AI in eCommerce: Search & Personalization

Shopping online is a convenient, fast, and even exciting process. In 2024, the volume of online commerce grew by 8% compared to the previous year. And 73% of consumers worldwide believe that online shopping will become an indispensable part of life in the coming years. Considering these facts, we realize that a lot of businesses need to improve their e-commerce platforms right now. This article will show you how to use innovative technologies to improve things like personalization and AI search for e-commerce, and how to take advantage of them. Boost your business growth with our key insights. 

Most common AI features for e-commerce

Aside from helping develop processes and improve digital products, AI is also a valuable tool in e-commerce. Today, everyone uses online shopping platforms and their functionality seems to come naturally. But in fact, much of what we see is the result of AI work. What, for example? Let’s take a closer look.

First, it’s personalization. This is the basis for every social network and online platform, which creates a space for the user to go over both information and products that suit his or her taste. How does it work? AI analyzes user behavior, actions, and views. Based on this, it generates recommendations individually for each user. It sounds like magic, but it’s a must-have today.

Second, chatbots and virtual assistants. These small windows for questions and quick, customized answers in real time are the work of AI as well. This is how customers can find the right product, learn about customer support, etc.

Another thing that everyone loves about AI e-commerce is image search. All you need to do is upload an image to the platform and find a similar product without text queries. Perfect choice, especially if your target audience is the youth generation. 

Now, let’s talk about security and financial issues. AI predicts the demand for goods and organizes inventory management based on future and current data analysis. It also identifies potentially fraudulent transactions by analyzing customer behavior patterns. This ensures data security for each user of the e-commerce platform. 

Overall, all the functions provided by AI help businesses to increase their platform efficiency, attract more customers, build brand loyalty, increase sales, and be at the top among e-commerce businesses. That’s a lot, isn’t it?

What are the AI ​​search tools?

AI search tools are the latest technologies that enhance the search experience by understanding user intent, processing incoming queries, and delivering highly relevant results. In short, AI search can be compared to a cooking recipe. When you provide a list of ingredients, it already knows what dishes can be prepared and offers the best options.

All these tools are based on different AI techniques. The key of them are Natural language processing (NLP), Machine Learning, and computer vision. Each of them aims to improve the accuracy, speed, and personalization of search results. Here’s a more detailed explanation of the main methods of AI search tools.

Natural language processing (NLP) helps AI tools understand queries sent by users, interpreting them based on context, not just keywords. That is, even when a user asks a complex or unclear question, the system will still understand and give an accurate answer.

Machine Learning allows search tools to analyze user behavior and preferences. Further, it provides personalized search results that improve each time a similar query is sent from a user. 

Semantic search goes beyond keyword matching and tries to understand more about the specific meaning of the query. By analyzing the relationships between words, AI tools display a list of possible options for the query, which leads to more accurate and contextualized answers. To understand the semantic search work, just remember when you enter the first words of a query in Google and you are already given a list of topics that you might have in mind. 

Visual search uses computer vision to analyze images and recognize objects. Instead of text, users can find information or products using images or photos. Imagine that your potential customer only has a photo of the product they want to buy and uses this search to find it. First of all, it’s fast. And secondly, with properly configured SEO optimization, your online store will also be the first in the search results and the client will buy it from your online store.

Voice search uses AI to process spoken language. This option allows users to perform searches in the browser using voice commands. This type of AI search is becoming increasingly popular due to the rise of virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa.

As you can see, these tools turn the e-commerce search process into an easy stroll through online stores, offering results that are fully adapted to individual customer preferences and contexts. 

AI search tools for e-commerce 

So far, we’ve told you about the general principles of AI search tools. Now, let’s talk specifically about this useful tool in the context of e-commerce. To make the search easier and more enjoyable for your customers, we suggest testing the following kit.

