This e-commerce platform has launched an AI chatbot to help you with your shopping needs
Online shopping can be one confusing rabbit hole to fall down into if you're not sure what to put into your shopping cart. Sometimes, it takes hours of research just to find a certain product that best suits your needs. While we have our budol best friends, did you know that some e-commerce sites have already incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) in their sites to assist you in your shopping experience?
In the Philippines, Lazada has just launched "LazzieChat," the feature is touted as the first e-commerce AI chatbot of its kind in Southeast Asia. The bot is powered by OpenAI ChatGPT technology in Azure OpenAI Service and was made in order to answer users’ shopping queries, providing them with information on the right items to look for on the Lazada platform.
Customers who frequently purchase fast-moving consumer goods categories such as fashion and beauty will be most benefitted by the chatbot. It is also useful for brands and sellers on the platform as it can pave the way for shoppers to discover their products more.
According to the e-commerce company, LazzieChat makes use of Lazada’s own AI technology and platform and the natural language capabilities of Azure OpenAI Service, making it understand questions from shoppers and answer them in a natural manner.
Besides suggesting products and topics that are in line with your interest, LazzieChat can also provide you with descriptions of the products and their links directly in the chat, allowing you to shop quickly and conveniently.
While LazzieChat is only available in English in the Philippines, the company said that more languages will be added soon. The chatbot can be accessed by swiping down the Lazada app homepage.
Since this type of technology is still new and developing, Lazada assured shoppers that they are continuously optimizing LazzieChat’s algorithms to recognize inappropriate content so it can respond accordingly and responsibly to user queries.
Aside from Lazada, international e-commerce sites have also been utilizing AI chatbots to assist their customers, such as H&M. The clothing brand has created an AI chatbot on Kik, a popular messaging app with 300 million users. It is designed to be a digital stylist, providing fashion tips and asking a few questions about the user’s style by sending pictures of clothes. The same goes for Sephora, which lets shoppers "learn beauty tips, watch how-to videos, and read ratings and reviews" via the Kik app.
Levi's, another clothing brand, has also teamed up with a tech company to launch a similar virtual stylist chatbot on Facebook Messenger that can help customers find the perfect pair of jeans.