Dive Brief:
- EBay is investing heavily in AI to power better experiences for buyers and sellers alike, executives said on a Q4 2024 earnings call Wednesday.
- In 2024, eBay improved its AI platform to enable LLMs approximately 100 times larger than it could in the past, helping them handle more complex tasks, according to President and CEO Jamie Iannone. In 2025, the e-commerce marketplace will continue to develop its models to further refine experience-focused features including Magical Listing, Explore and Shop the Look.
- “We will also leverage these models to touch more parts of the consumer experience this year to make it more modern and seamless,” Iannone said during the call. The company plans to empower employees with generative AI tools “to fundamentally change the experience on eBay and deliver value to customers.”
Dive Insight:
EBay’s AI investments are aimed at reinventing e-commerce and maintaining the momentum of a strong fourth quarter.
Gross merchandise volume was up 4% year over year to $19.3 billion in the fourth quarter, according to a company earnings report. Revenue rose 1% year over year to $2.6 billion for the quarter.
The e-commerce marketplace’s investments in 2024 helped set the stage for success, according to Iannone. EBay launched dozens of customer-facing features powered by LLMs in 2024 to enhance search, payments, customer service and other areas.
Partnerships are playing a role in eBay’s AI strategy as well. Last month, the marketplace partnered with OpenAI to allow its virtual assistant, Operator, to direct users to eBay when it has products relevant to their search.
Example prompts include “find me a Louis Vuitton handbag at a great price that's in perfect condition,” and “my dad's a huge sports memorabilia fan and his birthday's this weekend. I need a unique gift that I can receive this week,” Nitzan Mekel-Bobrov, chief AI officer at eBay, told CX Dive in an email.
“Through this intentional collaboration with OpenAI, we’re exploring ways to help eBay sellers reach more customers with their unique inventory, meeting people where they are and creating an even more convenient and rich customer experience,” Mekel-Bobrov said.
EBay also partnered with Meta last month to let shoppers browse and purchase eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace without leaving the app. EBay handles the checkout and post-transaction experience and offers protections including an authenticity guarantee.
“As the e-commerce landscape undergoes swift transformation due to rapidly advancing technology, we are focused on positioning eBay at the forefront of emerging shopping paradigms like these,” Iannone said.
