Artificial intelligence is changing the playing field for online businesses, and it’s high time product managers caught up with this trend. The eCommerce buying funnel has followed the same path for years, detailing how potential customers move through key stages such as awareness, consideration, and decision-making. If you were operating an eCommerce store some years back, this model would have worked fine. Today, however, we find AI replacing this model, and PDP becoming an integral part of the entire buying journey. Here is a closer look at some of the biggest changes we’ve seen with AI  innovations in eCommerce funnels and how this development is relevant to you as a product manager. Why the Old eCommerce Funnel Doesn’t Work Anymore Why the Old eCommerce Funnel Doesn’t Work Anymore The goal for many businesses has always been to build a healthy relationship with customers. The eCommerce funnel has been highly relevant in achieving this. It is a concept that represents the various phases of the customer journey, and it mostly comes in 3 stages. The first is awareness, and here, brands use numerous approaches to advertise their product or services to users. eCommerce funnel The consideration stage is next in line, and it is where customers take steps toward buying a product. Here, they ask relevant questions like how much they need the product or service, what brand suits their needs, and so on. The conversion stage is at the bottom of the funnel and occurs when the customer is close to buying. This is the stage where businesses aim to get buyers to stop thinking about it and make the purchase instead. The traditional eCommerce funnels assumed this order we’ve gone through. Shoppers browse or come across categories (awareness), they land on a PDP (product detail page), add to cart (conversion), and head to checkout. This has worked fine, but consumer behavior has changed so much over the years, especially with AI innovations. For this reason, many businesses have had to adjust to meet current expectations and realities. Consumers' experiences today are becoming more fluid and personalized, and are starting to deviate from the linear process. Some ways AI helps achieve this include personalized product recommendations, automated customer service, and other features that push shoppers straight into product consideration and the PDP. PDP as The New AI-Powered Starting Point PDP as The New AI-Powered Starting Point A lot of traditional eCommerce funnel models were built on the idea that shoppers begin on a businesses homepage. They look around, filter their options, before eventually arriving at a PDP. Today, however, the decision of what buyers get to see first is becoming AI-based. Take this example: You’re on Instagram, scrolling casually, and probably not planning to make a purchase. Suddenly, an AI-driven recommendation shows a creator wearing a minimalist necklace, likely one you’ve interacted with before. When you tap the product tag, you’re taken straight to the PDP, not to a category or the homepage. This interaction is exactly what it means to say PDP is becoming the starting point in the eCommerce funnel. Many other relevant examples can be cited, such as using shopping assistants like ChatGPT or the Shopify sidekick, searching for specific products on Google, etc. What many of these new systems have in common is that the first click is likely to land the user on the PDP. How AI Upgrades Every Funnel Stage How AI Upgrades Every Funnel Stage The contributions of AI innovation in eCommerce funnel go beyond the PDP stage. It is also being optimized for greater relevance at the cart and checkout stages. At the PDP stage, some major touchpoints are: AI innovation in eCommerce Dynamic galleries that adapt to browsing intentPrioritized features that simplify comparison and reduce decision fatigueLocalized inventory that improves trust and minimizes the chance of drop-offsSmarter recommendations that increase PDP to cart decisions Dynamic galleries that adapt to browsing intent Prioritized features that simplify comparison and reduce decision fatigue Localized inventory that improves trust and minimizes the chance of drop-offs Smarter recommendations that increase PDP to cart decisions At the cart stage, AI optimizes users' experience with: Personalized offers tailored to behavior and historyML-driven nudges like delivery estimates or urgency cues that push users towards making the purchase Personalized offers tailored to behavior and history ML-driven nudges like delivery estimates or urgency cues that push users towards making the purchase For the checkout stage, businesses are able to reduce friction through features like one-tap reorders that skip the buying funnel entirely or autofill and address predictions that help users save time. New Funnel Metrics PMs Must Track New Funnel Metrics PMs Must Track When consumers' behavior changes, products have to evolve to meet new demands. This development is exactly what is happening with eCommerce today, and PMs cannot continue to rely on old metrics like sitewide conversion or bounce rate. The first thing to note is how much relevance PDP holds today and how it drives the buying journey to the next intent stage. So if you’re not prioritizing PDP yet, now is the time to start. It’s also important to know the metrics to track. Some of them are: Gallery interaction rate: with a lot of consumers entering through PDP, look out for micro interactions as they could be early indicators of interests. Track actions like image zooms, gallery swipes, video plays, color/size variant toggles, and much moreDelivery ETA Influence: many shoppers convert faster when they see precise or faster delivery optionsCheckout Friction Score: although AI reduces a lot of traditional checkout barriers, PMs must still measure friction actively, looking out for signals like abandoned checkout sessions, autofill failures, payment retries, and othersPersonalized cart lift: measure how much extra value these AI-powered elements generate in the cart. Gallery interaction rate: with a lot of consumers entering through PDP, look out for micro interactions as they could be early indicators of interests. Track actions like image zooms, gallery swipes, video plays, color/size variant toggles, and much more Delivery ETA Influence: many shoppers convert faster when they see precise or faster delivery options Checkout Friction Score: although AI reduces a lot of traditional checkout barriers, PMs must still measure friction actively, looking out for signals like abandoned checkout sessions, autofill failures, payment retries, and others Personalized cart lift: measure how much extra value these AI-powered elements generate in the cart. Embracing the Next Frontier in eCommerce Embracing the Next Frontier in eCommerce A lot of industries are adopting artificial intelligence technology in their operations, and the eCommerce sector isn’t left behind in this development. Businesses are using AI to improve conversions, direct users to their PDPs, and increase revenue. It is the responsibility of PMs to learn how these innovations work and how to use them to maximize results across all fronts.

This story contains AI-generated text. The author has used AI either for research, to generate outlines, or write the text itself. 

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

AI Upends the eCommerce Funnel as PDP Becomes the New Starting Point

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