As technical director at an ecommerce agency that uses the Magento, Adobe Commerce and Shopify platforms to deliver growth for B2B commerce companies, I am keenly aware of how automation can play a significant role in improving business efficiency.
AI (artificial intelligence) has emerged in recent years as the superior mode of automation, with AI technologies progressing at break neck speed and showing no signs of slowing down.
AI is now being used in almost every industry. It is not a fad or a phase, and it isn’t going away. But concerns remain from some quarters that AI is going to result in a huge loss of jobs, and this was even the subject of a Channel 4 Dispatches programme last Monday.
While AI is able to perform many of the time consuming, but basic tasks, that humans currently carry out, potentially putting jobs, and whole companies, at risk, the truth is that this issue can be successfully navigated if people and businesses learn to adapt to using AI in the right way.
Let’s dig into some specific roles specially found in ecommerce agencies, and some of the tasks related to those roles to determine if AI could ever replace them.
Account Manager
Account managers are absolutely crucial to the proper functioning of ecommerce agencies, and I can say without a doubt that in the Magento, Adobe Commerce and Shopify ecosystems, they are the ones that make everything tick for our clients.
AI can do :
- Provide updates on tickets and bug
- Send a daily/weekly summary of tasks
- Suggest improvements to websites
- Create reports on usage / breakdown of hours
- Create roadmaps
AI cannot:
- Socialise with clients
- Build a long, trusting relationship
- Have a full understanding of the full business goals and any internal discussions that may be happening
- Make suggestions that relate to the client conversations and business goals
Verdict:
AI is not going to replace account managers anytime soon. Successful account managers will adapt and start to utilise various AI tools to improve their productivity, delegating many laborious, time-consuming, manual tasks to AI. This gives them more time to spend working on the client relationship and ensure they are giving the best possible service. AI isn’t going to be wining and dining any of our clients.
Developer
AI can do:
- Write code
- Identify and fix bugs
- Create pull requests
- Check for security vulnerabilities
AI cannot:
- Fix everything
- Have a complete business understanding of what is going on outside of the code
- Always follow best practices and write the most secure code
- Work with account managers, project managers and other team members to make suggestions around planning, the current sprint progress and previous similar client experiences that are similar to the current goal
Verdict:
AI tools for coding are coming on leaps and bounds, with tasks that weren’t possible months ago now being achievable. However, the only way to get the best out of AI when it comes to coding is context and technical planning. Giving AI generic ideas, basic information about a bug, or a poorly detailed change request will not result in a great outcome. The phrase “context engineering” refers to the ability to accurately describe to AI exactly what you are trying to achieve, and developers are often the best suited for this role. They understand the platform, codebase and technical requirements needed, and can lead the AI in a paired-programming approach, to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved. Developers’ wealth of knowledge from past projects are often things that cannot be rivalled.
Quality Assurance (QA)
AI can do:
- Run automated tests to identify bugs
- Make suggestions and improvements (limited knowledge)
AI cannot:
- Always accurately test complex user journeys and identify customisation (essential in B2B portals)
- Always accurately test cross devices. Sometimes “simulating” mobile devices is not the same as using them
- Make suggestions and improvements based on having full knowledge of the business and future plans
Verdict:
B2B customer portals often have complex testing requirements, such as custom pricing for different users and different catalogues. Although the testing by AI can be very powerful, I believe it is still too immature to do a large chunk of the tasks we see daily with B2B customer portals. It can, however, help QAs with efficiency, and less complex tasks can be delegated to it. The QA often has a lot of knowledge about the business and business goals that the AI won’t be aware of, allowing the QA to make more accurate suggestions for improvements.
Need expert advice on a B2B ecommerce store and customer portal?
Fluid Commerce has a team of ecommerce experts that specialise in creating ecommerce stores and customer portals for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributers using Magento, Adobe Commerce and Shopify for B2B. Contact us here to arrange a call about your potential project.
