Watch out, AI and GenAI are transforming e-commerce from the ground up

livemint.com:

I have often written of the ethical and philosophical impact of AI and how it will shape our future. Now I focus on how AI has reshaped a category which touches our daily lives: e-commerce. AI researcher and entrepreneur Andrew Ng termed AI the “new electricity." Like a general purpose technology, it will power society and multiple businesses silently and behind the scenes.

AI can run logistics, factories, social networks, search, smartphones and much else. Its potential in e-commerce is vast. As e-com entered our lives with the launch of Amazon by Jeff Bezos in 1994, AI became a natural fit to make it more efficient.

From recommendations, logistics and warehousing to stock merchandizing and other operations, AI has been in use for many years. Amazon, for example, is now using AI and Machine Learning (ML) to monitor the quality of fresh produce like fruits and vegetables. Add to it regional-language customer support and better search algorithms for purchase cues.

All this makes shopping convenient for online shoppers. With Generative AI and recent advances in Deep Learning and ML, the e-com industry is at the cusp of a major transformation. These innovations will not just augment but reshape the sector from the ground up.

Let us explore how: Personalization at scale: Hyper-personalization has been the holy grail for retailers. Who has not gotten overwhelmed by the huge variety of products offered by large stores and market places? There are a million dresses to choose from even if we want only one. What if the retailer knew your exact preferences, sizes and needs and threw up personalized options like a human stylist would? The technology exists for this, with AI algorithms predicting consumer behaviour with remarkable