AI provides scale that isn’t possible with humans - but what about the downsides? In a 2023 article for Business Insider, Glaubinger Professor of Business Olivier Toubia highlights the cost-effectiveness of AI for Amazon and Shopify sellers. AI can be used to accomplish time-consuming tasks, Toubia says, such as writing product descriptions and optimizing copy for SEO. Is the efficiency of this technology, however, worth the risks?
Experts point out that while efficient, companies may sacrifice their brand voice by using AI for tasks such as writing and optimization. Due to the occasional inaccuracies that AI is known for, there is also a risk that companies will be vulnerable to mistakes, at the very least requiring heavy proofreading and editing.
According to the insights shared by Toubia, the ROI many companies get from using AI may outweigh the disadvantages. In addition to teaching for Columbia Business School, Toubia researches elements of innovation, such as preference measurement and idea generation, and has discussed the benefits of AI in articles for Quartz, Quirks, and more.
Learn more about the careful balance of implementing AI tools for Amazon and Shopify sellers.
Mentioned Faculty

Olivier Toubia
- Glaubinger Professor of Business
- Marketing Division
Olivier Toubia is the Glaubinger Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. His research focuses primarily on innovation, customer insights, and creative industries. Specifically, he combines methods from social sciences and data science in order to study human processes such as motivation, choice, and creativity. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief at the journal Marketing Science. He teaches Foundations of Innovation, Generative AI for Business and the core marketing course. He received his MS in Operations Research and PhD in Marketing from MIT.