Artificial intelligence has taken business and industry by storm for most of 2023. Its rapid growth has dominated marketing headlines, and its popularity as a multifaceted tool for workplace productivity and automation shows no signs of slowing down.
However, not all marketers have fully embraced the adoption of AI as a retail tool or solution to improve the ever-changing realm of customer experience. Instead, it has suffered a reaction that oscillates between AI panic and profit exaltation.
Like it or not, most organizations are being dragged into the use of AI unwillingly. They may recognize the potential of AI to improve customer and employee experiences, but struggle with the challenge of integrating disparate AI technologies. Additionally, there are concerns about how new technologies will impact human creativity and autonomy.
AI is more than just an optional add-on for e-commerce. According to Peter Isaacson, his CMO at call tracking and analytics company Invoca, this is a game changer and can drive significant customer engagement and revenue growth for those who actively adopt it. .
“The 2023 e-commerce landscape saw teams exploring the potential of AI while considering and evaluating the inherent risks associated with technology that is expanding more rapidly than ever before,” he said. told the Times.
Retailers and marketers need to be concerned about the negative consequences of using AI, warns Rob Wilson, founder, principal designer and chief engineer of AI-powered automated conversation platform OneReach.ai Did. Some AI solutions are good at conversation, but have severely limited problem-solving abilities.
“You have to know what you're doing and have the right tools. These kinds of systems are often misused or poorly designed. These are the basics. “It essentially prohibits users from interacting with a human agent, which can be very frustrating, especially when people are trying to solve complex problems,” he told E-Commerce Times. Ta.
In separate interviews, both experts provided insights on how e-commerce adopters can embrace AI without fear.
Real fears about AI safety and security
The fear of being left behind without the benefits of AI is a major concern for some business leaders. The second big concern continues to be how AI handles data. However, that concern is often lost in favor of the revenue gains that AI results can provide.
As 2023 draws to a close, Invoca releases the State of AI in Digital Marketing report, revealing marketers' optimism and fears about AI marketing technologies in 2024. The survey revealed that an astonishing 90% of marketers plan to increase their investment in AI this year. 2024 will be a defining year for marketing AI technology.
In the rush to be on the front lines, there may be an unwarranted confidence in AI skills to justify the move. Almost all (93%) claim expertise or advanced knowledge of marketing AI technology. However, respondents also indicated that lack of knowledge of AI is one of the biggest barriers to adoption.
Despite mixed messages, the overall report showed marketers are ready to embrace AI. It also points to concerns about the high costs of slow adoption of new AI technologies, Isaacson noted.
Fear of AI hinders rapid adoption
Invoca's report found data security to be the biggest impediment to adoption in 2024. Isaacson said companies want to protect their proprietary data, and many he noted that the black-box nature of AI tools does not engender confidence.
“They're going to have a higher level of oversight over what kind of AI is being used in their solutions, where customer data goes and how it's used,” he said.
Isaacson added that 2024 will be pivotal in determining how this sentiment and reality changes. As AI expands its presence in marketing departments, retailers are becoming increasingly open to accepting risks that can lead to increased profits.
Choose long-term success over short-term cost savings
OneReach's Wilson encouraged marketers to focus on leveraging AI to improve e-commerce and CRM effectiveness, rather than ad hoc profiteering. Short-term cost savings don't last.
“The more important action right now is to establish the underlying ecosystem for AI to thrive across the organization. From a marketing perspective, this could include generated content But that’s just one piece of the puzzle,” he advised.
Having conversational AI capabilities as an interface layer on top of existing software and processes will have a far greater impact. Isaacson added that even more important is understanding the reasons behind these behaviors.
For example, are you creating content for the sake of creating content, or do you want to communicate something of value? Marketing team members might want to target a specific demographic, such as middle-aged people who like arthouse movies. Maybe you have an idea for a tailored campaign.
Example of use
This approach allows you to generate sample campaign copy and images, much like a digital assistant would. The challenge, Wilson explained, is to estimate how many people in a customer case fit this description.
He calls this usage an Intelligent Digital Worker (IDW) rather than a digital assistant. Use relational databases to connect data stored in tables and nodes of information that can be discovered from unstructured data such as emails or recorded phone calls.
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AI agents may also scrutinize social media content posted by customers. Marketers may also ask IDW to generate personas within this demographic and perform “user” testing using generative models.
However, this last piece of marketing may not provide reliable information. But he countered that models could be trained to provide useful feedback.
Improve personalization with Gen AI skills
Fear factor aside, marketers should focus on leveraging AI to change human perceptions of product purchases. But to avoid undesirable outcomes, Wilson cautioned that we need to be wary of unintended consequences.
By combining generative AI tools with relational databases, organizations can mine unstructured data such as recorded calls and emails to make connections across departments and datasets. This integration allows you to offer a level of customer personalization previously unimaginable.
“Most of the time, the goal is to anticipate customer needs, and from a customer experience perspective, this seems like a huge accomplishment,” Wilson said.
Of course, there are also many ways in which AI can be used deceptively at various stages of the purchasing process. So if users are unintentionally fooled, marketers need to pivot quickly, he added.
Conversational AI enhances consumer engagement
Conversation intelligence AI can significantly enhance consumer engagement in e-commerce. Invoca's Isaacson has seen firsthand how it enhances a company's revenue stream.
For example, this form of AI cleverly automates and summarizes call logs. It also identifies spoken keywords and phrases, providing additional context and insight.
Isaacson said companies can use these skills to respond to customer interactions. These can greatly enhance customer engagement for both parties.
This approach reinforces what he believes is important for curbing the use of generative AI such as ChatGPT. While AI has many benefits, it is essential to implement thoughtful strategies to ensure it positively contributes to customer engagement, rather than detracting from it or putting your business at risk.
“If left unchecked, this can lead to a poor customer engagement experience, and this is a risk that businesses must take,” he said.
AI can link CX online and offline
Isaacson predicts a shift where teams fully leverage AI to improve the effectiveness of e-commerce and CRM by connecting online and offline customer journeys. As a result, you will be able to automate manual processes and seamlessly integrate first-party data into the systems you already use today.
“AI has the potential to revolutionize e-commerce by uncovering valuable insights from customer conversations that otherwise fall into black holes,” he predicted for 2024.
Isaacson also warned that concerns about AI could lead to missed opportunities as competitors gain an advantage.
“AI allows businesses to deliver personalized experiences that effectively blend the best of both digital and human touch,” he said.
Affects human decision-making processes and autonomy
According to Wilson, conversational AI can simplify customer interactions and reduce friction that most brands are trying to avoid. In a call center scenario, automation can be properly implemented to provide product information and update order status.
He also pointed out that scheduling can be done in an intuitive way that aligns with how people manage their time. For high-level problem solving, human participation allows bots to route calls to human agents.
“Conversational AI can provide agents with an overview of previous calls and suggest possible responses or follow-up information if needed,” Wilson suggested.
This give-and-take approach to AI-powered marketing and CRM operations transforms human decision-making processes and autonomy. To achieve this, AI needs to act as a curator.
“As teammates, intelligent digital workers can summarize large amounts of information and present humans with the best viable options,” Wilson argued.
In an organizational environment, IDW is connected to a company's software solution. The scope of IDW is broad and includes many different forms of knowledge, from traditional databases to unstructured data such as emails and recorded conversations.
“This ecosystem approach allows AI to serve as a trusted ally to humans making critical decisions at every level of the business,” Wilson concluded.
