Retailers build sales - and smarts - with artificial intelligence : Incorporation of AI is shaking up the worlds of retail firms, marketers and sales people

When you go shopping you might not always know what you're looking for, but Ben Zifkin is betting that robots might help you find it.

"It's the new way of doing things for retailers," says Mr. Zifkin, chief executive officer of Hubba Inc., a Toronto-based online business-to-business platform that connects retailers to brands.

For the brands, the attraction is obvious - they are put in front of big retailers. But artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world for retailers, too, M...