Let Me Check with My AI First

This might just be the most important sentence in retail’s next chapter.

In a recent episode of Decoder, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman shared a vision of Conversational AI becoming the default way people interact with technology, shaping how we search, shop, and make decisions.

These AI-powered interfaces won’t just assist, they curate product choices, compare features, and even complete purchases.

And this shift? It changes everything.

Where discovery once began with search boxes and social scrolls, today’s customer journey starts with a question to their AI: “What does my AI think I need?” or “Can my AI take care of this?”

These aren’t just hypothetical prompts, they reflect a growing shift in how consumers interact with brands, placing AI at the centre of product discovery, decision-making, and action.

Why This Matters for Retailers

For retailers and consumer brands, the customer journey is being redefined. Your next customer might never visit your website or walk into your store but instead, they’ll ask their AI assistant for help and that assistant will make the decision.

The winners in this new reality won’t just be visible, they’ll be embedded within the logic of the AI itself. Brands must now compete not just for attention, but for preference inside intelligent systems. This is not a new channel, but a new interface.

Conversational AI is the next big frontier for commerce.

The Shift Is Already Happening

Today’s consumers are already turning to chat-first, AI-enabled experiences to interact with brands, particularly on platforms like WhatsApp for Business.

In Malaysia:

• 78% of consumers message a business at least once a week
• 59.4% prefer making a purchase via messaging instead of going to a store
• 62.8% believe AI-powered chatbots are a useful way to get help

It’s not just about speed or convenience, 43% of online Malaysians value personalised, one-to-one conversations when messaging a brand more than any other feature.

This tells us two things:

• Consumers already trust messaging platforms to make purchase decisions
• Personalised conversations are now a baseline expectation, not a luxury

‍Why WhatsApp for Business is the Retail Channel to Watch

Whether it’s product discovery, personalised offers, order tracking, or loyalty rewards, consumers want it all in one place.

When retailers power WhatsApp with Conversational AI, allows brands to:

• Guide discovery with intelligent product recommendations
• Simplify purchases with real-time conversations
• Deliver exceptional customer experience through proactive and contextual engagement
• Build long-term loyalty with automated, human-like support

And with 98% open rates and 30–35% conversion rates, it significantly outperforms traditional marketing channels like email and SMS.

What Retail Marketers Should Do Now

The game has changed from brand-to-customer to brand-to-AI-to-customer.

Here’s the question for every retail marketer: Where do customers drop off and how can we reimagine that moment using Conversational AI?

Instead of asking, “Where should we advertise next?”, retail brands need to think more strategically. The real opportunity lies in identifying friction points across the journey, whether it’s cart abandonment, loyalty fatigue, or in-store conversion gaps, and transforming them into seamless, personalised conversations.

By meeting customers where they need help most, brands can turn drop-offs into conversions and conversations into growth.

Think:

• AI-guided product curation based on individual preferences
• Real-time campaign triggers on WhatsApp during abandoned carts
• Loyalty redemption experiences via messaging, not apps

‍
‍How ADA Helps Brands Build AI-Powered Retail Journeys

At ADA, we help retail and consumer brands transform every customer touchpoint into an intelligent, personalised conversation.

We do this by combining purpose-built Conversational AI frameworks, full integration with WhatsApp for Business, and industry-specific customer data that drives real action and measurable ROI. This isn’t just chatbot automation, it’s a full-funnel, commerce-focused transformation designed to personalise every step of the customer journey.

With ADA, brands can:

• Personalise discovery at scale
• Convert through conversational flows
• Drive loyalty with AI-powered customer engagement

This is Conversational Commerce, optimised for the platforms your customers trust most. Your customers are already talking, is your brand part of the conversation?