To say that AI stocks are popular with investors in 2024 would be an understatement. 

In mid-December, Bloomberg published an article entitled The Year of Nvidia, AI Stocks and Lofty Valuations. As it highlighted, the Nasdaq 100 had its best year in 2023 in more than a decade. 

Through the first two weeks of January, the index is up 1.5%. Something tells me that 2024 won’t be much different. Consequentially, the intelligent tech revolution should benefit AI stocks in the next 11.5 months. 

So, who are the AI ambassadors to bet on? Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), with expected profits of $48 billion in the next 12 months, should be at the top of any list. 

However, that would be like taking candy from a baby. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that almost 40% of global jobs will be affected by AI. In fact, the wealthier countries may face more significant risks than poorer ones. Therefore, if that’s the case, I’m inclined to go with AI ambassadors who use the technology to reduce income inequality, not vice versa. 

Let’s examine my three choices. 

MercadoLibre (MELI)

MercadoLibre’s (NASDAQ:MELI) Sebastián Barrios is the Latin American e-commerce and payments giant’s senior vice president of technology. He discussed its use of AI with Bloomberg Linea last October. 

The company is primarily interested in using AI to improve the customer experience. 

“Barrios highlighted that the company has been invested in a series of AI initiatives to achieve significant improvements in the user experience, from personalization in the purchasing process to the automation of internal processes,” Bloomberg Linea stated on Oct. 25, 2023. 

Additionally, the executive was adamant that AI would provide more opportunities for more people at MercadoLibre. This lies in contrast to the IMF’s perception that 40% of jobs are at risk of disappearing. Of course, Barrios did say that the company continues hiring based on the demand for its products and services in its operating countries.

“At Mercado libre, we are hiring and we continue to accelerate in hiring because we see that as an accelerator of what we can do. Fortunately, what we need is more capable people to develop more value for users.”

He states that MercadoLibre aims to “democratize” access to commerce and finance through electronic transactions. To me, that sounds a lot like MELI is using AI to level the playing field through fintech.

SoFi Technologies (SOFI)

Like MercadoLibre, SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) focuses on delivering to the masses top-notch financial products that are easy to access and use. It makes sense, given that inequality is generally about lack of opportunity and financial wherewithal. 

“SoFi’s mission is to help people reach financial independence to realize their ambitions. Financial independence doesn’t just mean being rich; it means getting to a point where your money works for the life you want to live,” states the SoFi investor relations home page.

Over the past year, SOFI stock has gained 37%. However, on three occasions in the past 12 months, when its share price got near or over $10, something always brought the stock back down to below $7 or $8, where it currently trades. It’s become a hard ceiling to crack. 

But don’t you worry. With the help of AI, it will break through $10 in 2024 and make its way to $20 in 2025. 

Why do I feel this way? 

In August 2023, SoFi’s Galileo Financial Technologies business reported on its AI-driven intelligent digital assistant (IDA). Cyberbank Konecta had been integrated into its tech stack, improving inquiry response times by more than 65%. 

“Through Galileo’s flexible APIs and AI-driven technology, Cyberbank Konecta has helped SoFi achieve immediate cost-reduction by freeing up valuable agent time to solve more complex and higher-touch problems for SoFi’s members,” stated its press release.

“Customer service performance has improved by 7%, meaning addressing thousands more conversations 24/7 without the need for member service agents.”

On the surface, this insinuates that SoFI is doing more with less because of AI. In the short term, that may be the case. However, with the ability to scale its customer base through AI, it will add millions of members in the future. And this will require additional human resources to solve the more complex and higher-touch problems mentioned above. 

From the day SoFi announced its acquisition of Galileo in April 2020, I thought it was a slam dunk winner. AI will prove it so. 

Shopify (SHOP)

Like the other two stocks mentioned, Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) will use AI to dramatically improve the merchant experience. And, in turn, it will put more money in the pockets of these merchants. 

Therefore, as far as I’m concerned, the best way to reduce inequality is to put more money and opportunities into the hands of those less fortunate. This allows them to use the e-commerce platform to generate a reasonable living. 

In July 2023, Shopify launched a new suite of AI products for merchants to use on the e-commerce platform that it believes will benefit its customers. 

“Shopify believes that there isn’t any corner of the internet that will benefit more from AI than the pursuit of people building and growing their own businesses,” Miqdad Jaffer, Shopify’s director of product for AI, told The Globe and Mail. “There is still so much untapped potential for AI and entrepreneurs, and we’re both excited and deeply committed to making the power of AI accessible to businesses of all sizes.”

So, with the help of Sidekick and Shopify Magic, merchants can accelerate their ability to grow their businesses through these AI tools. These tools will benefit Shopify’s smaller merchants, who likely don’t have the staffing to provide top-notch customer service. 

From where I sit, Shopify and its merchants have significant opportunities ahead of them, thanks to AI. The next five years should be exhilarating for employees, merchant customers, and shareholders. 

Shopify most definitely is an AI ambassador. 

On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.