Session AI, the pioneer of in-session marketing, announced AI Incentive Optimization, a real-time AI solution for ecommerce retailers to achieve commercial goals. AI Incentive Optimization is the first technology of its kind to autonomously deploy, test, and manage on-site incentives in real-time – all without using any consumer personal data.

AI Incentive Optimization extends the Session AI in-session marketing platform for fully deployed customers. The in-session marketing platform predicts the purchase intent for each site visitor based only on their behavior, then can deliver an immediate incentive to those who need it to convert. The platform can also suppress offers for high-intent visitors to improve margins. In-session marketing delivers significant outcomes compared to non-AI technologies – because the AI models run and the retailer takes action while the visitor is still on the site.

AI Incentive Optimization takes in-session marketing further by automating deployment and testing of offers against commercial goals. This additional capability allows retailers to manage on-site marketing by setting goals, choosing AI options, and selecting offers available for use. The AI will then maximize performance with the available offers and options.

In the current world, offer tests are slow and work toward a single outcome, typically using an A/B or multivariate test. Retailers will test a couple of options and land on a specific incentive. In the new world of AI Incentive Optimization, the AI can test a nearly unlimited number of variables, then deliver the right incentive for the individual based on multiple business outcomes. For example, a retailer will let the machine decide which offer is right for each person, while maximizing revenue and only giving up a specific margin.

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“In the competitive world of ecommerce, retailers need to fight for conversion, margin, and growth,” said Session AI CEO and co-founder Debjani Deb. “In-session marketing provides the levers that retailers need to drive the performance of their sites. With AI Incentive Optimization, retailers now have an automatic transmission for in-session marketing.”

The launch of AI Incentive Optimization includes the following capabilities:

• Manage toward goals for promotional yield or revenue. With a commercial goal selected, the AI will find the offers that most effectively reach the goal. Retailers will use goal-setting to achieve a high promotional yield or revenue for a specific investment in on-site promotions.
• Select among multiple offers toward commercial goals. Given a set of real-time offers that have proven to be effective, retailers know that they can run any of the offers and see a benefit. With this capability, for a given goal, the AI can choose among multiple proven offers to deliver the offer mix that achieves the greatest benefit across all offers, rather than requiring the retailer to create the mix manually. For example, the AI will determine which percent discount drives the best outcomes.
• Select multiple goals with constraints. Using AI Incentive Optimization for managing real-time offers, retailers may need to pursue complex commercial goals rather than simply maximize. For example, retailers may wish to pursue a daily revenue goal and then pause offers once the target revenue is reached.

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“This announcement offers Session AI customers the ability to increase meaningfully the value they can achieve with in-session marketing,” said Vivek Gadiraju, Senior Vice President of Product at Session AI. “As this novel technology continues to advance in upcoming quarters, retailers will see a rapid expansion of the ways they can optimize on-site marketing. This real-time technology will also meet the increasing need to convert anonymous visitors and market without unnecessary use of personal data.”

“Today is the beginning of an important new era for ecommerce,” said Deb. “AI Incentive Optimization will become the way that retailers manage their onsite marketing strategies, using AI to deliver the incentives that can best motivate each individual visitor. We envision a day in the near future when AI will empower retailers to finally move beyond the limitations and manual effort of promotional calendars by embracing AI-powered strategies.”