15 eCommerce tasks you should hand off to AI agents right now

Key takeaways
  • They take over repetitive, decision-heavy eCommerce tasks, freeing human teams to focus on strategy, creativity, and customer empathy.
  • From product discovery and size guidance to cart assistance and comparisons, AI agents accelerate buying decisions and directly lift conversion rates and AOV.
  • They handle high-volume support tasks like order tracking, returns, and multilingual queries consistently, 24/7, across multiple channels.
  • Brands that deploy AI agents for predictable, context-rich tasks move faster, protect margins, and grow without operational drag.

E-commerce teams are stretched thinner than ever. Acquisition costs are rising, catalogs are expanding, shoppers expect instant answers, and support teams are buried under repetitive work.

The result isn’t a lack of effort, it’s a lack of leverage.

This is where AI agents step in, not as experimental tools or flashy chat widgets, but as autonomous digital workers that handle repeatable, decision-heavy tasks with speed, consistency, and context.

AI agents in ecommerce excel at automating repetitive tasks and routine tasks, such as managing operational processes and complex workflows.

By automating these repetitive tasks, AI agents free up human team members to focus on more creative and strategic work.

The real opportunity in 2026 isn’t “adding AI everywhere.” It’s handing off the right tasks, the ones that drain time, introduce friction, or delay decisions, to AI agents that can operate independently and at scale.

Below are 15 high-impact e-commerce tasks you should hand off to AI agents right now, and why doing so unlocks growth without adding headcount.

Introducing artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way ecommerce businesses operate independently by enabling software systems to perform complex tasks that once required human intelligence.

At its core, artificial intelligence is about building computer systems that can learn, adapt, and make decisions, whether that’s solving problems, analyzing financial data, or automating routine business processes.

In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, AI is a game-changer: it helps companies streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and make smarter, faster decisions.

By leveraging AI to perform complex routine tasks, ecommerce brands can focus their human supervision on strategy and growth, while AI systems handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Generative AI in Ecommerce business

Generative AI is revolutionizing ecommerce sites by enabling businesses to create new content and experiences at scale.

Using advanced algorithms, generative AI for sales can craft personalized product recommendations, write compelling product descriptions, and even produce virtual product demos that engage shoppers.

By analyzing customer data and preferences, generative AI tools empower ecommerce companies to develop more targeted and effective marketing automation strategies.

This not only enhances the customer experience but also drives higher engagement and conversion rates, helping ecommerce brands stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Also read: Mastering eCommerce 2026 with AI Agents

Deep learning and AI agents

Deep learning is a powerful branch of machine learning that uses neural networks to process vast volumes of data and make informed decisions beyond simple automation.

For AI agents, deep learning enables continuous learning from customer behavior, real-time adaptation to industry trends, and performance improvement over time, without relying solely on pre-programmed rules.

Instead of following static scripts, AI agents develop a deep understanding of intent, context, and nuance.

In ecommerce, deep learning combined with natural language processing enables AI agents to understand complex and ambiguous customer queries with deep contextual awareness.

This allows them to perform cognitive tasks such as product comparison, fit guidance, and efficient order issue resolution.

This goes far beyond keyword matching, enabling more human-like, conversational AI interactions.

By leveraging machine learning and neural networks, ecommerce businesses enable AI agents to move beyond pre-programmed rules into intelligent, context-aware decision-making.

The result is smarter assistance, personalized customer support agents, and customer experiences that consistently drive stronger business outcomes.

The Right tasks. The Right AI agents.

Real growth comes from leverage, not more tools. Hand off time-draining eCommerce tasks to AI agents that scale with you.

 15 eCommerce tasks you should hand off to AI agents

eCommerce tasks you should hand off to AI agents

If your store still relies on humans for every decision, follow-up, and exception, you’re leaving speed and revenue on the table.

Today, multiple AI agents and other agents can be deployed to handle a variety of ecommerce functions, each specializing in different domains to optimize and automate business operations.

Essential tasks in managing an eCommerce business processes include website management, lead management, digital marketing, inventory and supply chain management, order fulfillment, and customer service.

1. Product discovery and guided shopping

Shoppers don’t browse, they explore. Most arrive with vague intent: a vibe, an occasion, a problem to solve. Traditional search bars and filters assume certainty, which most shoppers don’t have.

AI agents excel at conversational discovery. They interpret natural language queries, ask clarifying questions, and guide shoppers toward relevant product recommendations or bundles.

This reduces choice overload and accelerates decision-making - two of the biggest conversion blockers in modern e-commerce.

2. Product comparison and decision support

“How is this different from that?” is one of the most common pre-purchase questions. It’s also one of the most time-consuming tasks for human teams.

AI agents can compare products side-by-side, explain differences in plain language, and highlight which option fits a shopper’s needs best.

By analyzing metrics such as conversion rates and customer acquisition cost (CAC), these agents inform their recommendations and optimize decision support.

