Zehra Soysal is the Director of BizOps & Finance at Metaphysic.ai, an ex-BCG consultant, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way businesses operate in the retail and e-commerce spaces. From streamlining supply chains to enhancing customer interactions, AI is becoming a powerful tool—but like any major transformation, it comes with both opportunities and challenges.
Having worked with AI in several industries, I’ve seen firsthand how the right balance between automation and human touch can make or break an implementation. The key is using AI to augment decision-making, not replace it.
Optimizing Business Operations With AI
E-commerce companies juggle massive product catalogs, dynamic pricing and fluctuating demand. AI can simplify these complexities, especially in areas like demand forecasting, which helps retailers avoid stockouts while preventing unnecessary overproduction.
For example, AI-driven analytics can spot patterns in historical sales data, seasonal trends and even economic shifts to optimize inventory planning. This kind of predictive power can significantly boost profitability while making sure products are available when customers need them.
That said, AI isn’t foolproof. Algorithms trained on past data may struggle to adapt to unpredictable disruptions—like global supply chain crises or sudden shifts in consumer behavior. That’s why businesses need to strike a balance: AI should be a tool to support human decision-making, not replace it entirely.
I provided consulting to a fashion retailer that relied heavily on AI-driven demand forecasts to optimize inventory. Initially, the system performed well, but it struggled to adapt sometimes when a major influencer unexpectedly endorsed one of their products, causing a sales spike. This highlighted an important lesson: AI is only as good as the data it has been trained on. Human intuition and industry expertise are still crucial for handling outlier events.
From Chatbots To Virtual Stylists: The New Era Of Conversational AI
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are transforming the way brands engage with customers. No longer limited to answering basic queries, today’s AI assistants can recommend products, provide styling advice and even detect customer sentiment to personalize interactions.
For instance, shoppers who once relied on in-store stylists can now use AI-driven virtual assistants to find the perfect outfit, reducing decision fatigue while improving conversion rates. In many cases, these tools have helped retailers combat cart abandonment by offering real-time support.
Still, AI-driven recommendations have their limitations. While they work well for general suggestions, they may struggle with more nuanced needs—like choosing an outfit for a once-in-a-lifetime event or understanding deeply personal preferences. Human expertise remains essential in those moments, helping customer experiences feel authentic and tailored.
I was consulting for a startup that was building an AI-powered virtual stylist to replicate the experience of an in-store shopping assistant. One of the biggest challenges we tackled was making AI feel less transactional and more conversational. During my time working with them, we explored various ways to create a more engaging and intuitive experience for users. One customer shared that she used their AI stylist to put together outfits for a last-minute business trip. The system helped her find polished, travel-friendly looks, but she still needed human reassurance. This reinforced my belief that the final solution should leverage human expertise to enhance customer experiences.
AI-Generated Visuals: Cutting Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
High-quality visuals are crucial for e-commerce success, but traditional photo shoots can be expensive and time-consuming. Enter AI-powered generative visual engines, which can allow brands to create lifelike product images, lifestyle shots and marketing assets without the need for extensive photo shoots.
By leveraging AI, brands can generate dynamic visuals at scale—adapting images for different campaigns, audiences and even seasonal trends. This can significantly reduce production costs and speed up content creation.
However, the challenge lies in maintaining authenticity. Overusing synthetic imagery can make products feel less tangible or misrepresent their true appearance. Consumers still value real-world authenticity, so brands need to find the right balance between efficiency and credibility.
I consulted for a fashion retailer looking to explore innovative ways for marketing asset creation without the high costs and long lead times of traditional photo shoots. By integrating an AI-powered generative visual engine, the brand was able to produce a few key digital assets—such as campaign visuals and product lifestyle images—without the need for additional reshoots.
This approach reduced production costs by up to 80% while increasing efficiency, enabling the team to quickly adapt visuals for different campaigns and audiences. AI-powered imagery provided greater creative flexibility and A/B testing of a few versions of the material, allowing the brand to experiment with styles and aesthetics in a fraction of the time.
The result? A fresh, dynamic visual strategy that saved time and resources while maintaining high-quality, on-brand content.
AI’s Role In Sustainable Fashion
Sustainability is a growing priority in fashion and e-commerce, and AI is playing a key role in making the industry more eco-friendly. Smarter inventory management powered by AI helps brands reduce overproduction, one of the biggest sources of waste in fashion.
Additionally, AI is helping drive the circular economy—powering resale platforms, recommending sustainable alternatives and enabling virtual try-ons to cut down on unnecessary returns. This not only benefits the environment but also improves margins for retailers.
That said, AI itself isn’t without an environmental footprint. Training and running complex models require significant computational power, which increases energy consumption. Brands looking to leverage AI for sustainability should consider ways to offset their resource usage—whether through energy-efficient AI models or carbon offset programs.
The Future Of AI In E-Commerce
AI is undeniably transforming e-commerce, driving efficiency, personalization and sustainability. But its success ultimately depends on how brands implement it. Overreliance on automation can lead to unintended consequences, from reinforcing biases to diminishing customer trust.
Having worked at the intersection of business operations and AI-driven strategies, I believe the key is in thoughtful implementation. The companies that will thrive in the next era of online retail are those that understand how to integrate AI seamlessly while maintaining transparency and authenticity, ethical oversight and a customer-centric approach. At the end of the day, AI is a tool, but the real magic happens when it complements human creativity and expertise.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
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