AI shopping forces Kenyan businesses to rethink how they compete

Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants are giving online shoppers new ways to compare prices across stores, check product availability and estimate delivery times without having to navigate multiple shopping apps.

For Kenyan businesses, AI could change how they compete for online customers. As the tools increasingly help consumers discover products and compare options, merchants may need to pay closer attention to the accuracy of their online listings, prices, stock information and delivery terms.

The shift comes as e-commerce expands into more everyday shopping categories and businesses explore AI to improve customer service, streamline operations and reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks. Kenya's e-Commerce market was projected to generate about $900 million (Sh116.1 billion) in revenue in 2024, according to Statista market data, placing the country among Africa’s leading digital commerce hubs alongside Nigeria and South Africa.

Reports by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have consistently ranked Kenya third in Africa for e-Commerce readiness and adoption, driven by high mobile money usage and internet penetration.

The changing landscape was a key discussion at Glovo's inaugural Future of Commerce Summit in Nairobi, which brought together retailers, brands, technology leaders and other industry partners to examine how changing consumer habits and emerging technologies are reshaping digital commerce.

Held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, the summit explored the growth of quick commerce, the role of digital marketplaces in helping businesses reach customers, and how AI could change the way consumers discover and purchase products. Participants included representatives from retail and consumer brands, technology companies and businesses seeking to expand their online reach.

Glovo Country Managing Director Caroline Mutuku described how AI assistants could make online shopping more convenient by helping customers search for groceries, compare prices and estimate delivery times.

Mutuku said Glovo had integrated its platform with ChatGPT and Claude, enabling customers to access shopping information through the AI assistants.

A customer could upload a shopping list and ask an assistant to identify stores with the required items, compare the cost of a basket and assess delivery estimates before deciding where to buy.

“The delivery time for one store might be 50 minutes, but for another one, it’s 35 minutes,” Mutuku said, explaining how shoppers could use the information to choose a retailer or divide their purchases between stores.

“Today, a customer wants convenience, choice and the ability to access everyday products seamlessly without necessarily visiting a physical store. The future of commerce lies with unlocking these new opportunities and reshaping how we connect customers with our retail partners,” she added.

If such tools become a more common starting point for shopping, businesses may have to compete not only for visibility on established e-commerce platforms but also within the systems customers use to discover products.

Kenya's growing use of AI tools suggests there is an audience for these services, although adoption does not necessarily translate into AI-led shopping. DataReportal's October 2025 figures showed that 49.5 per cent of Kenyan internet users aged 16 and above had used ChatGPT in the previous month, placing Kenya among the countries with the highest reported usage.

The challenge for businesses is understanding how AI assistants select and present information.

Chris Karweru, a senior developer at TacitTech Systems and founder of TheFundingLink, says AI assistants do not necessarily recommend products in the same way. Their responses depend on how individual systems work and the information available to them, including search results, product catalogues and e-commerce databases.

"For example, when a customer asks an AI assistant to recommend a smartphone, the system may consider the customer's budget, product specifications, reviews, availability, price and relevance to the question. If the assistant uses web search, a product's online visibility, website quality, and search engine indexing may influence whether it is discovered," Karweru says, adding that businesses need to think beyond traditional SEO and consider AI discoverability.

For merchants, this could mean maintaining accurate product descriptions, current prices in Kenyan shillings, reliable stock information and clear delivery and payment terms. Websites and product catalogues also need to be accessible to the search engines and AI systems customers use.

However, there is no universal formula for securing an AI recommendation. Different tools use different sources and methods, meaning businesses cannot guarantee visibility simply by adding a chatbot or publishing more product descriptions.

AI is also changing how established e-commerce companies manage the work behind online shopping, particularly customer support.

Jumia, which operates across several African markets, provides an example of how businesses are using AI-powered technology to manage customer interactions. In July 2024, the company announced that it had implemented Sprinklr's AI-powered customer experience management platform to coordinate support across social media, live chat, email, WhatsApp and other channels in 11 African countries.

