How my industry is poised for total transformation and I’m uncertain about my five-year path

Navigating the Future of E-Commerce: Embracing Change in an AI-Driven Landscape

As I reflect on my journey in the e-commerce industry, a sense of uncertainty settles in. At 30, I find myself at a crossroads, grappling with the realization that almost every facet of my career may be transformed in the next few years, thanks to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.

My entry into the e-commerce world dates back to when I was just 14. Since then, I’ve diligently climbed the ladder, joining various agencies where I held roles ranging from Sales to Director of Operations, and currently, I’m the Director of Partnerships at my agency. My experience has largely revolved around web development, design projects, and executing large-scale SEO and marketing campaigns. Over the years, I’ve been involved in projects ranging from $20,000 to over a million dollars, which required meticulous planning and strategic foresight.

However, the landscape is shifting quicker than I could have imagined. The rise of AI is radically reshaping the industry. To illustrate, a former agency I was with employed a robust team of 25 copywriters focused on SEO activities until 2021. Recently, I learned that they’ve reduced their copywriting staff to just four. The irony? Their billable income has increased significantly. This shift allows them to leverage AI to replace many junior writers, relying on senior writers to refine AI-generated prompts to ensure compliance with copyright laws.

The changes aren’t limited to copywriting. Another agency I’ve been in contact with has opted to disband their entire U.S. development team, replacing them with developers from Latin America who primarily communicate through AI tools like ChatGPT for project collaboration via platforms such as Jira and Slack.

While I am not suggesting that the industry is on the verge of collapse, the trends are undeniably concerning. AI technologies are now capable of creating websites from Figma designs or even simple sketches. I’ve personally witnessed AI generate the exact code for upsell implementations without the need for a developer. Moreover, the dominance of Google AI in search functions is gradually overshadowing traditional SEO, which adds another layer of complexity to the evolving landscape.

This whirlwind of change leaves me pondering the future. As I aim to enhance my career by obtaining my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, I’m simultaneously contemplating a transition back into a senior project management role—perhaps even in a different industry altogether. Though my next steps are uncertain, one thing is clear: the environment