Most online retailers fail to gain value from artificial intelligence investments

Atlan research cited in 2024-2026 found only one in five organizations gained measurable financial returns from AI spending. Four in five increased spending despite getting no value from earlier investments.

For online retailers, the main problem is using separate AI tools instead of connected systems. Staff spend time moving between tools and joining their results by hand. A single product page can still take hours to launch. Competitors with connected systems test several versions in that time.

Successful retailers use AI for repeated tasks, leaving people more time for creative decisions. Businesses also need to measure how quickly products reach customers and lead to sales. Common mistakes include publishing AI content without checking it and expecting results before enough data is available.