had on this emerging technology. Continue reading to learn more from the experts!
How do you predict AI will change digital commerce in the next 5 years?
AI in e-commerce is currently making the leap over the “uncanny valley”. It’s making the move from making recommendations that might be slightly off or so obvious that it “doesn’t feel right,” and getting to the point where it can be seamlessly integrated – making the shopping experience better without being felt. That makes a huge difference for customers that just happen to find products that interest them instead of trying to figure out what the recommendation engine is trying to do.
What effect will AI have on the economy as a whole over the next 5 years?
AI has made a huge leap in the past few years. The upcoming years will see multiple industries figuring out how to best utilize the recent advances. In many industries, from medicine to farming, AI will be able to fulfill specific tasks in order to make the jobs of professionals and experts easier. Computers will be able to look at the vast amounts of data available and make suggestions, helping improve efficiency and quality in a wide range of tasks and services.
What are the best ways for retailers to begin making data-driven decisions in their businesses?
In many cases, retailers want to implement very ambitious AI projects immediately and those projects sometimes don’t even get off the ground. If you want to make data-driven decisions within your business, you need to start small. Start collecting the most basic data about your performance: Conversion rates for both products and product categories, cart abandonment rates for different demographics, etc. Don’t do all of this at once: Find a decision that you want to make, decide what data you need for that decision, collect that data and make that decision. Making the transition to a data-driven business can be quite difficult – it’s important to do it in small steps.
What steps/actions can retailers take to make sure they are on top of the latest AI trends and how to use them as a competitive advantage?
Make sure you utilize the best that current technology has to offer: Getting data about users from a variety of sensors: Don’t only learn from a user’s purchases but also when a user hovers their mouse over a product or takes a long time to decide. Personalize everything: Don’t add a “related products” pop-up and call it a day. The full experience of your store should be tailored to every user. Keep improving: AI is changing and better solutions are coming out every year. Keep measuring how well you’re doing and trying out improvements against what you already have.
How can AI help businesses tap into the emotional needs of their clientele while being fully data-based?
Data and data-driven decision making is an important tool when assessing the emotional needs of users. While emotions are an inherently subjective matter, their effects, especially the total effect over many people – can be measured. And in order to know if your current ads/branding are effective – they should be measured.
What AI applications will become mainstream in digital commerce in 2017?
I think we’re currently in the process of making the personalized experience more complete. Most stores today have specific, personalized banners or widgets. The next revolution is making the full store personalized. The experience that different customers get doesn’t have to be similar at all. There’s no reason that we can’t make sure that every single product a shopper sees was specifically chosen to match their tastes and preferences.
Do you have any predictions about AI applications in different aspects of the digital commerce business that may completely change operations?
AI will be increasingly used to change many different fields. One important aspect that is likely to make a huge difference in ecommerce is helping stores, brands or businesses decide which products to get. There’s a lot of data from existing customers that can help you know which products you’re missing or what your customers would be interested in. I believe that decisions about upcoming products will become much more data-driven in the next few years.
And that concludes our discussion with NeoWize on the upcoming trends we should expect to see in how AI continues to shape and change our digital world. It’s incredible how the retail world is evolving at such a rapid pace through the addition of AI, and it will certainly be intriguing to see how this begins to affect and influence other industries. We are incredibly grateful to the guys over NeoWize for taking the time to answer our inquiries, and really look forward to seeing what they accomplish in the near future.
About NeoWize NeoWize is an AI company specializing in personalization for e-commerce. They analyze user behavior, from mouse hovers to checkouts, to instantly personalize every customer’s experience. They are a Y-Combinator company and are trusted by over 4,000 retailers.
