In 2025, AI’s most transformative impact on retail will remain behind the scenes—boosting inventory management, operational efficiency, and digital customer service, according to Genesys senior vice president of product management of AI, Brett Weigl.
“While these changes will significantly enhance online shopping and customer service, brands will face mounting pressure to replicate the personalised, AI-driven experiences consumers expect online, in store,” he said.
“Over the next few years, we expect to see AI-powered predictive analytics in action, offering real-time, personalised discounts based on in-store behavior, particularly for retailers with strong customer data and loyalty programs.
“Retailers that successfully integrate these seamless, personalised experiences across both online and in-store channels will lead the pack, while others who are not experimenting with AI risk falling behind.”
The rise of virtual agents is also upon us, according to Genesys vice president of product – AI and self-service, Rahul Garg.
“To drive efficiency, many businesses use some form of chatbot to automate customer service because they’re relatively easy to deploy, help them to extend their reach and are available 24/7,” he said.
“Chatbots provide a lot of value when they are built right but many also provide fragmented interactions, earning them a bad reputation as one of the most frustrating parts of CX for consumers. Even so, consumers generally have no hesitations about interacting with AI-powered chatbots — if the technology can quickly resolve their issues.
“Too many chatbots are ineffective because they have rigid designs; they aren’t structured to keep up with human conversation; they require constant maintenance to stay updated; and when they escalate to an agent, employees often ask repetitive questions, creating a frustrating experience for the consumer.”
To give consumers what they want, businesses need to start upgrading their chatbots and leveraging virtual agents.
“Using large language models, advanced virtual agents mimic natural human conversation, can understand more complex and a wide range of inputs, can easily scale, pass context about customers to their human counterparts and tailor experiences based on real-time consumer behavior and preferences.
“Simply put, virtual agents can give customers the ‘human touch’ that chatbots can’t. Businesses that don’t evolve using virtual agents will miss out on a new age of automated experiences that are seamless, personalised and successful in keeping their customers happy.”