From In-Store Analytics To Digital Assistants, Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Commerce

Artificial intelligence is now touching all industries, from healthcare and advertising to entertainment and ed tech. The retail space in particular is buzzing with news, thanks to plans for an "Amazon Go Store," where shoppers can grab items off shelves and walk out, bypassing a long line at check out. Computer vision algorithms will track the items that were picked and charge the customer's credit card. Other retail giants are taking note too, with eBay partnering with Google Home to demo a shopping concierge, India-based Titan partnering with IBM Watson to drive sales, and Etsy acquiring AI startup Blackbird Technologies in Q4'16. "If you don't have an AI strategy, you're going to die." – Devin Wenig, CEO of eBay, at Shoptalk'17 Among private AI companies, commerce is the No. 3 category for deals since 2012, after healthcare and horizontal applications (startups working across multiple industries).