Ecommerce and beyond: navigating AI and algorithms

Author, storyteller, expert in the relationship between ethics and new technologies

About our guest: Giacomo Venir

With a degree in Service Management and Design in one hand and the “Impresa Saggia” Award in the other, Giacomo Venir, born in 1999, is one of the most promising voices of the new generation exploring the relationship between technology and society. After earning his master’s degree from the University of Milano-Bicocca, he transformed his passion for writing and research into a unique path: his thesis on ethics in the era of Artificial Intelligence was not only awarded by Guerini Editore, but became the foundation of his very first book, “Digital Dilemma,” to be released on November 28, 2025.

During your journey, you have often combined ethical analysis with storytelling: is there an episode, meeting or discovery that changed your perspective on artificial intelligence?

There’s more than one, and all of them happened when I least expected it.
The first was in 2022, when I was writing my undergraduate thesis on BCIs, brain-computer interfaces. I wasn’t studying neuroscience—I came from a communications background—yet I found myself facing a topic that seemed straight out of science fiction. For me, AI was the stuff of video games—predictable, clunky—or things like Alexa. BCIs, on the other hand, forced me to make a leap: the idea that an electrical signal and an algorithm could become a “bridge” between thought and action made me perceive AI as something profoundly human, for better or for worse.

Then came another moment, at the start of 2024. Someone asked me, almost provocatively, “Do you know what Machine Learning is? Do you know what Deep Learning is?” I blushed. I read some articles on IBM’s website and realized how little I actually knew. I discovered XAI, explainable AI, and I understood it wasn’t just about models or performance: it was a matter of responsibility, of what we can tell people when an automated decision affects them.
Now those concepts seem almost obvious to me, but that’s the point: in a year or two, you can go from ignorance to awareness, from naive enthusiasm to ethical questioning. And that’s where storytelling comes in—not to embellish the technology, but to give it a human context.

In your book “Digital Dilemma”, you describe how AI has become a new protagonist in our daily lives: what is the most urgent question we should ask ourselves today about technology’s impact on our lives?

The most urgent question is no longer “What can AI do?”, but “Who decides what AI should become?”. We’re living through an acceleration that doesn’t stem from natural research evolutions, but from the need of Big Tech to occupy even the smallest possible space, before others do. It’s a race where the metrics are investments, patents, data centers, partnerships—and not always the real needs of people. When hundreds of billions flow to a few players, the risk isn’t just technical: it’s political, social, cultural.

I’m alarmed by the thought that the technology shaping our universities, courts, businesses, and even families could end up being designed and controlled by a smaller and smaller group of companies (and people). This isn’t science fiction: it’s a kind of digital oligarchy that risks becoming invisible because we perceive it as “inevitable progress.”

So, the question is: how do we ensure that AI remains a democratic space, accessible, controllable, pluralistic, and not just a tool in the hands of a few?
If we don’t address this now, we risk only doing so when the decisions have already been made for us.

At MyBank, as a payment solution supporting businesses in the daily management of ecommerce and online operations, we see firsthand the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation. In your view, what immediate advantages can AI deliver to companies active in ecommerce or online sales?

AI makes a difference when it helps customers quickly find the right product, answer their questions instantly, and optimize prices and inventory—improving conversion and margin at critical points along the purchase path. In practical terms, “personalized recommendations” and “conversational assistants” on product pages and in the cart unlock purchases and reduce abandonment, while “stock forecasting” helps minimize out-of-stock and operational waste.

Two moves that could make a difference in the near future: update your most visited page with personalized suggestions and a mini-chat for instant replies on shipping and returns; then, use forecasting to activate “back in stock” reminders, “you may also need” offers, and bundles only where it makes sense. Every week, keep an eye on three simple metrics: how many visits turn into purchases, the average ticket size, and how often you say “sold out.”

If you want a third quick win: improve your internal search by adding “customer language” synonyms (from query analysis). This can boost click-to-product rates and cut down on failed searches in just a few days.

What can be done to make a website, especially an ecommerce site, more visible online in the age of AI?

Today, even the concise answers of “answer engines” (systems generating natural language answers while citing sources) and Google’s “AI Overviews” matter, so being “the first link” is not enough: you want to be cited as a source in the answer. Simply put: writing content in Q&A format, with clear and verifiable data, helps algorithms decide what to quote, and external authority and signs of trust are still crucial.

One week, one result: choose your customers’ 10 most frequent questions and create brief, precise answers (markup where possible), strengthening E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) to increase citation in AI answers. Then, measure beyond clicks: track when you get mentioned in AI Overviews and follow growth in branded traffic, which often signals increased visibility and trust even if traditional organic clicks fluctuate.

LinkedIn is a key channel: how can you stay engaging in B2B with “AI-first” feeds and writing assistants?

Writing assistants help speed up drafts, but attention goes to clear ideas, concrete examples, and unique insights presented with a human, consistent tone—being transparent about using AI when relevant. A simple and powerful tactic used by top creators: choose a recognizable niche (clear association with your name/face/brand), publish consistently (weekends, too, for faster growth) until you build your first few thousand followers, and nurture comments by always adding value—not just saying thanks for the like.

To get better drafts, good prompt design means stating your goal, tone, audience, and data points, asking for 2-3 versions. Important: always fact-check before publishing to maintain editorial quality and coherence. Lastly, gauge your success by comments, saves, and qualified replies more than just views—these are the indicators that predict real conversations and opportunities.