Artificial Intelligence: Transforming E-Commerce in 2018

Published on Apr 17, 2018

Updated on Dec 30, 2019

Artificial Intelligence [AI] is reshaping the e-commerce sector by eliminating many manual processes in the area of promotion, supply chain, and assortments. AI has been a helping hand by making decisions smarter, accurate and real time. The agile, data-driven technology advanced industry could get a boost with the adoption of AI into the system. Identifying patterns, sourcing data from different channels, facial recognition, shopping patterns, media trends and automation of mundane jobs would make e-commerce industry more dynamic, and customer focussed.

Industry expert Gartner predicts – by 2020, 85% of the customer relationship, would be managed without human interaction.

So what are key areas where AI has been hitting hard and providing positive outcomes, let’s explore :-

Offering customer focussed Solution

The critical requirement of any business is “serving the customer needs.” However, with digitization its hard to know them, study their body language or communicate with them. That’s where Artificial Intelligence [AI] comes into the picture. With the help of machine learning and natural language processing, it gets easy to read the movements of the customer, analyze and show them relevant items. One of the best examples is of Pinterest that offers a browser extension and shows similar images with image recognition software. What it helps is narrowing down the search for the user with ease and convenience.

Realigning Sales Strategy

Thanks to software industry we have best in class Sales and marketing Management system and
CRM, but studies have shown that almost 30% of leads are not followed up by the sales team. The system is not equipped to predict or read market sentiments and most importantly realign sales messages in real time. For all of this embedding natural language learning, predictive marketing and analyzing deeply onto the leads would help in realigning sales strategy, thereby empowering speedy resolutions and positive growth for the company.

Bots in touch always

Do you recollect Air India Maharaja Logo? How much warmth it had? Wouldn’t you like to offer your client base the same feeling? A similar experience when they enter your digital store they are greeted with a smile quickly navigated to the section of their choice and offered exactly what they are looking for – be it a product, query resolution, returns or offers. Thanks to chatbots – the computer program that could communicate with human users digitally. Integration of chatbot with social media or shopping cart could be beneficial for the e-commerce industry. A customer could get quick answers to the items added to the shopping cart, be it about warranty details or return policies. Also coupling it with social media like Facebook could help the customer in a situation like payment has been processed but a confirmation email/message was not seen. Chatbots are empowering the e-commerce business with a possibility of real-time interaction and enhancing the customer experience.

Expand Services with IoTs integration

For all the digital stores it’s like a dream come true when conditions like these turn into reality. The smart refrigerator issues a command that eggs are out of stock and need to be replenished places an order with a weekly grocery list to your favorite online grocery store, or the Bose speaker that automatically renews the subscription of amazon prime music. With seamless integration with smart devices, AI could help in building a strong and loyal customer base.

AI is reshaping the online retailers and e-commerce marketing. With brands like Walmart, Amazon and eBay have been at fore frontiers in leveraging the latest technology; the start-ups are now investing in enhancing the productivity of the firm. So experience the AI and take your e-commerce business to the next level.

The insurance industry thrives on relationships—but it can only scale through efficiency, precision, and timely distribution. While much of the digital transformation buzz has focused on customer-facing portals, the real transformation is happening in the field, where modern sales apps are quietly driving a smarter, faster, and more empowered agent network.

Let’s explore how mobile-first sales enablement platforms are reshaping insurance sales across prospecting, onboarding, servicing, renewals, and growth.

The Insurance Agent Needs More Than a CRM

Today’s insurance agent is not just a policy seller—they’re also a financial advisor, data gatherer, service representative, and the face of the brand. Yet many still rely on paper forms, disconnected tools, and manual processes.

That’s where intelligent sales apps come in—not just to digitize, but to optimize, personalize, and future-proof the entire agent journey.

Real-World Use Cases: What Smart Sales Apps Are Solving

Across the insurance value chain, sales agent apps have evolved into full-service platforms—streamlining operations, boosting conversions, and empowering agents in the field. These tools aren’t optional anymore, they’re critical to how modern insurers perform. Here’s how leading insurers are empowering their agents through technology:

1. Intelligent Prospecting & Lead Management

Sales apps now empower agents to:

Prioritize leads using filters like policy type, value, or geography
Schedule follow-ups with integrated agent calendars
Utilize locators to look for nearby branch offices or partner physicians
Register and service new leads directly from mobile devices

Agents spend significantly less time navigating through disjointed systems or chasing down information. With quick access to prioritized leads, appointment scheduling, and location tools—all in one app—they can focus more on meaningful customer interactions and closing sales, rather than administrative overhead.

