How AI agents are transforming customer experiences and making manual personalisation obsolete.

The Current State of Personalisation

Today, e-commerce merchants strive to offer personalised experiences:

  • Recommending products based on previous purchases 
  • Segmenting email lists manually 
  • Creating marketing campaigns for different customer demographics 

While effective, these approaches are often manual, static, and limited in scale. For larger stores, maintaining real-time personalisation is virtually impossible without AI.

Why AI Is Becoming Essential

AI agents can analyse vast amounts of data instantly:

  • Browsing behaviour 
  • Purchase history 
  • Abandoned carts 
  • Social interactions 
  • Seasonal trends and market signals 

By processing this data, AI agents can predict customer needs and deliver hyper-personalised experiences in real time, far beyond what a human team could achieve manually.

How AI Personalisation Works

1. Dynamic Product Recommendations

  • AI agents suggest products tailored to each individual’s behaviour and preferences. 
  • Example: “Customers who viewed this also bought…” or personalised bundle recommendations. 

Impact: Increases average order value and engagement.

2. Automated Email & Messaging Personalisation
  • AI segments customers automatically and triggers emails or notifications based on real-time behaviour. 
  • Example: Abandoned cart recovery, win-back campaigns, and personalised promotions. 

Impact: Higher open rates, click-throughs, and conversions.

3. Real-Time Website Personalisation
  • AI adjusts website content, product order, and layout based on user behaviour. 
  • Example: Showcasing products similar to previously viewed items or trending in the user’s region. 

Impact: Better UX, longer sessions, and higher conversion rates.

4. Pricing & Promotions Personalisation
  • AI agents analyse purchase history, demand, and competitor pricing. 
  • Automatically optimise offers, discounts, and loyalty incentives per customer. 

Impact: Maximises revenue while maintaining customer satisfaction.

5. Predictive Personalisation
  • AI anticipates future customer behaviour to deliver offers before they even search for a product. 
  • Example: Recommending summer products to customers who bought spring items last year. 

Impact: Creates proactive engagement and drives repeat purchases.

Real-World Impact

A BigCommerce retailer integrated VortexIQ AI agents to fully automate personalisation:

  • Personalized product recommendations for 3,000 SKUs 
  • Automated emails and win-back campaigns triggered by behaviour 
  • Dynamic homepage layout adjusted per visitor session 

Results:

  • Conversion rates increased by 25% 
  • Repeat purchases rose by 30% 

Manual personalisation workload reduced by 60+ hours per month.

Why Full AI-Driven Personalisation Is Inevitable

  1. Scale: Human teams can’t manually personalise for thousands of SKUs and millions of customers. 
  2. Speed: AI reacts instantly to behaviour changes and market trends. 
  3. Accuracy: AI identifies patterns and insights invisible to humans. 
  4. Revenue Impact: Optimised offers and recommendations directly boost sales. 

Customer Expectation: Consumers now expect real-time, tailored experiences across websites, emails, and ads.

Final Word

Personalisation is evolving from a manual, segmented process to an automated, AI-driven experience. By 2030, every e-commerce interaction could be tailored by AI agents, delivering hyper-personalised experiences at scale.

Merchants who embrace AI now will:

  • Increase customer satisfaction 
  • Maximise revenue per user 
  • Free teams to focus on strategic growth and creative work