How AI plays into every step in the retail customer journey

When it comes to misconceptions about artificial intelligence, the likely top one is that retailers tend to view AI too narrowly and don't realize how the technology can help solve every retail problem. Simply, AI isn't just about weaving chat bots into the retail customer experience or just streamlining operations. It's about teaching retailers about their customers via deep learning and genetic algorithms, providing insight on how users interact with products, how messages resonate with shoppers and how to better market products. "Every step of the customer journey will be transformed by retail, from the ads and content that bring in customers to their experience on the site to logistics and shipping and even product design. AI won't be replacing marketers or site architects, but it will be making them far more powerful," explained Andy Narayanan, vice president of intelligence commerce at Sentient, in an email interview with Retail Customer Experience.