• Personalized search: AI-powered tools like Klevu and Algolia can help you create customized product offers. They provide personalized search results and recommendations based on customers’ purchase history and behavior.
• Image search: Syte and Visenze tools let users upload photos to find similar products in online stores. They are easy enough to implement and do their job well.
• Voice search: The top voice assistants are Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. They allow users to search for products using voice commands, which makes the search process easier for them. For people who want to find things they need quickly, this is a must-have feature that they will definitely appreciate.
• Semantic search: A semantic search-based tool like Elasticsearch clearly understands the user’s query rather than analyzing keywords. This way, it provides accurate search results and relevant recommendations.
• Chatbots for product search: Virtual assistants such as Drift or Intercom use AI to integrate search into a conversation. As a result, it doesn’t look like a conversation with a robot but helps customers find the products they need through chat.

Each of the tools above has a large number of features that can be added to your e-commerce platform. So explore, practice, and get valuable benefits from their implementation in your business. 

What are the AI ​​personalization tools?

AI personalization tools are innovative technologies that use artificial intelligence to tailor content, recommendations, and user experiences according to their preferences and behavior. What can we compare these tools to? Let’s say you come to a cafe and the barista already knows what drink you like and prepares it before you do. It would be great, right? So, here are the key web personalization tools and their use cases. 

Recommender systems: They analyze data about user behavior to provide customized recommendations in the future. Commercial giants such as Amazon and Netflix also use these systems to suggest products or movies based on past views.

Dynamic content: Tools that change website content based on user behavior. For example, HubSpot and Marketo let you customize content for different audience segments. In this way, users only see the data they’re interested in, not the whole platform.

Chatbots: Tools that use AI to provide personalized answers and support. They analyze user questions and answer them according to the context. That is, they understand the meaning of the question, rather than being guided by a single word, and therefore the chance of relevant answers increases significantly.

Data analysis: Tools that collect and analyze data about user behavior to help businesses better understand their audience. This will help them set up personalized recommendations and launch promotions or limited offers that are of interest to them.

Personalization in advertising: AI helps to create personalized advertising campaigns, for example, through Facebook Ads or Google Ads. They adapt ads according to the users’ interests and reach each individual target audience according to specific parameters.

Nowadays, everyone’s trying to create a comfortable online space that only has the information they’re interested in. This is where AI tools come in to help your audience absorb the content and pick the right products.

AI personalization tools for e-commerce 

These tools help businesses tailor their content, offers, and customer experience to meet their preferences. Their biggest advantage here is that they offer them relevant and consuming products. Let’s take a look at the key tools that will greatly improve the user experience of your potential and current customers:

• Recommender systems: They analyze user behavior to suggest products that might be of interest to them. You can choose from Yotpo or Algolia. 
• Personalized emails: The Mailchimp tool uses AI to send individualized offers and discounts to customers via email. The information in the letters is based on their preferences and behavior on the platform.
• Dynamic content on websites: Tools like Optimizely allow you to change the content of your website depending on who is visiting it. For example, new visitors may see different content compared to regular customers. This is because loyal customers already have certain preferences, while new ones have yet to create their own personalized experience. 
• Chatbots: They use AI to provide personalized support in real-time mode. For example, chatbots such as Tidio and ManyChat can answer questions, collect information, and even help with purchases.
• Data analysis and analytics: Tools like Google Analytics let businesses collect data on customer behavior on the platform to better understand their needs and update their offerings. 

To ensure that the tool you choose works efficiently and fulfills its tasks, analyze your business needs in detail. And always keep the needs of your audience in focus, because in today’s frantic pace of life, they change almost every day. 

What’s the best way to implement AI search and personalization tools in your online store?

We recommend starting with the choice of technologies. Choose a platform or tool for AI search and personalization. We have provided a list and description of them in the previous sections, so you can return to them again and study them in detail. 

To choose the right AI tool, you should consider two key factors: your business needs at the moment and the customers’ needs while using online stores. Also, include such vital points as customers’ behavior on the website, their purchases, views, and frequent search queries. This will let the AI system better understand your customers’ preferences.

Now you need to use the collected database correctly. This will become the basis for creating machine learning algorithms. Thus, the system’s recommendations will be accurate and relevant. Because you have collected a high-quality database, right?

When you’ve already added new features to your online store, run A/B testing. This will let you check their effectiveness and see if there are any quality issues in the system to fix them in time. We also recommend collecting feedback from users from time to time and adjusting settings based on the results.