Analytics in ecommerce include tracking KPIs like conversion rates and CAC, which AI agents can leverage to provide more effective and data-driven guidance.

Instead of overwhelming customers with specs, agents contextualize tradeoffs, helping shoppers move forward with confidence.

3. Size, fit, and compatibility guidance

Size uncertainty is a leading cause of cart abandonment and returns, especially in fashion and home categories. Humans provide good advice, but they don’t scale.

AI agents analyze size charts, measurements, material behavior, and past purchase patterns to recommend the most likely fit.

By leveraging historical data from past purchases and returns, these agents improve performance and the accuracy of their recommendations.

AI agents can also assist with inventory updates, such as monitoring low-stock items and sourcing new products.

This removes guesswork before checkout and significantly reduces post-purchase dissatisfaction.

4. Cart assistance and abandonment prevention

Most cart abandonment doesn’t happen because shoppers changed their minds. It happens because a question went unanswered at the wrong moment.

An AI assistant monitors hesitation signals, long pauses, repeated cart views, variant switching, and steps in with timely assistance at critical moments in the business process.

The AI assistant answers last-mile questions, clarifies shipping or return policies, and reassures shoppers before intent fades.

Reducing cart abandonment not only increases conversion optimization but also leads to more efficient order fulfillment, including picking, packing, and shipping orders.

Must read: Abandoned cart recovery: Using AI cart recovery agents

5. Cross-sell and upsell recommendations

Traditional upsells are static and often irrelevant. AI agents take a different approach by recommending add-ons based on context and intent, with the goal of boosting ecommerce sales.

For example, TechMonk offers specialized sales AI agents designed specifically for driving ecommerce sales and improving conversion rates through intelligent customer interactions.

If a shopper adds a product to the cart, the agent understands why they’re buying it and suggests complementary items that make sense. This increases average order value without feeling pushy or promotional.

6. Order tracking (WISMO)

“Where is my order?” remains the single most common support user query in e-commerce. It’s also one of the easiest tasks to automate.

AI agents pull real-time data from order management systems and shipping carriers to provide accurate updates instantly.

This reduces ticket volume dramatically and frees human agents to focus on more complex issues.

7. Returns and exchange handling

Returns don’t need human intervention in most cases; they need clarity.

AI agents can explain return policies, check eligibility, generate labels, and guide customers through exchanges.

Return and exchange automation shows how AI agents power modern ecommerce by handling eligibility checks, policy explanations, and label generation automatically.

This reduces manual effort, speeds up resolutions, and improves the post-purchase experience.

When exceptions arise, the agent escalates with full context, saving time for both customers and support teams.

8. Product materials, care, and usage questions

Shoppers ask detailed questions about materials, durability, care instructions, and usage scenarios. Answering these repeatedly drains support bandwidth.

AI agents can use computer vision to analyze product images and extract material or care information, providing more accurate and visual responses.

Creating compelling product descriptions and photography enhances product content management, which AI agents can support by generating and optimizing content.

AI agents surface precise answers directly from product data and knowledge bases. They provide consistent, accurate responses while maintaining your brand tone - something human teams struggle to do at scale.

9. Post-purchase onboarding and education

The moment after checkout is fragile. Customers often feel uncertainty about whether they made the right choice.

AI tools can automate post-purchase onboarding and education by sending setup guides, styling tips, care instructions, or usage advice after delivery.

These small interventions reduce regret, improve satisfaction, and increase repeat purchase likelihood.

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems support handling customer inquiries and building customer loyalty, and these processes can be further enhanced by AI agents.

10. Personalized promotions and re-engagement

Blasting discounts are expensive and inefficient. AI agents enable targeted, behavior-driven re-engagement.

They can also analyze social media data to inform personalized promotions and re-engagement strategies.

They trigger back-in-stock alerts, size restock notifications, price-drop messages, or curated recommendations based on individual preferences and browsing history.

This drives higher engagement with less promotional fatigue. Additionally, customer acquisition involves running digital marketing, SEO, PPC, and social media campaigns, which AI agents can help optimize.

11. Persistent conversations across channels

Customers move between devices and platforms fluidly. They expect brands to remember context.

AI agents maintain conversation memory across web, email, WhatsApp, SMS, and social channels. Shoppers don’t repeat themselves, and brands deliver a seamless experience that feels thoughtful and human.

12. Merchandising insights from customer conversations

Every customer inquiry is a data point. AI agents aggregate these signals to surface patterns: missing sizes, unclear descriptions, and unmet needs.

These insights feed directly into merchandising, product development, and content teams - turning conversations into real-time business intelligence.

13. Support triage and intelligent escalation

AI tools triage incoming requests, resolve routine queries autonomously, and escalate complex or emotional cases to human agents with full summaries.

This improves resolution times and customer satisfaction simultaneously.

14. Multilingual customer support

Global commerce demands multilingual experiences, but hiring native-speaking support teams at scale is expensive. Enterprise solutions often require advanced multilingual support for global operations.

