“Forty-five percent of retailers are planning
to use AI in the next few years, according to the latest research from Boston Retail Partners.
This AI integration will be done through the use of chatbots or digital
assistants and primarily used for customer enhancement services.
•
Optimizing the customer experience — 55 percent
•
Increasing customer loyalty — 50 percent
•
Improving mobile shopping experience — 45 percent
•
Creating a seamless experience across channels — 42
percent
•
Enhancing personalized service/sales assistance — 32
percent
• Providing personalized promotions, recommendations and/or offerings
— 24 percent”
“While it is
still early days for AI technology, Alibaba has made no secret of its
ambitions in the space. However, Alibaba faces competition from its
rival Chinese internet companies Baidu
and Tencent, both of which are
investing heavily in AI.
Baidu, which is
in the process of becoming an AI-first company, this year announced
a major breakthrough in technology development after successfully teaching a
virtual agent to learn a language from scratch. The move is viewed as a
significant step towards teaching machines to learn like humans.
Last month,
Tencent announced it would open a second AI lab, basing its new centre in
Seattle, as the firm steps up its research into AI, machine learning and deep
learning.”
