Bring on the Robots: A Look at the Role AI Can Play in B2B Ecommerce

Recent months have given us all enticing glimpses of what advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may have in store for us as consumers. We’ve seen ChatGPT break out as a first-mover consumer app, with Bing and Bard on its heels. And we’ve encountered a surreal new world of imagery created by generative AI, with the likes of DALL-E and Midjourney leading the way. 

Barreling forth at jarring speed, these innovations provide a peek at how AI could impact the content we consume in the years to come. But many of our clients are curious about how this technology might also transform their ability to engage and sell to their business customers online. They’ve asked us: What role will AI play in the future of B2B ecommerce?

No one can say for sure. Frankly, anyone claiming to know with certainty is being more artificial than intelligent. But we wouldn’t be good consultants if we didn’t offer up a few educated guesses.

Let’s start with what AI will not do for companies engaged in B2B ecommerce.

AI will not solve all your problems on its own. Tempting as it is to pretend these advances constitute a magic elixir, they do not. Determining how and when to incorporate AI into businesses still takes creativity, vision and risk. It has tremendous potential, to be sure, but it’s no panacea in and of itself.

AI will not do all of your work for you. It may facilitate ways to save time and effort, even guide decision making. It certainly may bring new convenience and efficiency to your customers. But real people sitting at desks will still be essential to keeping the B2B world moving.

AI will not mask any fundamental data issues you have today. You’re likely familiar with the old term “GIGO” from the human factors world. In the age of AI, its newest incarnation is “garbage in, generative out.” Without a solid foundation of clean data, even the most cunning AI model will have serious limitations.

In our view, what AI is is another in a series of tools that humans have developed since the dawn of time with the aim of extending our abilities. Yes, it clearly has significant abilities to augment and accelerate our work. Just don’t bet on AI automating us all away to irrelevance, early retirement, or both.

That said, AI has begun to make early inroads toward improving the B2B ecommerce experience. While these advances may not be as captivating as an instant sonnet about grilled cheese sandwiches or a convincing photo of the pope in a puffy coat, they are starting to make a difference across a number of B2B-specific industries.

Some examples are visible in the front of the house, where customers can interact with them directly. 

Chatbots: The use of AI-powered chatbots for automated support has become nearly ubiquitous, even gaining traction in the often-conservative B2B world. Since some 90% of people have interacted with one in a consumer setting, we’ve become more comfortable and trusting with such tools—whether shopping on behalf of ourselves or our companies.

Embedded functions: In a less overt and more subtle way, we’ve also seen AI embedded within the function of digital experiences. Product searches and results often incorporate AI, and algorithms empower B2B sites to cross-sell, upsell, and customize how product data is delivered. Again, we’ve been trained by Google and Amazon to expect such an experience. But B2B is now doing it too.

Perhaps even more interesting are AI-driven advances happening backstage, outside of the customer’s view. 

Automated content: B2B ecommerce requires the translation of a great deal of complex data into site content. The creation of detailed product descriptions, for instance, has traditionally taken a great deal of time and effort. But new AI tools can now automate much of this effort, converting raw data into site-ready text with a fraction of the labor. 

Business intelligence: AI is remarkably skilled at pattern recognition—in a sense, that’s all it does, albeit in a wildly complex and sophisticated way. That ability can boost the business intelligence of B2B sellers, helping them analyze buying patterns and make more informed predictions about what future customers might buy, when, and how often. This supercharged forecasting is becoming a boon for everything from inventory management to manufacturing planning and supply chain.

Development: We’re also hearing a great deal about AI’s emergent capabilities in support of software development. Whether it’s performing new “autocomplete” work based on existing code libraries or even translating instructions from plain English into scripts—and even helping debug them—AI copilots are helping dev teams build and launch new features and functions in less time. Which means a site experience that can improve more rapidly than ever.

Service experience: B2B also stands to benefit from AI’s help in improving orchestration between customer service and sales reps. Maintaining good customer relationships still requires a human touch, but forward-thinking organizations with a unified CRM are finding ways to personalize the experience with relevant data, allowing them to match content with need state more smoothly and precisely.

Whether in the front or back of the house, moves like these are making small differences for B2B organizations willing to experiment with them. But even modest programs can add up to a notable improvement in the buying experience—and with it, a competitive advantage.

So how soon can you start taking advantage of the AI revolution? These new tools make it easy enough to launch a simple experiment or pilot program without too heavy of a lift. But for larger-scale efforts that will have a significant impact on the enterprise’s performance, it’s important to have your business fundamentals in line first. You have to nail the basics before the robots can make a serious dent.

We mentioned clean data up front, and that’s essential for AI to be effective. Your ecommerce site performance should also be strong, optimized for speed, and architected against a well-constructed taxonomy. Your omnichannel experience must be aligned, with roles and responsibilities determined, processes humming, and systems properly aligned.

Without strong fundamentals, AI could bring small improvements in the corners of your overall experience. But that’s no substitute for an ecommerce experience that gives customers the information they need to do their research intuitively and make their purchases seamlessly. 

Thankfully, the technology is advancing at warp speed and partners like us are here to help. We may not be serving up the magic elixir your business is seeking just yet. But your first sip or two of AI is likely to leave you thirsty for more. Cheers to what’s next!