AI in E-Commerce – what you can implement today

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing e-commerce right now. And not just individual features in the shop, but the entire commerce engine – from content and conversion to backend processes.

For many companies, the same question arises: Where to start and what will really have a measurable impact? In this article, we show you five concrete areas where you can already use AI in e-commerce today – with real-world examples and clear next steps.

Why AI in E-Commerce is crucial now

AI is no longer a topic of the future. More and more customers are using AI for research, product selection, and decision-making. At the same time, expectations for speed, personalization, and simple processes are rising.

For retailers, this means: speed, efficiency, and relevance become decisive competitive advantages.

The good news: The entry barriers are lower than ever. Powerful models for text, image, and code are now available even to medium-sized businesses.

1. Scale content with AI

Here’s how you can already use AI concretely in your content workflow today:

• Create product and brand texts in your brand voice, e.g., automatically generate them directly in the CMS or shop based on existing content and adapt them for different target groups or languages
• Edit images and videos efficiently, e.g., replace backgrounds in product shoots, create banners from existing product images, or enhance videos with simple AI effects
• Optimize conversion, e.g., analyze screenshots of existing product pages and develop wireframes for better, higher-converting variants

The effect: Content workflows are massively accelerated – according to McKinsey, up to 2-10x faster content workflows.

2. Develop faster with AI

Here’s how you can use AI directly in your development and daily business:

• Create prototypes and click dummies, e.g., as a non-developer, build initial ideas yourself and hand them over as concrete templates instead of lengthy specifications to your development team
• Implement simple features yourself, e.g., build small marketing widgets or actions directly in the shop without having to dive deep into existing logic
• Develop complex functions faster, e.g., implement new features more efficiently together with your agency or developer team and go live more quickly

The effect: More output in the same amount of time – studies show up to 36% more tasks completed thanks to AI coding assistants according to Microsoft.

3. Improve service and experience in the shop

These are the options you already have today to significantly improve your customer experience with AI:

• Use chatbots for advice and support, e.g., automatically answer questions about products, orders, or returns directly in the shop
• Use interactive product advisors, e.g., virtual try-ons, configurators, or guided product selection for complex assortments
• Develop individual industry solutions, e.g., a dog advisor for care products or the Stiegl crown cap scanner for loyalty programs

The effect: Less support effort and better conversion – many service cases are already supported by AI today.

4. Be found in AI systems

You can already use AI specifically for your visibility today:

• Understand AI traffic, e.g., analyze through which AI systems users become aware of your products and what questions are being asked
• Optimize content for questions, e.g., align content specifically with typical user questions instead of just classic SEO keywords
• Build external mentions and trust signals, e.g., through PR articles, product tests, partnerships, and reviews on external platforms

The effect: Your brand becomes part of AI answers instead of just search results.

5. Sell via AI agents

Completely new opportunities for your sales are emerging in this area:

• Make products available for AI, e.g., build structured product feeds so that AI systems can understand and display your products correctly
• Optimize your shop for AI, e.g., design data, content, and processes so they are readable and usable for AI systems
• Prepare checkout, e.g., consider new standards like UCP or ACP so that purchases can be made directly via AI systems

The effect: AI turns from advisor to buyer – already today, around 20% of orders are influenced by AI.

What this means for your company

AI is not a single feature but is transforming all of e-commerce:

• Content becomes faster and more scalable
• Development becomes more efficient
• Customer experiences improve
• New sales channels emerge
• Processes are automated

Companies that start now gain a clear competitive advantage.

How you can get started now

You don’t have to implement everything at once. The best approach is:

• start pilot projects in each area
• test pragmatically instead of planning perfectly
• gain experience and scale step by step

The e-commerce platforms we use, dynamic commerce and Shopify, are already equipped with many AI features today and are continuously being developed further. At the same time, they are optimally prepared for new developments such as agentic commerce and AI-based sales channels.

Talk to us about your first AI pilot projects.