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 you’re 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?
- What’s the best starting point for immediate impact?
That’s why we created this checklist. Designed to cut through the hype, this simple diagnostic tool empowers B2B commerce leaders to confidently pinpoint where to integrate AI into their workflows.
AI and B2B ecommerce: The statistics you need to know
Delaying new investments can be tempting but the statistics for AI in B2B ecommerce are too compelling to overlook:
of B2B companies plan to grow their investment in AI for ecommerce
Deloitte Digital reports most leading B2B companies are moving strategically into AI to stay ahead of the competition. Approximately 73-79% of B2B companies plan 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.
Manufacturers and distributors must invest heavily in AI now to stay competitive. Increasingly, the spend is shifting from basic prompt-based tools—toward AI agents that can further automate high-value tasks and act autonomously throughout the ecommerce system.
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.
Across the board, manual processes still dominate too many ecommerce workflows. 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 agents driving the biggest returns.”
Now it’s your turn: Chart your path to applying AI in commerce
Complete the checklist with these simple steps:
- Review each section carefully
- Check the boxes that describe your current ecommerce processes
- Analyze your results to identify where you need AI to enhance your workflows
PART ONE: Manual processes slowing down the sales engine
Catalog and product data management
Performing manual tasks to enter or update 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   
Website adoption
Follow-up emails are still sent manually
Sales calls and demos require manual scheduling
Quotes and proposals must be built from scratch
CRM/ERP activity logging is manual and time-consuming
Marketing campaigns
Manually creating dashboards on customer behavior, campaign impact, and saleshistory
Identifying trends or top-performing keywords without automation
Quickly finding the key data and analysis at the time it is required
PART 2: Personalization gaps costing you conversions 
Website and catalog experience:
Showing the same catalog and content to all visitors   
Zero 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   
Missing personalized discounts or loyalty-based offers   
No smart bundling or cross-sell suggestions based on buyer behavior   
Limited search doesn’t understand product attributes or customer intent   
Sales communication and content
Use of generic email templates for all customers   
Absence of follow-up customization based on order history or engagement   
No tailored content (product guides, case studies) based on customer profile   
Order experience and fulfillment
Same shipping options offered to all customers   
Missing proactive updates or personalized tracking experiences   
No personalized payment options like credit card payments for customers with approved payment terms
Using checklist results to boost performance
Your completed checklist helps you pinpoint your organization's AI needs and the areas where applying AI will yield the most significant returns.
No matter where you need assistance, Optimizely Opal, the leading agent orchestration platform, can help you get started. The solutions listed below are a combination of agents that can be created by your commerce team using Opal and agents that the Optimizely team has created and you can access out-of-the-box.
B2B Marketing Agents
Companies with ecommerce systems that offer personalized marketing experiences see an
extraordinary boost in key performance metrics such as conversion rates and order value.
Campaign Asset Preparation Agent
Creates campaign-ready content and merchandising assets automatically
A/B Test Idea Generator Agent:
Analyzes recent web experimentation results and user data, while suggeting new A/B testing hypotheses
Competitive Price Monitoring Agent
Scans defined competitor websites for price changes on matched SKUs, alerts price discrepancies, and suggests new price points
Ecommerce Adoption Agents
B2B commerce experts at Deloitte highlight that deploying AI across the buying cycle can accelerate lead conversion, reduce cycle time, and improve productivity. By unifying data across ERP, CRM, and ecommerce, AI tools rapidly surface buyer intent, identify trends and top performing keywords, and improve adoption of self-service tools.
Cart Abandonment Analysis Agent (B2B)
Identifies high-value abandoned carts and alerts account managers with insight-rich summaries.
First-Time User Engagement Agent
Triggers personalized outreach when a buyer has not engaged with key features.
User Onboarding & Guidance Agent
Guides new buyers through complex tasks with contextual, step-by-step support.
Order Processing and Fulfillment Agents
Manual steps still dominate many B2B workflows, introducing delays and errors while driving up cost-to-serve. By integrating AI agents into everyday order processing and fulfillment workflows, manufacturers and distributors accelerate order processing, minimize errors, and free up teams to focus on higher-value activities.
Inventory Low Stock Alert Agent
Predicts stockouts and drafts purchasing requests before issues arise
Order Exception Handling Agent
Monitors orders for missing data, fraud risk, or inventory conflicts and triggers the right workflow.
Smart Requisition-to-Order Agent
Determines whether an order requires human approval and automates straight-through processing when possible.
Pricing and Promotion Agents
B2B pricing is complex, with contracts, customer tiers, and volume-based discounts that require tight control to protect margins. Companies can easily miss opportunities for personalized discounts, loyalty incentives, smart bundles, and relevant cross-sell recommendations. AI and AI agents can help deliver critical information about product attributes and buyer intent for compliant yet profitable pricing.
Contract-Based Pricing Auditing Agent
Ensures quotes and orders comply with customer-specific contract pricing stored in ERP/CRM
Dynamic Tier Recommendation Agent
Analyzes last 12 months of purchasing data and proactively recommends higher pricing tiers based on volume, frequency and product mix.
Promotion Deployment & Sunset Agent
Autonomously creates promotion rules, deploys necessary assets, and automatically sets duration for promotion.
Catalog and Product Data Agents
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.
Product Data Enrichment Agent
Creates optimized descriptions and metadata from minimal attributes.
Catalog Consistency Agent
Detects missing images, mismatched pricing, or off-brand content and auto-corrects issues.
Category Structure Audit Agent
Analyzes search behavior and sales data to recommend stronger product categorization.
From checklist to action
AI can’t succeed in silos, and neither can your AI strategy. The results from this checklist can help your ecommerce team:
- Focus on quick wins
- Spot where agents can provide the most ROI
- 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 this checklist to ground strategy discussions, uncover gaps, and build a roadmap aligned to your unique B2B needs.
Want to learn more? Delve into five cutting-edge AI innovations within Optimizely Commerce that are driving substantial success for B2B businesses, moving beyond simple implementations to unlock greater online adoption and revenue growth.
Speak to an Optimizely expert and start transforming your ecommerce today.
- Last modified: 12/29/2025 4:58:44 PM