E-commerce has entered the era of AI, which links will be transformed?

"Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" on November 29 (edited by Song Ziqiao) After the release of the unexpected financial report, the market value of Pinduoduo approached Ali, which caused heated discussions, and even the "old rival" Ali also participated.

It is worth noting that Ma Yun made a rare speech on Ali's intranet, participated in the employees' discussion of Pinduoduo, and after the "business touting", the founder of China's largest e-commerce platform stirred up a thousand waves, "The era of AI e-commerce has just begun, and it is an opportunity and a challenge for everyone." ”

At the 2023 Tmall Double 11 press conference, Dai Shan, CEO of Taotian Group, mentioned AI 20 times in her 20-minute speech, and announced that she would launch 10 AI tools to merchants, "Taobao is a product of the last Internet technology revolution, and it will also seize the next AI revolution." It was at this Double 11 that the large-scale native AI application "Taobao Wenwen" was put into use for the first time.

With the maturity of AI technology, AI technology tools represented by ChatGPT have rich application scenarios in various industries. In today's era of stock competition, in the context of the fading of "traffic dividends" and the intensification of "involution", can AI inject new momentum into the e-commerce industry? Where are the opportunities for other companies in the industry chain?

▌How does AI empower e-commerce?

Although the concept of AI e-commerce is vague, as soon as you mention this term, you may immediately think of multiple application scenarios, including digital human live streaming, AI shopping guide/customer service, AI-generated product display maps/copywriting, etc., as well as news such as e-commerce platforms preparing to build large model teams.

Application is the key to AI e-commerce, that is, by applying AI technology to the field of e-commerce, it can improve the efficiency of business operations and promote sales growth.

Specifically, Huatai Securities said that in the product development stage, AIGC can provide design inspiration, customize product descriptions and drawings according to needs, and make product prices, In the product marketing stage, AIGC can help e-commerce companies reduce costs and increase efficiency in the production of marketing content, achieve accurate product recommendations, and promote the innovation and upgrading of live streaming services.

AVIC Securities believes that AI empowers e-commerce, which can not only reduce costs and increase efficiency for merchants and platforms, but also enhance consumer experience and expand revenue for sellers, that is, personalized product recommendations increase opportunities for cross-selling and additional sales, experience enhancement helps to increase the number of users, conversion rate and customer unit value, and intelligent marketing can cover more potential customers and expand market share.

▌The general trend of the e-commerce industry ushered in the AI moment

From the perspective of the layout of domestic and foreign companies, the introduction of AI into the e-commerce industry has become a global trend.

Overseas, Amazon launched seven new generative AI features at the 2023 AWS New York Summit; Google has announced the introduction of generative AI technology into online shopping tools; Microsoft has also announced the integration of Microsoft Shopping function, Shopify App Store took the lead in launching a series of ChatGPT application tools in early March, and almost at the same time as Lazada launched LazzieChat, an e-commerce AI chatbot, eBay also launched an AI description generator to generate product copy...

In China, Alibaba, JD.com, and others have already used AI technology during the 618 period in 2023, Alimama AI creative tools help content production, JD.com AI digital humans help product transactions and customer service, and Double 11 has been increased again; HUAWEI CLOUD has launched an e-commerce intelligent recommendation solution that can mine user interests from massive data to achieve accurate recommendations; Baidu has launched Baidu's preferred intelligent assistant "Xiaoyou", which acts as an intelligent shopping guide assistant for consumers and provides a "Double 11 calendar" with full-platform statistics. Xiaohongshu also announced an AI smart note-taking assistant to help merchants achieve one-click release of product notes...

The above-mentioned high-profile companies have set the benchmark, and small and medium-sized companies have also actively embraced AI, and some have taken the form of leveraging large companies to unlock AI scenarios, and there are countless related cases.

For example, Peak used Alimama's AI tool "Wanxiang Lab" to produce content materials, and the generated AI product images successfully increased the click-through rate of new products by 29.8% and reduced the cost of additional purchases by 27.3%; During the Double 11 period, many domestic brands such as Baixiao T and Ttouchme relied on the digital humans provided by Baidu's "Huiboxing" platform to optimize 24-hour live broadcasts on Baidu, increasing GMV by up to 60% and increasing the efficiency of bringing goods by up to 120%...

Tianfeng Securities believes that AI generative e-commerce or new changes in the e-commerce industry after shelf e-commerce and recommended e-commerce.

▌Which companies in the industrial chain are concerned?

On the other hand, e-commerce operations are lengthy and complex, and AI can run through the entire chain, from understanding operational ideas to implementing decisions, and is ultimately expected to become a digital employee of sellers, among which product selection, marketing, and customer service are the key directions of AI applications.

Around these links, all kinds of vertical AI tools have blossomed everywhere, and many A-share listed companies have become "water sellers" and "early adopters" of AI e-commerce. According to the incomplete combing of the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily", these companies have entered the field of vision of many institutions with related businesses:

Huatai Securities said that AIGC should grasp the development opportunities of the industrial chain to help e-commerce business upgrade, and the institutional analyst further said:

For cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Jihong Co., Ltd., Focus Technology, and Huakai Yibai, AIGC tools such as ChatGPT currently have stronger language systems and interactive effects that are more compatible with overseas businesses, helping to improve operational efficiency, refine operations, and develop intelligent systems.

For shopping guide platforms such as Worth Buying and Rebate Technology, AIGC technology can generate recommended content, and continue to optimize the recommendation algorithm to improve user experience and conversion rate;

For generation operation platforms such as Beauty Beauty, OneNet Yichuang, and Aoki Co., Ltd., AIGC can be used to generate product descriptions, design store pictures and promotional videos, and greatly improve production efficiency;

For SaaS platforms such as Shopify, the application of AI can directly improve the efficiency of tools, help enterprises achieve one-stop service implementation, and rely on technological advantages to deeply explore forward-looking directions such as virtual humans and AI marketing content.

(Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, Song Ziqiao)