As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and the conversation around OpenAI’s ChatGPT amplifies, more and more retailers are exploring what it could mean for them.
Retailers can use Chat GPT in several ways to improve customer experience, increase sales, and optimize their operations. Here are some examples.
While there have been many articles about why brands and retailers should jump on AI, with Big Tech giants like Microsoft and Google getting a piece of the action, how are brands and retailers already incorporating the new AI in town?
Instacart
Grocery delivery platform Instacart has revealed that it is collaborating with OpenAI to develop an Ask Instacart feature. While this feature is scheduled to be released later this year, it will enable customers to ask questions related to budget, health, nutrition and preparation time while they create their grocery lists.
According to a spokesperson from Instacart, the Ask Instacart concept was borne out of an internal team initiative aimed at exploring how new tools such as ChatGPT can enhance the platform’s ability to meet customer requests. The team sought to understand the potential of such tools in serving customer needs better.
Carrefour
In February, French grocery chain Carrefour created its inaugural video featuring ChatGPT, in which the AI addressed frequently asked questions. The 30-second video, spoken in French, provides answers to common customer queries, such as “how to eat better and cheaper through its website.”
According to Carrefour Chief eCommerce Officer Elodie Perthuisot, the company’s data and innovation teams are actively exploring the potential use cases of ChatGPT and generative AI in general.
Coca-Cola
By using OpenAI’s generative AI technology, The Coca-Cola Company plans to enhance its marketing strategies and consumer experiences. The move will make it one of the first prominent consumer goods corporations to openly declare its intent to leverage this highly talked-about technology.
According to Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, the company views the rapidly evolving tech as an opportunity to enhance its marketing strategies. In addition, it is also investigating ways to enhance its business operations and capabilities.
Shopify
Shopify has integrated ChatGPT into its Shop app, which functions similarly to Ask Instacart, enabling customers to use various prompts to identify products they desire.
“Say ‘hello’ to your new shopping BFF: the @Shop app’s ChatGPT powered assistant is ready to talk products, trends, and maybe even the meaning of life,” the company said in a tweet.
Say ‘hello’ to your new shopping BFF: the @Shop app’s ChatGPT powered assistant is ready to talk products, trends, and maybe even the meaning of life 🤖 pic.twitter.com/IE9UlxxbeR
— Shop (@shop) March 1, 2023
Night Shift Brewing
Massachusetts-based Night Shift Brewing used the polarizing ChatGPT AI chatbot to develop a new product offering to its lineup by asking the AI to create a formula which could be turned into a novel beer for the brand.
Initially, the Night Shift crew, along with co-founder Robert Burns, revealed not to be thrilled with the antiquated nature of ChatGPT’s preliminary brew formula.
“We asked, ‘Hey, can you make it more modern, can you make it more fruity, can you make it more tropical?” said Burns in an interview. “And after some prompts, we got a recipe out of it and decided to show it to our head brewer Joe [Mashburn] and see if we could make it.”
In addition, the chatbot was responsible for proposing the beer’s name: AI-P-A.
To design its label for their beer, Night Shift employed an alternative AI software, Midjourney, which generates visuals based on text prompts provided by users, akin to the functionality of OpenAI’s DALL-E.
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