What the U.S. AI Action Plan means for e-commerce companies
The White House’s AI Action Plan signals “full steam ahead” – but new Lucidworks data reveals most e-commerce companies are stumbling at the starting line.
Full steam ahead. That’s what America’s AI Action Plan implies… Are you feeling the pressure yet?
The strategy seems to be “scale AI fast, at all costs” with a “if you don’t adopt AI and upskill, you’re going to fall behind” mentality. President Trump’s AI push mirrors the directive from many boards: “Do AI.”
But what many people don’t realize is that AI can’t be built out of thin air. According to new data from Lucidworks’ 2025 State of Generative AI in Global Business report, there’s a massive gap between AI aspirations and reality – and e-commerce companies need to understand this disconnect before they rush into implementation.
What’s in the AI Action Plan?
The White House released “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan”, identifying over 90 Federal policy actions across three pillars – Accelerating Innovation, Building American AI Infrastructure, and Leading in International Diplomacy and Security.
Key policies in the AI Action Plan include: Exporting American AI, Promoting Rapid Buildout of Data Centers, Enabling Innovation and Adoption, and Upholding Free Speech in Frontier Models.
“Winning the AI Race is non-negotiable. America must continue to be the dominant force in artificial intelligence to promote prosperity and protect our economic and national security,” said Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio.
What the AI Action Plan means for e-commerce leaders
The AI Action Plan signals government support and creates a competitive imperative. More and more companies will be innovating and updating their digital experiences with unprecedented government backing. The message is clear: start innovating, look for resources, and move fast.
The Trump administration largely seeks to achieve that Silicon Valley-friendly goal through a deregulatory approach, meaning e-commerce companies have fewer barriers to AI experimentation, but also potentially less guidance on best practices.
The plan’s emphasis on workforce development and infrastructure buildout suggests that AI capabilities will become increasingly accessible and affordable, leveling the playing field for smaller e-commerce players while raising the stakes for everyone.
What the data says about how to tackle AI deployment in 2025
The anxiety reality: Companies are concerned about AI progress
According to Lucidworks’ comprehensive research using its agentic AI tool “Guydbot,” which evaluated over 1,000 companies across 45+ industries, the gap between AI hype and reality is stark.
83% of AI leaders report “major” or “extreme” concern regarding generative AI in 2025. That’s an 8X increase since the technology came onto the scene in 2023. This massive spike in anxiety reveals the true challenge: executives are under intense pressure to implement AI, but they lack the foundation to build upon.
The concern breakdown shows alarming increases across all areas:
- Data Security: 3X increase
- Job Displacement: 5X increase
- Decision Transparency: 5X increase
- Response Accuracy: 8X increase
- Deployment Cost: 18X increase
As Mike Sinoway, CEO of Lucidworks, explains: “Companies have been trying to run before they can walk because of top-down pressure. Now panic is setting in. Many are reluctant to admit how far behind they really are, but we have the receipts to prove it thanks to Guydbot.”
The implementation gap: What companies are actually doing vs. saying
Guydbot’s real-world analysis reveals a striking disconnect between what companies claim and what they’ve actually implemented:
- Agentic AI adoption remains low: While 71% of companies have adopted some aspects of Generative AI capability, only 6% have fully deployed an Agentic AI solution. Even more telling: only 2% of companies have implemented more than one Agentic AI solution.
- Essential capabilities are missing: 65% of companies lack the fundamental capabilities to support sophisticated AI features. Only 30% have fully implemented more than half of the essential e-commerce capabilities, and just 5% have fully implemented every essential capability.
- The most overlooked essential: Only 37.5% of companies support multiple languages — the most basic requirement for global e-commerce, yet the most frequently missed.
The capability cohorts: Where does your company stand?
Lucidworks’ research identifies four distinct “capability cohorts” based on companies’ implementation of essential e-commerce features versus advanced AI capabilities:
Achievers (35% of companies): Excel in both essential and agentic capabilities. Examples include Amazon, Costco (Retail); Tesla, Ford (Automotive).
Builders (14% of companies): Strong in essential capabilities but limited agentic implementation. Examples include Bealls, Neiman Marcus (Retail); Jeep, Paccar (Automotive).
Climbers (10% of companies): Advanced in agentic capabilities but missing opportunities in essential foundations. Examples include Macy’s, Marshalls (Retail); Winnebago, Thor (Automotive).
Spectators (41% of companies): Developing implementation across both dimensions. Examples include Dollar Tree, Ross Stores (Retail); Kensworth, Wabash (Automotive).
The data reveals a critical insight: essential capabilities have 2X greater impact on conversions than advanced AI capabilities in the short term.
