Inside Rakuten AI: Yusuke Kobayashi on the AI empowering Rakuten Ichiba merchants
In this series, we sit down with Rakuten AI leaders for a deep dive into the stories behind this transformative technology and the inspiring individuals driving Rakuten’s vision of AI for all. Watch this interview and others in the Inside Rakuten AI series on our YouTube channel.
As AI continues to transform e-commerce at breakneck speed, creating exciting new avenues for growth and unprecedented levels of efficiency across a range of functions, merchants without the resources or technological knowhow to get the most out of this revolutionary tech, face the risk of being left behind.
“The e-commerce sector is very competitive, so a major focus of our activities is centered on how can we help increase the profits of Rakuten Ichiba stores.”
Yusuke Kobayashi, Group Managing Executive Officer and Vice Director of Commerce & Marketing Company
Enter Rakuten’s RMS AI Assistant: An AI-powered platform that aims to improve the efficiency of store management for merchants on Rakuten Ichiba and level the competitive EC playing field.
Supporting Rakuten Ichiba’s growth behind the scenes
Rakuten is leveraging the power of AI to enhance the experience for both merchants and customers on its Rakuten Ichiba marketplace. At the forefront of this initiative is the RMS AI Assistant, a tool designed to streamline store operations and boost sales. Yusuke Kobayashi, Group Managing Executive Officer and Vice Director of Commerce & Marketing Company, leads the charge in developing and implementing this innovative AI solution.
Kobayashi, a Rakuten veteran of nearly two decades who has been leading the Rakuten Ichiba e-commerce platform since 2009, emphasized the company’s commitment to leveraging AI to support its merchants. “The e-commerce sector is very competitive, so a major focus of our activities is centered on how can we help increase the profits of Rakuten Ichiba stores.” he explains. This commitment extends to leveraging AI to improve store operations and marketing efficiency and impact.
RMS AI Assistant: Empowering merchants, one insight at a time
“RMS AI Assistant is an AI platform for online stores. The beta version was launched in March 2024,” Kobayashi states. “It leverages AI to improve efficiency and provide new insights for optimization across various aspects of store management, including product registration, inventory management, customer support and data analysis. For example, by using AI to reduce the time spent on tasks that used to be done manually, we are seeing merchants free up more time to allocate to other marketing activities that directly impact sales.”
One of the key benefits of RMS AI Assistant is its ability to save merchants valuable time. This is particularly crucial for smaller stores that often operate with limited staff, handling everything from sales to customer service. By automating routine tasks, the AI Assistant frees up merchants to focus on more strategic activities.
Kobayashi illustrates this point with an example: “One store is making great use of this RMS AI Assistant and is improving its operations by easily templating customer support and some of its writing with AI.” Furthermore, the AI Assistant provides valuable data analysis capabilities, allowing merchants to quickly grasp key trends and identify opportunities for growth. “By leveraging AI to get deeper analysis, we can get a better grasp on what the current situation really is and which product sales should be increased. This is all done at a glance,” he adds.
While other e-commerce platforms offer similar tools, Kobayashi and his team are confident that RMS AI Assistant stands out from the competition. According to his team’s recent competitive analysis, Rakuten’s AI capabilities are some of the more advanced and feature-rich offerings in the market.
“We recently conducted competitive analysis, and the results showed that Rakuten is more advanced and has more features than AI created on other EC platforms,” Kobayashi confirms. While acknowledging the need for continuous improvement, he expresses confidence in the advantageous position that RMS AI Assistant already holds today.
Building the RMS AI Assistant: A sprint to innovation
The development of RMS AI Assistant was a rapid and collaborative effort. Starting in the fall of 2023, Rakuten announced the project at the New Year Conference 2024 and launched the beta version just three months later.
Kobayashi emphasizes the importance of teamwork and communication throughout the development process. “Although the development schedule was tight, I felt that we were able to proceed with development as ‘One Team’ with all members,” he says. The team used surveys to actively seek feedback from merchants and held discussions with Rakuten EC Consultants (ECCs) to ensure the AI Assistant met their needs. “During the development process, we combined our own ideas for convenient functions along with with merchant requests for operation improvements to create the most useful AI solutions.”
Since its launch in March 2024, RMS AI Assistant has seen strong adoption among Rakuten Ichiba merchants. Approximately 65% of stores have used the tool at least once, with about 35% using it almost daily.
Rakuten is committed to continuously improving the AI Assistant based on merchant feedback. “We are constantly receiving feedback from stores, so we are updating it every month so that we can make it even better,” Kobayashi notes.
The future of e-commerce: AI-powered growth on Rakuten Ichiba
“I hope that we can create an environment where everyone is not even conscious of AI’s presence and we just naturally use AI. In this sense, I believe that building the foundation for a society that coexists with AI is one of Rakuten’s responsibilities.”
Looking ahead, Rakuten plans to enhance RMS AI Assistant with improved analysis and sales support capabilities. The goal is to go beyond only improving store operational efficiency and provide merchants with actionable insights and recommendations to drive revenue growth.
“Recently, I have been focusing on leveraging the power of AI for both analysis and proposals,” Kobayashi explains. “We plan to update the analysis function and strengthen the proposal function in RMS AI Assistant within the year. Further updates include a function that can make proposals recommending more effective actions. In this way, we hope to contribute to the sales support of stores.”
Rakuten is also exploring the use of AI to generate videos from product images, allowing customers to better visualize products, particularly in the fashion category. “We would like to use AI to generate videos of people wearing items so interested customers can better get a better image of trying it on themselves,” Kobayashi says.
Kobayashi envisions a future where AI is seamlessly integrated into everyday life and work, becoming a natural and intuitive tool for everyone.
“I believe that in the not-too-distant future, generative AI will be used naturally in daily life and work,” he predicts. “That said, I believe many people are just starting to explore the potential of generative AI, and so I hope it becomes something they feel more comfortable with. I’d especially like to see AI evolve to be easily usable by those who don’t work primarily in IT or have deep technical knowledge.”
“I hope that we can create an environment where everyone is not even conscious of AI’s presence and we just naturally use AI. In this sense, I believe building the foundation for a society that coexists with AI is one of Rakuten’s responsibilities.”
Rakuten’s vision is for RMS AI Assistant to be more than just a tool for streamlining store operations and boosting sales. Kobayashi and his team bring a deep understanding and passion for leveraging AI and data to drive strategic sales promotions and enhance the customer experience.
Looking forward, Rakuten eagerly anticipates a future where AI empowers even more merchants and stores to thrive in the ever-expanding EC landscape.