2. Seamless Policy Servicing, Renewals & Claims

Sales apps centralize post-sale activities such as:

Tracking policy status, premium due date, and claims progress
Sending renewal reminders, greetings, and policy alerts in real-time
Accessing digital sales journeys and pre-filled forms.
Policy comparison, calculating premiums, and submitting documents digitally
Registering and monitoring customer complaints through the app itself

Customers receive a consistent and seamless experience across touchpoints—whether online, in-person, or via mobile. With digital forms, real-time policy updates, and instant access to servicing tools, agents can handle post-sale tasks like renewals and claims faster, without paperwork delays—leading to improved satisfaction and higher retention.

3. Remote Sales using Assisted Tools

Using smart tools, agents can:

Securely co-browse documents with customers through proposals
Share product visualizations in real time
Complete eKYC and onboarding remotely.

Agents can conduct secure, interactive consultations from anywhere—sharing proposals, visual aids, and completing eKYC remotely. This not only expands their reach to customers in digital-first or geographically dispersed markets, but also builds greater trust through real-time engagement, clear communication, and a personalized advisory experience—all without needing a physical presence.

4. Real-Time Training, Performance & Compliance Monitoring

Modern insurance apps provide:

On-demand access to training material
Commission dashboards and incentive monitoring
Performance reporting with actionable insights

Field agents gain access to real-time performance insights, training modules, and incentive tracking—directly within the app. This empowers them to upskill on the go, stay motivated through transparent goal-setting, and make informed decisions that align with overall business KPIs. The result is a more agile, knowledgeable, and performance-driven sales force.

5. End-to-End Sales Execution—Even Offline

Advanced insurance apps support:

Full application submission, from prospect to payment
Offline functionality in low-connectivity zones
Real-time needs analysis, quote generation, and e-signatures
Multi-login access with secure OTP-based authentication

Even in low-connectivity or remote Tier 2 and 3 markets, agents can operate at full capacity—thanks to offline capabilities, secure authentication, and end-to-end sales execution tools. This ensures uninterrupted productivity, faster policy issuance, and adherence to compliance standards, regardless of location or network availability.

6. AI-Powered Personalization for Health-Linked Products

Some forward-thinking insurers are combining AI with health platforms to:

Import real-time health data from fitness trackers or health apps
Offer hyper-personalized insurance suggestions based on lifestyle
Enable field agents to tailor recommendations with more context

By integrating real-time health data from fitness trackers and wellness apps, insurers can offer hyper-personalized, preventive insurance products tailored to individual lifestyles. This empowers agents to move beyond transactional selling—becoming trusted advisors who recommend coverage based on customers’ health habits, life stages, and future needs, ultimately deepening engagement and improving long-term retention.

The Mantra Labs Advantage: Turning Strategy into Scalable Execution

We help insurers go beyond surface-level digitization to build intelligent, mobile-first ecosystems that optimize agent efficiency and customer engagement—backed by real-world impact.

Seamless Sales Enablement for Travel Insurance

We partnered with a leading travel insurance provider to develop a high-performance agent workflow platform featuring:

Secure Logins: Instant credential-based access without sign-up friction
Real-Time Performance Dashboards: At-a-glance insights into daily/monthly targets, policy issuance, and collections
Frictionless Policy Issuance: Complete issuance post-payment and document verification
OCR Integration: Auto-filled customer details directly from passport scans, minimizing errors and speeding up onboarding

This mobile-first solution empowered agents to close policies faster with significantly reduced paperwork and data entry time—improving agent productivity by 2x and enabling sales at scale.

Engagement + Analytics Transformation for Health Insurance

For one of India’s leading health insurers, we helped implement a full-funnel engagement and analytics stack:

User Journey Intelligence: Replaced legacy systems to track granular app behavior—policy purchases, renewals, claims, discounts, and drop-offs. Enabled real-time behavioral segmentation and personalized push/email notifications.
Gamified Wellness with Fitness Tracking: Added gamified fitness engagement, with rewards based on step counts and interactive nutrition quizzes—driving repeat app visits and user loyalty.
Attribution Tracking: Trace the exact source of traffic—whether it’s a paid campaign, referral program, or organic source—adding a layer of precision to marketing ROI.
Analytics: Integrated analytics to identify user interest segments. This allowed for hyper-targeted email and in-app notifications that aligned perfectly with user intent, driving both relevance and response rates.

Whether you’re digitizing field sales, gamifying customer wellness, or fine-tuning your marketing engine, Mantra Labs brings the technology depth, insurance expertise, and user-first design to turn strategy into scalable execution.

If you’re ready to modernize your agent network – Get in touch with us to explore how we can build intelligent, mobile-first tools tailored to your distribution strategy. Just remember, the best sales apps aren’t just tools, they’re growth engines; and field sales success isn’t about more apps. It’s about the right workflows, in the right hands, at the right time.