Eduardo Samayoa believes a solo entrepreneur could someday run a billion-dollar ecommerce company. Not with hustle. With AI.
For most folks, the idea of an individual (or even a small team) managing a massive online shop sounds outrageous. Yet AI tools are not just helping ecommerce operators work faster. They are changing who can use the tools and at what scale.
Today, AI agents are automating work that once required entire departments, according to Samayoa, who is the co-founder and CEO of Thinkr, a Shopify-centric AI platform.
Thinkr is an AI platform for Shopify-powered stores.
AI Growth
While artificial intelligence has existed for many years, the current AI boom emerged on November 30, 2022. That was when OpenAI released ChatGPT.
From generating basic text such as ecommerce product descriptions, AI tools have expanded to all forms of analysis, content, and, most recently, agentic-based automation.
Samayoa’s Thinkr, for example, could recommend discounting several products to boost sales and deplete aging inventory. The tool makes this recommendation to the store’s staff and, if approved, executes the plan, updating pricing in Shopify.
A store staff member clicked one button, and the AI agent did all of the work.
Other unrelated AI tools recommend and execute on advertising budgets.
Prerequisites
Merely asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or any other generative AI to analyze a store’s sales patterns and update pricing won’t work. An AI tool needs data sources and application programming interfaces.
Samayoa noted that Thinkr is connected to Shopify’s API, meaning it can access a store’s sales history and implement operational changes.
Thinkr also integrates with Google and Meta, enhancing its understanding of a shop’s analytics and advertising performance while expanding the operations it can perform.
Similarly, Shopify’s own AI tools — collectively called Shopify Magic — can access a shop’s sales history and execute all sorts of approved tasks.
According to Samayoa, AI platforms that operate a store require context, a history of its operations, to make effective recommendations. Hence the tools likely work best for established businesses with at least $200,000 in annual sales.
Do It for You
The purpose of AI operations platforms is to make and implement recommendations. The platforms do it for you.
This could mean completing complex tasks in combination. For example, an AI operations platform might:
- Recognize an upcoming retail holiday, such as Father’s Day.
- Plan a Father’s Day promotion based on previous campaign data.
- Build and publish the promotional landing page.
- Generate advertising assets.
- Set up a Meta Ads campaign.
- Generate and schedule promotional email messages.
- Launch the promotion after a one-click approval.
- Report on the campaign’s performance.
The solo entrepreneur remains in charge, but the AI handles everything else.
Sidekick (part of Shopify Magic) can update themes and pages. Thinkr could plan the Father’s Day promotion and perform some of its tasks thanks to integrations with Meta and Klaviyo.
In a sense, operational AI has just launched and could someday have its own November 30, 2022.
Innovate?
Ecommerce, while competitive, has enabled solo entrepreneurs and small businesses to thrive. Virtual assistants, agencies, and low-cost offshore talent enhance the capabilities, as do platforms such as Shopify and Amazon.
AI operations platforms will likely extend this trend, making it possible for one person to manage massive operations as Samayoa predicted. Given its explosive growth and trajectory, AI platforms could soon lead product development, customer service, marketing, financial forecasting, and most day-to-day operations.
Although some aspects — accountability, decision-making, emotional intelligence — will remain human endeavors even as AI takes on more tasks.
A final consideration is whether operational AI platforms can innovate. Early on, AI could be a significant advantage, but could widespread adoption eventually homogenize ecommerce operations? Would that be bad or good?