But that’s not all. It’s also crucial to make sure that your AI tools are integrated with your content management systems (CMS) and e-commerce. This will also ensure smooth platform operation and increase the added features’ efficiency.

As a recommendation for the future – track the results of AI search and personalization implementation to identify areas for improvement or upgrade. With all the implementation conditions met correctly, your online store will become a popular place to visit online, where everyone can find exactly what they’re looking for.

What are the business benefits of AI search and personalization tools?

Online store customers will definitely be delighted with the new features, and this will lead to business benefits for e-commerce businesses. As obvious as they may seem, let’s talk about each benefit separately.

Increased brand loyalty

AI algorithms provide accurate and relevant search results, which makes interacting with a product or service much more pleasant for customers. This creates a pleasant brand impression they want to come back to.

Increase conversions

Relevant recommendations and personalized offers significantly increase conversion rates. When customers find exactly what they need, they buy it. 

Attracting and retaining customers

Customer satisfaction increases when online stores offer personalized service. In this way, you keep them around for a long time, giving them the chance to choose something else and buy it.

Reduced marketing costs

Advertising campaigns based on AI technologies help to target each specific audience. AI uses customer information to make ads more accurate and reduce launch time. Businesses minimize the cost of large-scale campaigns and increase their effectiveness many times over.

Increase revenue through repeat purchases

Thanks to personalization and a convenient search option, customers receive more relevant offers for the products they want. The more satisfied they are, the more likely they are to come back.

You can reap all these benefits and celebrate the success of your e-commerce business today. Take a moment to think about a specific AI tool and the endless possibilities that will make it easier for customers to choose what they want.

What are the risks for businesses after implementing AI search and personalization tools for e-commerce?

When it comes to AI, this implies having a team to check its performance. No matter how successful this innovative technology is today, it’s still better to check everything in detail and eliminate any mistakes. Despite this, AI has a very low mistake rate, and its work is mostly dependent on the data input at the start.

Based on databases, we can say that AI can make a mistake in analyzing or interpreting data due to incorrectly configured algorithms. This can be easily prevented by checking everything fully at the implementation and testing stage. Or it can incorrectly segment customers for marketing campaigns. By that, remember that the initial data quality is the AI foundation. 

Also, many believe that since AI systems work with large amounts of personal data, it can pose a threat of data leakage or misuse. The last time such a data leak happened was in 2018 when Facebook developers installed an incorrect configuration that allowed third-party developers to access users’ private chats. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to carefully comply with privacy and data protection standards to avoid such risks.

AI technologies are constantly evolving, and businesses will have to regularly update their systems to stay competitive. This requires additional resources and time, respectively. But this is more of a disadvantage in financial terms. Instead, it’s a benefit to your business, since AI will improve your online platforms’ capabilities.

The latest insights on AI search and personalization for e-commerce from TRIARE experts

Since we have experience with the implementation of AI in e-commerce projects, we certainly have something to say about this valuable tool. AI systems paired with machine learning are becoming more and more intuitive and consider the clear context of user queries and their behavior on the platform. They analyze information about purchases and browsing to offer personalized recommendations and increase the purchase possibility.

The popularity of voice assistants is motivating businesses to adapt their AI systems to support voice search, allowing users to find the products they need faster. Besides, AI analytics helps to identify what type of content (blog posts, videos, reviews) users are most interested in. This forms the basis for effective content marketing strategies.

TRIARE experts emphasize the importance of security measures to protect personal data processed by AI systems, including the use of encryption and anonymization. The future of e-commerce will include even more AI search and personalization, so businesses can offer even more personalized and targeted experiences.

As a team at TRIARE, we are constantly working to improve the way we implement AI tools. Our approach ensures that businesses can maximize the potential of e-commerce and reap the benefits.

Conclusion

With a clear understanding of AI’s capabilities, you can create a personalized online place for your clients. Since people can order their favorite products online today, they expect even more updates that will make the shopping experience better. So focus on your clients’ desires and it will lead you to success in the e-commerce business.

Also, having TRIARE as a reliable partner will make your way to the goal shorter and more innovative. Our experts and teams of developers and designers are ready to provide you with customized solutions that will definitely impress your target audience.