Jumia reported that, between July and October 2023, 94.46 per cent of first responses met its service-level targets across customer service, payment services and seller support. It also reported that 43 per cent of cases were created through live chat, the escalation rate fell by more than 11 per cent, and the average customer satisfaction score rose above 76 per cent.

“The team customizes the solution based on what our customers really need and contributes to our platform in a way that helps both of us grow,” Jumia's Group Vice President of Business Products, Hanan El Matarawy, said at the time.

The platform brought customer, seller and payment support operations together, while AI-powered suggested responses helped agents handle common enquiries. Jumia said it planned to integrate conversational AI bots to expand self-service options for customers.

For smaller businesses, the implications may be less about building sophisticated AI systems and more about improving the quality of their digital operations.

A retailer with incomplete product listings may struggle to give customers the information they need, whether they are shopping through a conventional app or an AI assistant. A restaurant may have a loyal local following but still need clear menus, accurate prices and good photographs to build confidence among customers ordering online.

Mutuku said Glovo was training businesses on its platform through Partner Academies, with sessions covering product photography, descriptions, customer reviews and digital operations.

“You have to have very good images and describe exactly what you’re selling,” she said.

Such requirements can create additional work for merchants who lack the staff or resources to maintain detailed online catalogues. They also raise questions about whether smaller firms can keep pace with businesses that have dedicated technology and digital marketing teams.

Karweru says AI tools can help businesses identify popular products, anticipate seasonal demand and track slow-moving inventory. These insights can inform purchasing and stock management, although their usefulness depends on the quality of the underlying data.

“Successful integration is not about adding a chatbot to every website. It is about identifying a genuine business problem, connecting AI to reliable data and measuring whether the solution improves efficiency, customer experience, or revenue,” Karweru says.

For a small business, readily available tools may offer a more practical starting point than developing a bespoke AI system. Merchants can use them to draft product descriptions, respond to routine customer enquiries or analyse sales patterns, provided the information is checked and the costs are justified.

Karweru says businesses should first organise their inventory data before investing heavily in AI, since the technology depends on the quality of the information it receives.

“AI is only as useful as the information it receives,” he says, noting that inconsistent product names, missing prices, duplicated inventory records and outdated stock information can undermine an AI integration.

He adds that product listings should capture details such as size, material, colour, price and stock status to help search engines and AI-powered applications return more relevant results.

The expansion of online shopping is also bringing more retail categories into competition on digital platforms. Glovo has reported demand for groceries, beauty products, pharmacy items, pet supplies and baby products, alongside household appliances. In November 2025, Naivas partnered with Uber Eats to expand access to supermarket shopping through the delivery platform.

These developments point to efforts by retailers and delivery platforms to capture a larger share of household spending through digital channels. However, greater online visibility and higher transaction volumes do not automatically translate into higher profit margins. Merchants selling through third-party platforms may have to contend with commissions, logistics costs, promotional discounts and inventory expenses, all of which can affect profitability.

Before deploying advanced AI automation, businesses also need dependable digital infrastructure. Product information must be accurate, stock levels regularly updated and delivery operations reliable if customers are to receive what they order.

Karweru says businesses need to connect AI assistants to systems that provide current product information rather than relying on outdated listings or static descriptions.

“If a business wants an AI assistant on its website or mobile application, the assistant should be able to retrieve current product information from the underlying system. Depending on the use case, this can be achieved through APIs, database queries, search indexes, or a combination of these technologies. The goal is to avoid an AI assistant recommending products that are out of stock or displaying prices that are no longer valid,” Karweru says.

For merchants, the immediate priority may therefore be to establish reliable digital foundations before investing heavily in advanced automation. Accurate product information, dependable fulfilment, responsive customer service and sound stock management remain important regardless of how customers discover products.

AI search tools can help shoppers compare options and businesses automate routine tasks, but the technology alone cannot resolve deeper operational challenges such as low profit margins, expensive delivery fees or high borrowing costs.

Even as AI becomes another route through which customers discover products, visibility may become an increasingly important part of competing online. Turning that visibility into repeat purchases and sustainable profits, however, remains a separate challenge.