AI agents handle multilingual conversations fluently, ensuring consistent support quality across regions.

This dramatically helps in reducing ecommerce support tickets by resolving common queries instantly, without language barriers slowing customers down.

For example, Ada provides enterprise-grade AI agents with exceptional multi-language capabilities and advanced conversation management across all customer touchpoints.

Human teams step in only when nuance or judgment is required.

Don't miss: Reducing E-commerce support tickets with AI agent in E-commerce

15. Operational task routing, inventory management, and follow-ups

Beyond customer-facing tasks, building AI agents for operational task routing can be done using intuitive platforms.

For example, Glide offers an intuitive platform that allows small ecommerce businesses to build and deploy AI agents without technical expertise.

AI agents can route internal requests, trigger follow-ups, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

From flagging high-risk orders to reminding teams about unresolved issues, agents act as operational glue, keeping complex workflows moving without constant human oversight.

Why brands choose Skara eCommerce AI agents

Skara is built specifically for modern e-commerce teams that want AI agents to do real work, not just answer questions.

Skara’s AI agents take ownership of high-volume, high-impact tasks across the customer journey- product discovery, cart assistance, fit guidance, order tracking, returns, and post-purchase support, while staying grounded in your live catalog, inventory, policies, and brand voice.

Skara also streamlines software development for ecommerce AI agents, enabling faster deployment and customization to fit unique business needs.

Instead of generic automation, Skara delivers context-aware agents that know when to step in, what to simplify, and when to escalate to humans with full context.

Conversations stay consistent across web, WhatsApp, SMS, email, and social channels, creating a seamless omnichannel AI experience where shoppers never have to repeat themselves.

The result is fewer stalled decisions, lower support load, faster resolutions, and measurable gains in conversion optimization, AOV, and customer satisfaction, without adding headcount or complexity.

If you’re ready to hand off the right e-commerce tasks to AI agents, Skara is built to run them.

Why brands choose Skara

Purpose-built eCommerce AI agents that handle real shopping and support tasks, end-to-end.

Why these tasks belong with an AI agent

All fifteen tasks share common traits:

  • They are repetitive
  • They require context
  • They demand consistency
  • They scale with volume

These are precisely the conditions where AI agents outperform humans, not by replacing judgment, but by removing cognitive and operational drag.

To maximize these benefits, it's important to deploy AI agents effectively, using scalable infrastructure that supports reliable deployment and auto-scaling.

However, developing and deploying sophisticated AI agents can be computationally expensive and require significant resources.

Human teams should focus on strategy, creativity, and empathy. AI agents should handle the predictable work that slows everything down.

Final thoughts

E-commerce success in 2026 isn’t defined by who works harder; it’s defined by who works smarter.

AI agents are no longer experimental tools. They are reliable operators that reduce friction, protect margins, and scale customer experience without scaling costs.

If your team is still doing these fifteen tasks manually, the opportunity isn’t in hiring more people.

It’s in handing the work to agents that never sleep, never forget, and never slow down.

Frequently asked questions

1. What tasks are best suited for AI agents in e-commerce?

AI agents are best suited for high-volume, repeatable tasks such as product discovery, pre-purchase guidance, size and fit recommendations, cart assistance, order tracking, returns handling, and routine support queries. These tasks require consistency, speed, and access to real-time data.

2. How do AI agents improve conversion rates?

AI agents improve conversion by reducing decision friction. They answer last-mile questions, clarify size and fit, compare products, provide reassurance, and engage at moments of hesitation - all of which help shoppers make confident purchase decisions. 

3. Can AI agents handle complex customer questions?

AI agents handle most factual, catalog-based, and policy-based questions with high accuracy. For emotionally complex or ambiguous scenarios, they escalate to a human agent with a full conversation summary, ensuring smooth handoff. 

4. Do AI agents replace human support teams?

No. AI agents handle repetitive and data-driven tasks, while human teams focus on high-touch cases requiring empathy, judgment, or custom solutions. AI reduces workload, but it doesn’t remove the need for human expertise. 

5. How do AI agents personalize the shopping experience?

AI agents learn from shopper behavior, preferences, browsing patterns, past purchases, size history, and engagement signals. They use this data to make tailored recommendations, trigger relevant alerts, and streamline discovery without overwhelming the user. 

6. What makes AI agents more effective than chatbots?

AI agents reason, adapt, and act across systems. Unlike scripted chatbots, they understand intent, access live catalog and order data, personalize responses, and complete multi-step workflows such as exchanges, outfit building, and checkout assistance. 

Shivani Tripathi
Shivani Tripathi

Shivani is a passionate writer who found her calling in storytelling and content creation. At Salesmate, she collaborates with a dynamic team of creators to craft impactful narratives around marketing and sales. She has a keen curiosity for new ideas and trends, always eager to learn and share fresh perspectives. Known for her optimism, Shivani believes in turning challenges into opportunities. Outside of work, she enjoys introspection, observing people, and finding inspiration in everyday moments.

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