Artificial intelligence begins to modify the way consumers search for products, receive recommendations, and relate to companies. The next phase points to assistants capable of comparing alternatives and even completing purchases on behalf of the user, a model known as agentic commerce that can change the role of digital platforms in consumption decisions.
The study Intelligent Distribution, prepared by DigitalES and La Distribución ANGED, gathers experiences from five companies to show how this technology is being incorporated into commerce. The projects range from the improvement of digital catalogs to support tools for advising and systems that connect different service channels.
Technological evolution opens new possibilities to personalize service and facilitate purchasing decisions, but it also raises questions about the use of data, the responsibility of the systems and the role of professionals. The report underscores that extending these solutions requires identifying concrete needs, evaluating their results, and maintaining human oversight.
Five companies, five ways of incorporating AI
The experiences collected in the study show that artificial intelligence can intervene at different moments of the commercial relationship, both before the customer chooses a product and during the service they receive.
Leroy Merlin applies these tools to the continuous improvement of its digital catalog. Alcampo integrates them into online purchasing, order preparation, and logistics through its alliance with Ocado. In these areas, the technology is incorporated into processes that connect the available offer with the organization of purchases and their preparation.
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MediaMarkt develops assistants to support its employees in advising customers. The objective is to incorporate digital capabilities into the work of professionals, who can resort to these tools during customer service.
El Corte Inglés, for its part, seeks to transfer its expert knowledge and personalized attention to the digital environment. This application connects one of the traditional attributes of the physical store —advising— with the possibilities of digital channels.
Automation can also free up time to attend to the customer
The application of these technologies is not limited to product search or assistance during the purchase. It can also change the way companies manage consumer inquiries and distribute work among their teams.
The case of Eroski illustrates this side. The company has unified support by phone, email, and messaging on a platform that manages more than 23,000 cases per month. According to the data included in the study, management times per interaction have been reduced by nearly 42%, while transfers between advisors have gone from levels close to 40% to values close to 4%.
The experience shows how the integration of channels can facilitate the management of inquiries and reduce referrals between professionals. The result also points to a relevant issue for the digital transformation of commerce: automating or streamlining certain processes can leave more time available for tasks in which human intervention remains important.
During the presentation of the report, the Secretary of State for Commerce, Amparo López Senovilla, defended that technology must bring value to companies and benefits to people. She also highlighted that automating repetitive tasks makes it possible to dedicate more resources to activities such as creativity, strategy, customer service, and innovation.
Reliable data and prepared professionals
For applications of artificial intelligence to be able to spread, the study recommends starting with concrete problems and checking their results before expanding the projects. The availability of quality data, the integration of tools into business processes, and team training are among the conditions mentioned.
The evaluation should not be limited to measuring time saved. The report identifies other results relevant to commerce, such as product availability, consumer satisfaction, and the time professionals can dedicate to personal attention.
The general director of DigitalES, Miguel Sánchez Galindo, stressed that the challenge consists of determining where to apply the technology, measuring its impact, and extending the solutions that demonstrate their usefulness. He also highlighted the importance of adapting processes and preparing professionals, as well as having good data.
Agentic commerce poses new challenges
One of the next scenarios that the study includes is agentic commerce. In this model, AI-based assistants could compare options and complete purchases on behalf of the consumer, instead of merely answering questions or recommending products.
This possibility opens a new stage in the relationship between users and companies. If assistants intervene in the selection of alternatives and in the execution of purchases, companies will have to pay attention to how decisions are made and what information is used during the process.
The management of data, the allocation of responsibilities and human supervision take on special relevance in this context. The development of these applications raises the need to determine what actions systems can carry out, how their operation is controlled and in what way consumer trust is preserved.
The evolution of digital commerce will depend, therefore, on something more than the incorporation of new tools. The experiences gathered by DigitalES and La Distribución ANGED point to a twofold challenge: to take advantage of artificial intelligence to facilitate purchasing and improve business processes, without losing sight of the advice, trust and personal attention that are part of the relationship between commerce and its customers.