How to exploit the AI wave: The “one for them, one for you” approach
In this high-pressure environment, Lucidworks’ Mike Sinoway recommends a balanced strategy he calls “one for them, one for you”:
“The Climbers cohort reveals perhaps the most important lesson from our research: implementing advanced AI without mastering the essentials is like building a penthouse on a weak foundation. Companies that balance ‘one for them, one for you’ — implementing customer-facing innovations while simultaneously strengthening foundational capabilities — are the ones that ultimately become Achievers.”
The dual-track imperative
The most successful companies follow a dual-track approach:
Track 1: Accelerate the essentials
- Hybrid search technology that dramatically improves relevance
- Personalization that adapts to individual customer needs
- Intelligent product discovery that increases basket size
- Self-service knowledge systems that reduce support costs
Track 2: Explore agentic frontiers
- Autonomous systems that complete complex tasks without human intervention
- Decision support tools that augment human expertise
- Natural interfaces that transform how customers interact with your business
- Cross-system intelligence that eliminates organizational silos
The ROI reality check
The research shows dramatic conversion improvement potential based on current capability gaps:
- Spectators: +59.5% to +61.9% potential conversion increase by deploying all recommended capabilities
- Climbers: +51.5% to +55.2% potential increase
- Builders: +49.2% to +55.5% potential increase
- Achievers: +37.6% to +45.2% potential increase
Even immediate gap-closing (addressing 2-4 key competitive shortfalls) shows significant potential:
- Spectators: +11.0% to +12.4%
- Climbers: +7.3% to +9.2%
- Builders: +4.1% to +4.9%
- Achievers: +2.3% to +3.1%
Investment trends: From buzz to business value
The data shows a strategic shift in AI spending. After the initial surge, AI investment is becoming more strategic:
- 2023: 93% of companies planned to increase AI spending
- 2024: 63% planned increases
- 2025: 62% plan increases
“In 2025, AI investments will shift decisively from experimentation to execution,” said Megh Gautam, Chief Product Officer at Crunchbase, to Fast Company. “Companies will abandon generic AI applications in favor of targeted solutions that solve specific, high-value business problems.”
Notably, B2B organizations are most likely to increase spend on AI, with 68% planning to increase AI spending compared to 58% of B2C companies — a complete reversal from previous years.
Industry-specific AI implementation insights
Department Stores & Mass Merchants
- Achievers: Amazon (75% capability implementation), Costco, Walmart, Qurate (QVC)
- Standout capabilities: Dynamic Facets, Vector/Hybrid Search, Product-Related Content Enrichment
- Implementation gap: While 98% have at least one essential e-commerce capability, only 10% have fully deployed an agentic AI tool.
Motor Vehicles
- Achievers: Tesla (69% capability implementation), Ford, Harley Davidson
- Standout capabilities: Product Content Enrichment, Technical Interrogation, Fitment
- Implementation gap: 69% have essential capabilities, only 9% have agentic AI tools.
Software
- Achievers: Microsoft (71% capability implementation), IQVIA, CDW
- Standout capabilities: AI Full-Service Chatbots, Technical Interrogation, Product Content Enrichment
- Implementation gap: 94% have essential capabilities, 31% have agentic AI — the highest adoption rate across industries.
Use data to your advantage
The AI Action Plan’s approach puts increased pressure on companies, including e-commerce brands, to innovate and adapt digital experiences with AI. We hope that sharing the cold hard data means you can make informed decisions around AI.
“What won’t matter as much for AI strategy is your choice of large language model (LLM). There will be many good options. Everyone will be using them. A shrewd strategy will instead emphasize what can set you apart — how you leverage AI with your institutional knowledge and proprietary data,” according to PwC’s 2025 AI Business Predictions.
The key insight from the Lucidworks research: foundation first, innovation second. As the data clearly shows, companies focusing solely on cutting-edge AI without mastering the basics are leaving significant conversion opportunities on the table.
The bottom line
America’s AI Action Plan creates both opportunity and pressure. While the government removes regulatory barriers and invests in infrastructure, the real competitive advantage will come from strategic, measured implementation.
The data is clear: s쳮d by mastering the fundamentals while selectively exploring advanced capabilities. As Lucidworks CEO Mike Sinoway puts it: “One for them, one for you” — give customers innovative experiences while strengthening your operational foundation.
The AI wave is here. The question isn’t whether to ride it, but how to do so without wiping out in the process.
For more insights on AI implementation strategies and to see how your company compares to industry benchmarks, explore Lucidworks’ comprehensive 2025 State of Generative AI in Global Business report.