Before ecommerce became popular, companies and business owners used to talk to customers through phone calls and email, and it took longer to send responses to eager customers. Not only did these methods take longer, they also were not personal and sometimes customers were misinterpreted. Nowadays, AI shopping assistants have replaced email and phone calls. These chatbots are swift in response 24/7 on the clock and attend personally to customers.
Since 2019, automated chatbots have seen a 92% increase in usage, and according to statistics, in 2024, it is expected that global spending on retail through AI shopping assistants will hit $142 billion. This is to show how increasingly valuable these virtual shopping assistants have become in the ecommerce industry. These automated chatbots are necessary because they personalize the shopping experience leading to more sales and a boost in revenue. In this guide, we'll take you through everything you need about AI shopping assistants, their benefits, and how to create one for your ecommerce website.
Understanding AI Shopping Assistants
The online marketplace demands keeping customers engaged and satisfied for success. You can become an A-list brand just by using interactive virtual assistants for your ecommerce business. These virtual experts transform the way shoppers interact with your brand. So, what exactly are they? AI shopping assistants are like your personal shopping buddy that you can chat with online. They leverage various AI techniques such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and data analytics to help customers find what they are looking for, suggest products they like, and answer any questions they ask while shopping.
You can interact with them through chat, voice commands, or even virtual avatars, making the shopping experience smoother and more personalized. Using AI shopping assistants is a win for both ecommerce businesses and their customers. It’s fast for customers to find products on the site, suggesting and selling products to help boost the website's revenue.
The Evolution of Virtual Shopping Assistants
For a long time, we've used automated systems in our daily tasks, like phone menus or automatic replies on messaging apps. However, these systems could only give set responses to certain questions. They were so rigid that they often couldn't understand different ways of asking or the details of what people said. That all changed with the arrival of interactive virtual assistants. The AI era brought a new wave of virtual assistants that use different programming languages. Natural Language Processing (NLP) empowered chatbots to understand the differences in human language. Machine learning algorithms began analyzing user data, allowing them to personalize recommendations and offer more relevant assistance.
When a customer buys a pair of glasses, these shopping assistants can recommend similar products or suggest matching wristwatches. The virtual shopping assistant has undergone a remarkable transformation, growing from interactive virtual response systems to WhatsApp auto-replies. Presently, virtual assistants for ecommerce can answer complex questions, guide users through product searches, and even handle basic order-processing tasks. This is why AI shopping assistants are becoming an important aspect of online shopping.
Types of Virtual Shopping Assistants
Virtual shopping assistants come in various types, each serving specific purposes in the retail industry. Here are some common types and their use cases:
- Chatbots
These are the most common virtual shopping assistants. Found on websites and messaging apps, they help customers find products, answer questions, and even process orders. - Voice Assistants
Devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri have brought voice-based virtual shopping to the mainstream. You can use voice commands to search for products, and get recommendations. - Augmented Reality (AR) Tools
If you want to see how products look in your space before buying, an AR shopping assistant is the tool. They allow customers to visualize products in their environment before making a purchase. For example, furniture retailers use AR to let customers see how a piece of furniture would look in their home. - Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences
VR takes you into a whole new virtual world where you can explore stores and products like you're really there, letting you see things from every angle before you make a decision. Users can upload a photo or use their camera to find similar items. This technology is popular in the fashion industry, where customers often look for specific styles or items.
How AI Shopping Assistants Work
AI shopping assistants use artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand and respond to customer inquiries. When a customer types a question or speaks a command, the assistant processes this input using natural language processing (NLP). NLP helps the assistant understand human language, even if it’s conversational or includes slang.
Once the assistant understands the request, it searches through some form of data to find the best response or recommendation. This data can include product descriptions, customer reviews, and inventory information. For instance,Bodt.io gathers a lot of data, including user behavior (browsing history, past purchases), product information (descriptions, attributes), and market trends. Then, this data is used to train machine learning models that identify patterns and relationships within the data.
If trained, the models can analyze your customers’ profiles and predict what products they're most likely to be interested in. For instance, if a customer keeps checking for trousers, a personal shopping assistant can recommend a variety of colors or brands and even suggest matching shoes or shirts for them.
Benefits of AI Shopping Assistants for E-commerce
There are a lot of benefits that AI shopping assistants provide to ecommerce owners. Some of them include:
- Improved Customer Engagement
It is impossible to be online 24/7 answering questions from your customers. However, these chatbots are the reason you can multitask as an ecommerce business owner. They can give instant responses and suggestions to your customers all at the same time. While doing this, personal shopping assistants encourage a more interactive shopping experience. - Personalized Recommendation
Using data such as past purchases, browsing history, and preferences, AI shopping assistants can suggest products that a customer is likely to be interested in. This level of personalization makes shopping easier and more enjoyable for customers. It also increases the chances of customers discovering and purchasing additional items, boosting sales for the business. - Increased Conversion
Another important benefit is the increase in conversion rates. AI shopping assistants can identify and address customers' calls to purchase. For example, if a customer abandons their shopping cart, an AI assistant can send a follow-up message offering help or a discount to encourage them to complete their purchase.
