For a long time, e-commerce personalization meant building different experiences for different audiences.
A returning customer sees one hero, while a high-intent cohort sees another offer, and a loyalty segment gets a different landing page. That work matters, but it is still only an approximation. The shopper is mapped to a group, and the experience is only as personal as that group is specific.
Personalization can move much closer to the moment of intent today. A customer can describe what they want in their own words, and the storefront can use AI to find relevant products while still applying deterministic rules around price, inventory, size, location, and availability.
This is a more useful framing for commerce teams rather than the usual question of whether chat will replace the website. Websites still matter.