Are AI chatbots actually useful for eCommerce stores, or just hype?

From what I’ve seen, it really depends on how they’re implemented. More advanced AI chatbots can do a lot more than just answer FAQs—they can help with product recommendations, order tracking, and even handling returns. That can definitely improve response times and reduce support workload, especially for stores with high traffic. That said, they’re not perfect. Setup can take time, and if they’re not trained well, the responses can feel robotic or miss the mark. Also, for smaller stores, the cost and effort might not always justify the return. So overall, they can be useful - especially for larger eCommerce businesses—but they’re not a magic solution.