Case Studies of AI Shopping Assistants in Retail
Many ecommerce businesses have used AI shopping assistants. Companies like Amazon and Netflix use these chatbots to analyze customer data like browsing history and past purchases, to suggest products that customers are likely to enjoy. This level of personalization makes shopping more enjoyable and helps customers find items they might not have discovered on their own.
Order tracking is one area where an AI shopping assistant will help. Retail giants like Walmart and Target use AI chatbots to provide real-time updates on order status. Customers can easily check when their package will arrive or if there are any delays. Also, brands like H&M and Sephora use AI chatbots to handle lots of customer's questions. These chatbots can answer questions about product availability, return policies, and more.
Another innovative use case is in managing shopping cart abandonment. AI chatbots can send reminders or offer discounts to customers who leave items in their carts without completing the purchase. For example, ASOS uses AI to re-engage customers, encouraging them to finalize their transactions.
Features of AI Shopping Assistants
AI shopping assistants are changing the game in the online shopping experience. They go beyond simple chatbots, they offer amazing features that enhance customer engagement, boost conversions, and provide valuable insights for e-commerce businesses. Let’s take a look at other key features.
- Personalized Product Recommendations
These assistants learn what your customers like by checking out your past shopping and browsing history. If they often look for running shoes, they’ll suggest new running gear they might love. - Seamless Integration with E-commerce Platforms
They work smoothly with online stores, making it easy to manage your shopping cart. You can add, remove, or change items quickly. For instance, on Amazon, the assistant shoppers help them keep track of everything in their cart. - Intelligent Conversational Interfaces
These AI virtual shopping assistants for ecommerce can chat with customers just like a real person. They understand requests and respond in a friendly way. Imagine asking, “What’s the best gift for a 10-year-old?” and getting a list of great options right away. - Multi-channel Support
Ecommerce businesses can use these assistants on web chat, messaging apps, or even voice assistants like Alexa. It doesn’t matter if customers are on their laptop, phone, or smart speaker, they can get help wherever they are. For example, shoppers can ask your Google Home to add items to their shopping list. - Analytics and Reporting Capabilities
AI shopping assistants also provide useful insights by tracking how people use them. This helps retailers understand what customers want. For instance, a store can see which products are popular and adjust their stock.
How to Create a Shopping Bot
Creating a shopping bot is easier than it seems. You don't need programming skills to develop one for your business. Let’s show you how you can achieve that in these simple steps below:
- Pick a Chatbot Platform
As an ecommerce store owner, you need to choose a shopping bot platform that fits your needs. You can either pick chatbot frameworks or chatbot platforms. Chatbot frameworks, like Google Dialogflow, Microsoft Bot, and IBM Watson, require a programmer for setup, but they are usually cheaper and offer more customization options. On the other hand, chatbot platforms like Bodt come with visual builders, templates, and other setup aids, making them easier to use. - Choose a Design for Your Website
Make sure your shopping bot matches your business by using your brand colors and maintaining your unique voice. During setup, select the bot's color, welcome message, and where to place the widget. You can also name your chatbot and include emojis and GIFs that reflect your company’s personality. This will ensure a consistent user experience when customers interact with your brand. - Use Templates
Most chatbot software providers offer templates to help you start quickly. You'll have to pick one and customize it with your company's details by editing the messages. Alternatively, you can build your chatbot from scratch. This gives you complete control over the chatbot's triggers, conditions, and actions. - Integrate the bot and connect channels
Link all the channels your customers use to reach you and manage everything from a single inbox. This way, you won't miss any messages. You can use e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WordPress to add the bot to your site, or just insert a line of code into your website's backend. - Train Your chatbots
If you prefer to use simple, rule-based chatbots, you can skip this step. However, if you want your shopping bot to understand user intent and natural language, you need to incorporate AI bots. To make your AI chatbot effective, train it using your FAQs, past customer inquiries, and other relevant information. - Track Your Chatbot’s Performance
Shopping bots require regular attention and updates to perform their best. After deploying your bots, ensure your team frequently reviews the chatbot analytics to identify any issues or needed updates promptly. Also, gather feedback from customers by allowing them to rate their experience and share their opinions. This will help you understand how effective the bots are and how satisfied your customers are with their performance.
Key Considerations Before Creating a Chatbot
Before building your AI personal assistant, these are the key considerations to note:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Your bot should be able to understand natural language and respond to user queries in a way that feels natural and engaging. - Programming Languages
Python is popular for building custom chatbots because of its extensive NLP libraries like NLTK and spaCy. - Cloud Platforms
Cloud platforms like Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services provide scalable infrastructure for deploying and managing your bots.
