The AI Opportunity Checklist: Getting ready for AI in B2B ecommerce

For many manufacturing and distribution (M&D) companies, using AI to boost ecommerce results still feels like a future-state aspiration. It sounds powerful in theory, but it’s not always clear how and when to deploy AI effectively.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the constant AI hype, and if you’re tempted to skip AI investments altogether, you are not alone. At Optimizely, B2B leaders share these common questions with us daily:

• What does "doing AI" truly mean for B2B ecommerce?
• How can we build a realistic AI strategy for our unique business?
• Where's the best place to start using AI for immediate impact?

In fact, that’s exactly why we created the AI Opportunity Checklist. It's a simple diagnostic tool designed to cut through the hype and help B2B leaders confidently start their AI journey.

AI in B2B ecommerce: The statistics you want to know about

While delaying new investments can be tempting, the statistics for AI in B2B ecommerce are too compelling to overlook. For example:

• Deloitte Digital reports that most leading B2B companies are moving strategically into AI to stay ahead of the competition, with approximately 73-79% of B2B companies planning to grow their investment in AI for ecommerce.
• McKinsey’s latest B2B Pulse Survey notes a broader increase in B2B ecommerce budgets, much of it earmarked for digital and AI transformation. The consulting giant advises B2B companies to invest in advanced AI “like an attacker” if they want to stay ahead.

It’s clear manufacturers and distributors must invest heavily in AI now to stay competitive. But where does AI’s real capability for B2B ecommerce begin?

The spectrum of AI maturity in B2B ecommerce

A major challenge leaders face is how different AI maturity looks for every organization.

Some have robust data pipelines without intelligent search. Others have great ecommerce sites but still build quotes from scratch.

But what is consistent across the board is that manual processes still dominate far too many workflows, and that’s costing real money and major opportunities.

M&D teams are increasingly using this checklist to identify the most meaningful next steps,” says Trevor Pope, Optimizely’s Senior Director of Solution Architecture. “When the answer is yes to even one of these questions, it reveals a high-potential area for AI-driven automation, with personalization likely to be the biggest value driver.

Trevor Pope

Senior Director, Solution Architecture, Optimizely

Now it’s your turn: The AI Opportunity Checklist

To complete the checklist, follow these simple steps:

1. Review each section carefully
2. Check the boxes that describe your current ecommerce processes
3. Summarize the checked boxes to uncover where AI can drive efficiency and smarter personalization

PART 1: Manual processes slowing down your sales engine 

Catalog and product data management:

Manually entering or updating product data across platforms   
Managing separate catalogs for different customer segments or sites   
Converting units of measure (UOM) manually for different buyers   

Order processing and fulfillment:   

Re-keying orders from your ecommerce platform into ERP or OMS   
Manually checking inventory availability before confirming orders   
Creating shipping labels and documentation by hand   
Tracking order status and delivery updates manually   

Sales engagement and ecommerce adoption: 

Salespeople finding low value from current digital tools   
Sending follow-up emails manually after quotes or inquiries   
Scheduling sales calls or demos without automation   
Building quotes and proposals from scratch   
Logging sales activities manually in CRM or ERP   

Sales intelligence and reporting:

Manually pulling data from multiple systems to build reports   
Manually creating dashboards for sales, inventory, or customer behavior   
Identifying trends or top-performing SKUs without automation 

PART 2: Personalization gaps costing you conversions 

Website and catalog experience: 

Showing the same catalog and content to all visitors   
No AI-driven product recommendations based on past orders or browsing   
No dynamic content tailored to industry, location, or account tier   

Pricing and promotions:

Static pricing that doesn’t reflect customer relationship or volume   
No personalized discounts or loyalty-based offers   
No smart bundling or cross-sell suggestions based on buyer behavior   
Limited search that doesn’t understand product attributes or customer intent   

Sales communication and content: 

Using generic email templates for all customers   
No follow-up customization based on order history or engagement   
No tailored content (eg. product guides, case studies) based on customer profile   

Order experience and fulfillment:

Offering the same shipping options to all customers   
No proactive updates or personalized tracking experiences   
No personalized payment options (eg. offering credit card payments to customers who have payment terms setup) 

Analyzing your checklist results

The completed checklist will help your ecommerce team better understand the areas where your organization will experience the greatest returns when it comes to AI. Most organizations find major gains in these four areas:

Personalization shortfalls

B2B buyers expect deeply personalized experiences, and it is not an area where manufacturers and distributors can afford to fall behind. Companies that personalize their ecommerce experiences see an extraordinary boost in key performance metrics such as conversion rates and order value with McKinsey reporting thatB2B companies that excel at personalization see conversion rates 5-8 times higher than those with rudimentary customization. Gartner underscores this, stating that personalization and customer journey optimization via AI are now foundational to B2B commerce.

When it comes to ecommerce and M&D, personalization is the great game-changer,” says Trevor Pope. “On its own, AI-powered personalization supercharges B2B ecommerce by enhancing customer satisfaction, increasing operational agility, and creating more sustainable, longterm growth.

Trevor Pope

Senior Director, Solution Architecture, Optimizely

Sales enablement and intelligence

Fragmented data makes it harder to prioritize leads and tailor outreach, slowing deal cycles and leaving opportunities untapped. B2B commerce experts at Deloitte highlight that deploying AI across the lead-to-quote process can accelerate lead conversion, reduce cycle time, and improve productivity. By unifying data across ERP, CRM, and ecommerce, AI tools rapidly surface buyer intent, recommend next best actions, and help reps engage with precision.

Manual workflows

Too many B2B sales teams still rely on manual processes, from re-keying orders into ERP systems, to pulling reports from multiple platforms. These bottlenecks waste time, drain resources, and increase the risk of costly errors. By integrating AI into everyday workflows, manufacturers and distributors can accelerate order processing, minimize errors, and free up teams to focus on higher-value activities.

Catalog and product complexity

Inconsistent or incomplete product data creates a frustrating experience for buyers, leading to poor search results, confusion, and abandoned carts. B2B organizations using AI to enrich and structure catalog content see a 30% increase in conversion rates and a 25% increase in average order value, largely due to better product discoverability and dynamic merchandising.

From the checklist to your action plan

AI can’t succeed in silos, and neither can your AI strategy. The B2B commerce experts at Optimizely recommend reviewing the checklist collaboratively across marketing, IT, sales, and operations. Results from this process can help your ecommerce team:

• Focus on quick wins
• Identify high-impact automation areas
• Guide long-term investments

Getting started with AI doesn’t require a massive overhaul. In fact, trying to do it all at once is one of the fastest ways to stall out. Deploy the AI Opportunity Checklist to ground strategy discussions, uncover gaps, and build a roadmap aligned to your unique B2B needs.

How Optimizely can help

Configured Commerce delivers smart pricing and guided selling capabilities that adapt to complex B2B buying scenarios. With Google Cloud's Vertex AI integration, it provides intelligent search that understands industry-specific terminology and product relationships, helping buyers find exactly what they need faster.

Optimizely Opal leverages generative AI to automate content creation across product pages, email campaigns, and marketing materials, eliminating hours of manual work while maintaining brand consistency and technical accuracy across complex product catalog

Optimizely Personalization delivers account-level personalization, tailoring product recommendations, bundles, and promotional content based on your company’s unique characteristics and your customers’ needs.

Remember, in today’s B2B ecommerce landscape, AI isn’t the future—it’s the advantage!