Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report: 70% of Survey Respondents Say AI is Mission-Critical for E-Commerce Success

Coveo (TSX: CVO), the leading enterprise AI platform that brings AI Search and generative AI to every point–of-experience, today announced a new report, by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and co-sponsored by SAP, that highlights that the "AI: The Secret to a Thriving E-Commerce Business" report found that 70% of respondents believe implementing AI within e-commerce operations is very or extremely important. Businesses already using AI are reaping significant rewards: 69% of survey respondents report improved efficiency and speed of work as a direct result of implementing AI.

While a majority of organizations recognize the power of AI, the study also showed significant obstacles remain to widespread adoption. These include data privacy concerns (cited by 55% of respondents), a lack of talent with necessary AI expertise (49%), and the absence of a clear AI strategy (48%).

"The report underscores what we hear every day: AI is no longer a 'nice-to-have' but a 'must-have' for e-commerce success. To deliver the personalized experiences customers crave while also driving operational efficiency and growth, organizations must prioritize implementing AI-powered platforms and solutions that enhance every aspect of the digital journey," said Sheila Morin, Chief Marketing Officer at Coveo. "We're no longer in the experience economy — we've moved into the AI-experience economy, where leveraging AI is essential for staying competitive and delivering meaningful, scalable customer experiences."

The paper also delves into the strategies needed to help businesses overcome these challenges and drive greater adoption of AI and gen AI in e-commerce:

• Establish Strong Leadership: Designate a dedicated leader or team responsible for driving AI initiatives and fostering collaboration between IT and business units. Dedicated leadership can demonstrate to employees, across all functions, that AI is a strategic priority for the business and critical to profitability.
• Prioritize Data Governance: Ensure data is clean, accurate, and well-governed to enable AI models to deliver accurate and relevant results. With data privacy concerns cited by 55% of respondents as a major obstacle to AI adoption, well-governed data can go a long way toward building trust between brands and their consumers.
• Embrace a Human-in-the-Loop Approach: Recognize that AI is most effective when combined with human oversight and validation, particularly in areas like content generation and customer service; even the most carefully designed large language models can generate bias or misinformation.
• Invest in Employee Upskilling: Provide employees with the training and resources they need to work effectively with AI and adapt to evolving job roles. Organizations should have a clear vision and strategy for how they'll incorporate these new generative AI tools will be integrated into specific job functions.
• Start Small and Scale Gradually: Even the most closely followed best practices can't fully eliminate many of the issues surrounding the use of gen AI in e-commerce, with 81% of respondents agreeing that achieving success with customer-facing gen AI initiatives requires calculated risk taking. Organizations should begin with targeted AI use cases and gradually expand as confidence and expertise grow.

"The true power of AI in e-commerce lies not in replacing human interaction, but in enhancing it," said Ritu Bhargava, President and Chief Product Officer, SAP Industries & Customer Experience. "AI-powered shopping assistants can handle routine queries, allowing staff to focus on complex, high-value customer interactions."

To download the report, click here.

Experts from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, Coveo and SAP shared key insights from this survey of 200 industry professionals to help shape your AI strategy. Watch the webinar to learn more.