In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, GenAI is revolutionizing the e-commerce industry. As a leading player in this field, we recently hosted a webinar to discuss the impact and potential of GenAI in e-commerce. The session is led by Courtney Christianson from Coveo's marketing team, she is joined by Sergio Lacobucci, Senior Director of E-commerce Marketing at Coveo and Simon Langevin, VP of Product for commerce at Coveo.

Our discussion focuses on debunking common GenAI misconceptions, particularly its limitations in specific applications like product queries. The importance of accuracy and relevance remains paramount, even as AI evolves.

Gartner predicts that investments in GenAI may decrease by 2025 due to high costs that could outweigh its benefits. This necessitates a balanced approach, weighing GenAI's innovative potential against costs and limitations.

GenAI aids product discovery by improving data quality for e-commerce platforms. This leads to more precise search results and an enhanced overall search experience.

Another significant application is in generating rich content, tailored to specific audience needs, thereby improving user experience and organic rankings.

GenAI can assist in answering complex pre-purchase questions. Traditionally, these queries are addressed on platforms like Google, leading potential customers away from e-commerce sites. GenAI's ability to keep consumers within the e-commerce ecosystem is a game-changer, reducing the likelihood of customers turning to competitors.

GenAI may not inherently understand individual customer preferences or the nuances of a business's catalog. Integrating it with a semantic product search engine ensures relevant and personalized recommendations, addressing these limitations.

We highlight the application of GenAI in chatbots for e-commerce, with an emphasis on the importance of A/B testing. Simon warns against overestimating GenAI's capabilities in chatbots, stressing the need for empirical data to assess its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.

Our webinar concludes by stressing the need for e-commerce sites to adopt a cost-conscious approach when integrating GenAI. Selecting the right queries and applications for GenAI use is key to ensuring cost-effectiveness. GenAI can be particularly effective in automating responses to common customer queries and generating dynamic product descriptions.

• Retailers competing with platforms like Amazon should focus on their self-service portals, emphasizing knowledge discovery over product discovery.
• For niche retailers, generating and summarizing content that showcases their expertise is crucial for building brand trust.
• A/B testing is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of GenAI and justify its investment.
• Retailers should be cautious in selecting GenAI providers, ensuring they offer more than just a layer over GenAI.
• GenAI's application extends beyond search functionalities to include after-sales self-service.
• Retailers must ensure that GenAI utilizes all available content for accurate and relevant responses.
• This webinar reflects Coveo's commitment to leveraging technology for enhancing customer experiences and optimizing operational efficiencies.
• Our vision includes continued investment in AI research and development, focusing on consumer behaviors and refining AI technologies for personalized e-commerce experiences.