The Implement AI Podcast #61 – How AI Agents Drive 24/7 Retail Success
August 30, 2025
Is your retail business truly harnessing the power of AI or just scratching the surface?
In the latest episode of The Implement AI Podcast, hosts Piers Linney and Dr. Aalok Y. Shukla explore one of the fastest-moving sectors ripe for disruption: retail.
With real-world examples, practical frameworks, and stories from the field, this episode is a playbook for any retail or eCommerce business looking to stay ahead of the AI curve.
Why Most Still Aren’t Using AI Effectively
Despite the buzz around AI and tools like ChatGPT, most retail businesses are still on the sidelines regarding true implementation. Piers shares that at recent events and dinners with retailers, he was surprised to find that while everyone is “playing” with generative AI tools personally, few are actually deploying them in their business workflows. This is a huge missed opportunity.
Reactivating Dormant Customers with AI Voice Agents
One of the most immediate and impactful use cases for AI in retail? Reactivation.
Most retailers sit on a goldmine of customer data, past buyers who haven’t engaged in a while. Traditional methods like email nurture campaigns rarely move the needle. AI changes that.
Dr. Aalok explains how AI agents can proactively reach out to past customers using personalised voice calls, far more engaging than a passive email or form. By using previous purchase behaviour and customer profiles, AI can recommend relevant products, gather updated preferences, and reignite the relationship.
And crucially, this kind of outreach can be framed as a helpful service: “We noticed you bought X last year. Can we help you with an upgrade or something new?” Retailers can even script these interactions to collect valuable feedback.
Automate the Mundane, Stay Consistent
Retailers often struggle to keep product content fresh, optimised, and consistent across their platforms. The manual effort behind uploading SKUs, writing descriptions, tagging images, and formatting specs can slow down product launches and hurt SEO.
With AI, you can automate this entire pipeline. Dr. Aalok describes how to create structured outputs based on your brand’s style guide. Feed technical specs, product manuals, and past content into an AI agent, and it will generate SEO-friendly, on-brand copy at scale.
Even image analysis is possible: take a photo of a product, and AI can generate a descriptive caption. Not perfect? Sure. But it dramatically reduces human effort and sets a solid foundation for editing.
Why Voice Beats Forms
Piers and Dr. Aalok emphasise the power of voice engagement over traditional input methods like forms and emails. Voice-based AI agents capture far richer data, sentiment, nuance, and intent because people talk faster than they type and share more naturally in a conversation.
This opens the door to hyper-personalisation. Imagine your CRM not just storing names and purchases, but also hobbies, preferences, tone, and goals, gathered seamlessly through voice interactions. Think of it as going back to the old corner shopkeeper who knew your name, your family, and what you were likely to need next.
If you’re using customer surveys, follow-ups, or support, use voice wherever you can. It’s more human, more insightful, and far more engaging.
The Power of Hyper-Personalisation
Armed with rich, conversational data, retailers can now personalise their outreach in ways previously reserved for tech giants like Amazon. Whether it’s curating product recommendations based on a customer’s lifestyle, purchase history, or even their home decor, the goal is clear: deliver relevance at scale.
Examples include:
- Tailored email campaigns based on seasonality and past purchases
- Product suggestions that account for family makeup or upcoming holidays
- Follow-up voice calls recommending accessories or upgrades to previous orders
Retailers can now offer brochure-of-one experiences and even build AI concierges that guide customers through product choices in real time.
24/7 AI Customer Support
Here’s a killer use case for AI that could radically differentiate your brand: round-the-clock customer support.
Retailers often miss high-intent engagement simply because no one is available to answer at 1 AM. But customers, especially new parents or shift workers, don’t shop on a 9-5 schedule. As one eCommerce founder told Piers, “Most of our purchases happen at 3 AM.”
With AI agents, you can provide instant, helpful support without hiring night staff. These agents can:
- Answer product questions from a knowledge base
- Provide troubleshooting advice
- Collect customer feedback
- Escalate complex cases to humans during business hours
And yes, customers can know they’re speaking to an AI. The experience just needs to be smooth, useful, and branded.
So… Where Do You Start?
Feeling overwhelmed? That’s natural. The good news is, you don’t need to “boil the ocean.” Start small with one use case that:
- Drives revenue growth
- Improves capacity
- Creates a new customer experience
The Implement AI team recommends a 3-phase cycle: Prove-Deploy-Scale.
Start with a pilot campaign, perhaps reactivating dormant customers with AI calls. Once you have results, expand into product data automation or voice-based personalisation. Eventually, you’ll build a flywheel of continuous improvement, one that your competitors will struggle to catch up to.
Final Thoughts
Retail is at an inflexion point. The tools to create smarter, more human, more scalable experiences are here, but only a few businesses are deploying them.
Whether you run an eCommerce brand or a brick-and-click chain, integrating AI agents and voice into your operations isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a strategic advantage.
As Piers and Dr. Aalok remind us, the real power lies not in flashy tools but in practical implementation. If you’re not using AI to automate the mundane, engage with customers 24/7, and make sense of your data, you’re already behind.
So start now. Test, learn, and iterate. Your future digital workforce is ready, and your customers are too.
Listen to the new episode on:
- Apple: https://apple.co/3ZqN7np
- Spotify: https://bit.ly/3FmIx2C
- YouTube: https://bit.ly/3HemM5x
