Get the complete guide to PIM software

One of the biggest challenges many e-commerce brands face today isn’t recognizing the potential of AI—it’s moving from experimentation to real, measurable results. You’ve likely heard how AI is fundamentally reshaping the industry, and like many others, you’re eager to unlock its promise.

And the momentum is undeniable. The AI-enabled e-commerce market is projected to reach $8.65 billion globally in 2025, doubling by 2030 as more retailers adopt AI to drive efficiency, personalization, and profitability at scale.

But to make AI work for your business, you need more than curiosity—you need clarity. That starts with understanding your specific needs, evaluating the right tools, and ensuring your data and processes are ready to support AI-driven success. So where do you begin turning AI potential into real-world results?

• Getting started with AI for e-commerce
• Creating product descriptions with AI
• Inventory and supply chain management with AI
• Digital sales and marketing with AI
• E-commerce customer experience with AI 

Getting started with AI for e-commerce

Successfully implementing AI starts with strategy, not software. Before investing in any tools, brands need a clear picture of how AI can support their specific business goals. That means identifying use cases where automation, prediction, or personalization can drive measurable value.

Start by asking questions like:

• Where are our current pain points in operations, content creation, or customer experience?
• Which tasks are repetitive, data-heavy, or error-prone?
• What outcomes are we trying to improve—conversion rates, inventory accuracy, campaign ROI?

Once you’ve identified potential areas for improvement, start small. Piloting AI in a focused use case—like automating product descriptions or forecasting inventory demand—lets you test results and build internal confidence before scaling.

Here’s a simple roadmap to get started:

1. Audit your operations
   Identify areas where inefficiencies exist or where better decisions could be made with predictive insights.
   
2. Prioritize quick wins
   Choose use cases that are easy to implement but deliver visible ROI—e.g., content automation or chatbots.
   
3. Get your data in shape
   AI is only as good as the data behind it. Ensure your product data is clean, centralized, and structured. A PIM system like inriver’s can help.
   
4. Choose the right tools
   Evaluate AI tools that align with your priorities—many offer plug-and-play integrations or pre-trained models tailored to retail and e-commerce.
   
5. Set benchmarks
   Define what success looks like and measure early performance to refine and scale your AI initiatives.

The key is not to over-engineer your first AI project. Instead, use it as a learning opportunity. As you prove value in one area, you’ll be better equipped to expand AI across more parts of your e-commerce operation.

Creating product descriptions with AI

One of the most influential AI tools for e-commerce success is using Generative AI to create product descriptions. These product descriptions, which accompany product listings across all channels and marketplaces, are key to driving conversions.

They provide potential customers with key product information and can bring your products to life across all markets and for all audiences. By using Generative AI, you can create detailed and engaging product descriptions in seconds, while also localizing these descriptions for individual markets and languages.

Key to this use of Generative AI is a centralized source of accurate, market-ready product information. Without this single source of truth, GenAI tools do not have the data they require to create correct and complete product descriptions.

This is why Product Information Management (PIM) software is so essential to get the most out of any AI investment for e-commerce. PIM provides this single source of truth, ingesting raw data from across the supply chain and providing accurate, up-to-the-minute information for the AI tools to enhance.

AI tools for creating e-commerce product descriptions:

Jasper

An AI-driven content generation tool that assists in creating product descriptions, marketing copy, and other content, streamlining the product development process. 

Inriver Inspire

Leverages AI and the structured data held within your Inriver PIM system to generate descriptions, social posts, SEO keywords, and much more. Discover more about Inriver Inspire.

Inventory and supply chain management with AI

Managing inventory in e-commerce is a balancing act. Brands must accurately forecast demand, maintain optimal stock levels, and coordinate with a network of vendors, manufacturers, and shipping providers. Add to that the complexity of seasonal demand swings, SKU proliferation, and rising customer expectations for fast delivery—and the margin for error gets razor-thin.

That’s where AI can make a meaningful difference. AI-powered inventory and supply chain tools can analyze vast datasets to identify patterns, detect anomalies, and predict future demand with far greater accuracy than manual forecasting alone. This enables e-commerce businesses to:

• Prevent overstocking and stockouts
• Reduce warehousing and fulfillment costs
• Optimize replenishment cycles across locations
• Respond quickly to supply chain disruptions
• Improve sustainability by minimizing waste

AI also helps align supply with real-time customer behavior. For example, when marketing campaigns or product launches drive traffic surges, AI can dynamically adjust forecasting models based on emerging signals.

