Shopify’s Use of AI To Build Better Selling Experiences
How AI Is Changing The Retail Experience
The retail industry is changing rapidly as it embraces emerging technologies to build better customer engagement and enhance brand value. One of the companies at the forefront of this change is Shopify.
The Canadian retail technology provider has always focused on small merchants, but now it is refocusing on larger operations, bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into every aspect of its platform. The company’s aim is to make the experience of retailing easier and faster, and to future-proof e-commerce for big brands that need to find better, faster, cheaper ways to sell their products and services.
In the latest round of updates and new features, one of the jump out features from Shopify is they’re making it easier for sellers to write effective sales copy with just a few clicks. In effect, Shopify are replacing the time consuming and sometimes expensive services of a professional sales copywriter and putting the capability in the hands of mere mortals.
The company’s aim is to make the experience of retailing easier and faster, and to future-proof commerce for big brands that seek a future-proofed commerce partner.
Shopify Magic
At the Shopify Editions event in late July, the company deployed more than 100 technology enabled features aimed at both small and large retailers. However, the jewel in the crown was a new toolset called Shopify Magic, which offers features from auto-generated product descriptions to a retailing assistant dubbed Sidekick. Sidekick is trained to know how to get the best out of Shopify, taking into account best practice in ecommerce and the merchant’s own product suite and brand positioning.
Shopify’s work with AI precedes the arrival of the current AI gold rush sparked by ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022. They’ve been applying data science to areas like fraud detection and internal systems that use machine learning for personalisation. Across platforms, AI’s purview within the tech stack is often isolated to a few segments or use cases.
However, now Shopify is embedding AI into every aspect of its platform. From choosing themes to writing product descriptions, AI is being used to make the experience of retailing easier.
The company believes that AI will propel business forward in a way that has never been seen before. However, it is proceeding cautiously, given legitimate concerns about the imperfect nature of artificial intelligence. As bullish as the tech and retail sectors have been about AI, most platforms are still proceeding somewhat cautiously. This is because incomplete or biased data can lead to kinks in the machines, with some bots already drawing hilarious, and sometimes frighteningly errant, suggestions or conclusions.
Despite these concerns, Shopify’s commitment to AI is clear. The deployment of more than 100 changes aimed at both small and large retailers and the ambitious in-betweens that want to scale up quickly is a testimony to Shopify’s commitment to AI. The company is embedding AI into every aspect of its platform, and it believes that this will make the experience of retailing easier and faster. Shopify wants to help everyone build bigger companies faster, and it believes that AI is the key to achieving this goal.
Here’s The Thing: Shopify’s use of AI is a potential game-changer for the retail industry given their position as a real alternative to Amazon. The company’s focus on AI is part of its broader strategy to future-proof commerce for big brands that don’t want to put all their eggs in the Amazon basket.
Shopify’s deployment of more than 100 changes aimed at both small and large retailers is a demonstration of its commitment to innovation. Shopify believes that AI will propel business forward in a way that has never been seen before, and its focus on AI is a clear indication that it is ready to lead the way.
Emerging Technologies Index
“Brand Strategies in Emerging Tech” is a unique collection of over 250 consumer brands and their strategies in the emerging technologies of AI, VR, Web3 and other emerging and game-changing new technologies.
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Adidas, AIA Insurance, Alfa Romeo, Asics, Aston Martin, Atari, Audi, Bacardi, Bentley, Bose, Boss, Budweiser, Burberry, Cadbury, Campbell Soup, Carrefour, Champion, Chevrolet, Chipolte, Coca-Cola, DBS Bank, Decathlon, Dior, Disney, Dolce&Gabbana, eBay, Emirates, Evian, Ferrari, Ford, Gap, Gibson, Glenfiddich, Gucci, Heineken, Hennessy, HTC, Hyundai, JBL, Johnnie Walker, Kellogg’s, Kia, Kraft Heinz, L’Oreal, Lacoste, Lamborghini, Lavazza, …
THERE’S MORE:… the Brand Strategy Collection also lists over 100 celebrities, organisations, teams and locations that are actively using emerging technologies to promote their own brands in an increasingly digital world.
Further Reading
Originally published at https://rickhuckstep.com on August 11, 2023.
