Linnworks is betting that the next phase of ecommerce growth won’t be driven by more dashboards—but by smarter automation. The Connected CommerceOps platform has launched Spotlight AI, the first product in its new Commerce Ops Intelligence portfolio, aimed squarely at eliminating the manual work that quietly creeps back in as online retailers scale.

Launching platform-wide on January 20, Spotlight AI will be available to all Linnworks customers. Its promise is straightforward: continuously analyze operational workflows, surface inefficiencies retailers often overlook, and prescribe the most impactful automations—before those inefficiencies turn into costly risks.

Early adopters are already seeing tangible results. In testing, customers who implemented automation rules based on Spotlight AI’s recommendations saved more than 30 hours per month on average, a meaningful gain for lean ecommerce teams juggling growth, fulfillment complexity, and margin pressure.

Turning Operational Blind Spots Into Action

As ecommerce brands grow, many assume automation naturally keeps pace. In reality, Linnworks argues, the opposite often happens. New sales channels, higher order volumes, and expanding catalogs introduce layers of manual intervention—each one adding friction and risk.

Spotlight AI is designed to address what Linnworks calls the commerce paradox of scale versus risk. Instead of relying on teams to manually audit workflows, the AI continuously monitors day-to-day operations, identifies repetitive actions, and highlights where automation would deliver the biggest return.

Crucially, the system doesn’t just flag problems—it prioritizes them. Spotlight AI diagnoses why a task is slowing operations, quantifies the impact, and recommends the next best automation to deploy. The result is targeted, measurable optimization rather than blanket process changes.

From Insight to Automation—Without the Guesswork

According to Linnworks CEO Jon Bahl, Spotlight AI removes a common tradeoff retailers face as they scale.

“Retailers shouldn’t have to choose between growing fast and operating reliably at scale,” Bahl said. “Spotlight AI gives our customers visibility into where manual work is still slowing them down and provides clear, actionable guidance on what to automate next.”

That emphasis on clarity is key. Many ecommerce platforms surface performance metrics but stop short of telling teams what to fix. Spotlight AI is positioned as a prescriptive layer—one that not only reveals inefficiencies but helps eliminate them systematically.

Chief Product Officer Diana Nolting underscored the risk angle, noting that every manual step introduces potential failure.

“Most businesses don’t realize how much manual work still exists in their day-to-day operations,” Nolting said. “Spotlight AI was built to surface those blind spots automatically and turn them into practical automation opportunities.”

A Broader Push Toward End-to-End Automation

Spotlight AI is more than a point feature. Linnworks describes it as a foundational step toward automating the entire order lifecycle, from order ingestion to fulfillment and beyond. By embedding continuous optimization directly into the platform, Linnworks is signaling a shift from static workflow tools to adaptive, AI-driven operations.

That strategy aligns with a broader trend in commerce technology, where brands are increasingly seeking resilience and predictability—not just growth. As fulfillment costs rise and customer expectations tighten, eliminating hidden inefficiencies can be as valuable as acquiring new customers.

For Linnworks, Spotlight AI positions CommerceOps not as a backend necessity, but as a competitive advantage—one that scales alongside the business rather than holding it back.

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