Interactive Virtual Assistants
The secret of customer retention lies in being responsive to all questions. That is why Interactive virtual assistants have become integral in enhancing the shopping experience, changing the way consumers browse and purchase products online. Now, they also come with different features to make shopping satisfying. You can look into them below:
- Voice Search Functionality
All shoppers have to do is speak into the microphone and their request is made. By using voice recognition technology, these virtual shopping assistants allow users to search for products using natural language commands. - Visual Product Discovery
With image recognition and machine learning algorithms, personal virtual assistants can analyze visual inputs such as product images or screenshots to identify items and provide relevant information. This means that users can discover products effortlessly, even if they are unsure of the exact name or description. - Augmented reality (AR) integration
If customers are unsure of what to buy, it may lead to cart abandonment. With AR, you can reduce uncertainty. Through the camera view of a smartphone or tablet, AR enables users to see how products would look and fit in their homes or outfits before making a purchase.
Case Studies of Successful Implementations of AI Shopping Assistants
Several companies have implemented AI shopping assistants, and the results are always immeasurable. They include:
Amazon
Amazon implemented advanced AI algorithms to analyze customer behavior and preferences. Apart from that, the integration of shopping capabilities with Alexa allows users to add items to their cart and make purchases through voice commands. They ensured that recommendations and shopping lists were consistent across devices and platforms, from the website to the mobile app and Echo devices. Below are the outcomes:
- Increased Revenue
Amazon reported a 20% increase in revenue attributed to AI-driven product recommendations. - Customer Retention
Enhanced personalization led to a 15% increase in repeat purchases. - Higher Engagement
Users engaging with Alexa for shopping tasks increased by 30%, showing a growing preference for voice-activated shopping.
Sephora
Sephora introduced an AI-powered Virtual Artist feature that allowed users to try makeup virtually using augmented reality. They used chatbots on their website and mobile app to provide personalized beauty advice and product recommendations based on user inputs and preferences. That was not all. This company ensured AI features were available online and in-store, providing a good user experience across all touchpoints. The outcome was:
- Increased Revenue
The Virtual Artist tool contributed to a 15% increase in online sales, as users were more confident purchasing products they had virtually tried on. - Customer Satisfaction
Surveys indicated a 25% improvement in customer satisfaction scores, with users appreciating the personalized and interactive shopping experience. - Enhanced Engagement
The chatbots saw a 40% engagement rate, significantly improving customer interaction and conversions.
Walmart
Walmart used AI to predict demand, helping them keep the right amount of stock and avoid running out or having too much. They also added an AI shopping assistant to their app and website, so customers can find products quickly and get personalized recommendations. Aside from that, they partnered with Google Assistant to allow voice shopping, making it easier for customers to add items to their cart and make purchases with voice commands. This was the outcome:
- Reduced Inventory Costs
By optimizing inventory management, Walmart reduced overstock and stockout situations by 30%. - Increased Revenue
The smart shopping assistant contributed to a 10% increase in sales. - Customer Retention
There was an Improved customer experience through AI features that led to a 12% increase in customer retention.
The Future of AI Shopping Assistants
We are yet to see the best of AI shopping assistants. The future holds exciting possibilities, with advancements in technology that intend to further up the game for ecommerce businesses and retailers. Here are some speculative trends and advancements you should know:
- Greater Personalization
Virtual shopping assistants for ecommerce will get better at knowing what each person likes. These personal shopping assistants will leverage details like location, time, and current activities to give more relevant and timely suggestions to customers. - Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics will also play a bigger role. To make shopping fun and better, AI will use smart predictions to guess what customers need and suggest products before they even know they want them. Also, retailers will use AI to predict demand, helping them manage inventory better. This reduces running out of stock or having too much and helps increase sales. - Integration with Emerging Technologies
These chatbots will work with virtual reality (VR) to create immersive shopping experiences. This means users can visit virtual stores and check out products in a simulated environment, just like in real life. Furthermore, shoppers should expect AI assistants to use blockchain technology to verify the authenticity of products, providing customers with peace of mind and removing the risk of fake goods.
Meanwhile, these advancements in e-commerce and retail will have a big impact on online shoppers and business owners. AI shopping assistants will make your shopping experience more convenient, personalized, and enjoyable, leading to higher engagement. If you run an online store, you'll experience better inventory management and deeper insights into your customers' behavior. Even if you own a small business, you'll benefit because AI tools will become more accessible and affordable, helping you compete with larger companies.
Conclusion
AI shopping assistants are transforming how customers engage with businesses. They offer a simple and convenient way for customers to find products and make purchases. Moreover, e-commerce chatbots can help with customer service, book appointments, and track orders. So, if you're running an online store, it's time to jump on board with AI chatbots like Bodt to take your business to the next level and give your customers the best shopping experience possible.