AI tools for e-commerce inventory and supply chain management:

Salesforce Einstein

Salesforce Einstein provides AI-powered insights to help businesses make informed decisions about inventory levels and supply chain optimization. 

Blue Yonder

Blue Yonder offers supply chain management solutions, including demand forecasting and inventory optimization, to enhance operational efficiency. 

Digital sales and marketing with AI

Digital advertising costs continue to rise across platforms, while increasing privacy regulations and tracking restrictions make targeting and attribution more complex. Building customer loyalty in a space where competitors are just a click away requires ongoing engagement and exceptional service. 

Targeted marketing campaigns, dynamic pricing, and customer segmentation have all become more efficient with AI. These tools allow businesses to better understand and respond to customer preferences and market trends, improving ROI on marketing spend. 

AI also enables real-time campaign optimization. Tools can automatically adjust ad placements, creative variations, or bidding strategies based on live performance data—reducing wasted spend and increasing conversions. Beyond advertising, AI can also support personalized email flows, loyalty offers, and retargeting strategies that feel timely and relevant to each shopper.

With the rise of privacy-first tracking models, AI-driven analytics platforms can fill in the gaps, using machine learning to model attribution and identify which campaigns or channels contribute most to sales—even without cookie-level tracking.

And it’s not just about automation. AI enhances creativity, too. Tools like generative content platforms can help marketers create headlines, landing page copy, or A/B test variants in seconds—scaling output without sacrificing quality.

AI tools for e-commerce sales and marketing:

Bloomreach

Bloomreach enables personalized product recommendations, optimizes search results, and automates marketing campaigns. 

Surfer AI

AI-powered content optimization for search engines, improving organic traffic and sales through AI-driven content audit. 

Optimonk

An AI-driven platform that creates personalized pop-ups and A/B tests to enhance conversion rates and sales. 

E-commerce customer experience with AI 

A product page can win a click—but it’s the overall experience that earns the sale. In today’s e-commerce landscape, shoppers expect more than fast shipping and good deals. They want clarity. Personalization. Reassurance. And above all, ease.

That’s where AI is rewriting the rules.

From the moment a customer lands on your site to the second they track a package or leave a review, AI can shape every interaction—often invisibly. Behind the scenes, machine learning models analyze clickstreams, purchase history, and engagement patterns to anticipate needs and streamline the path to purchase.

Some of the most effective use cases include:

• Behavior-based product suggestions that surface just the right item, even if the shopper didn’t search for it
• AI chat assistants that resolve questions instantly, whether it’s “Will this fit?” or “Where’s my order?”
• Dynamic UX adjustments that adapt content blocks, navigation, or messaging based on real-time signals
• Feedback analysis that helps brands stay ahead of friction points before they become churn risks

These tools don’t just save time for your team—they create micro-moments of delight for your customers. And over time, that translates to higher lifetime value.

AI tools for e-commerce customer experience:

AI Wishlist

Leverage data from browsing behavior, visitor profiles, and sales trends to predict purchasing intentions. The solution shows the products a visitor has viewed in a neat-looking notification feed, ordered by the likelihood of purchase, starting with the item they are most likely to buy. 

Lyro by Tidio

24/7 customer support and shopping assistance that can handle a wide range of queries, from product recommendations and inventory checks to troubleshooting and order tracking. 

Inriver: The complete AI-powered PIM for e-commerce success

Using AI tools in e-commerce can help you grow and work more efficiently – but only if you choose the right ones. Businesses today have the potential to use AI to improve everything from product management to customer experience and marketing.

As a tool, it can help decision-makers stay competitive, adapt to market changes, and better engage customers. But it is not a case of flicking the switch and seeing the benefits. Like all successful tech adoption, you need a clear strategy and goals that you can measure. 

Inriver understands how to help our customers succeed in the ultra-competitive e-commerce space, as well as the importance of helping them leverage new technologies to stay ahead of the competition. That’s why Inriver offers the most flexible PIM software on the market, powered by the latest AI innovations.

Alongside Generative AI content enhancement, the Inriver platform contains API-based syndication and digital shelf analytics technology to provide the complete solution for brands and manufacturers wanting to take their e-commerce game to the next level.

Get in touch today for a personalized demo on how the Inriver PIM can help you achieve success in the competitive e-commerce space.

Published: November 14, 2024
Updated: June 5, 2025