Tag Archive for: natural language

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Artificial Intelligence for Business

Artificial Intelligence… it’s here, it’s there, it’s… (to quote Ted Lasso) every —-ing where!

But what are we actually talking about? What is the breakthrough here and what does that mean for you?  

ChatGPT is now the latest tectonic shift in A.I. functionality and truly is that breakthrough. Why?  Because OpenAI has achieved the breakthrough in User Experience.  They didn’t create it, but they did kind of perfect it.  It’s called ad hoc query and the concept has been around since the early 1980s when the relational database boom began (as well as my career, btw). We used to promote ad hoc query at Oracle and it was very real, provided you could speak SQL, or use one of the graphic tools that generated the appropriate SQL. 

Fast forward to the next step in creating the perfect UX. 2011 – Apple launched the iPhone 4s with Siri integrated. For the very first time, millions of us could access the perfect mobile user experience. Hit a button, ask a question, get the answer. Again, ad hoc query, but now Mobile and Voice enabled. 

The very first time I tried this, I recognized THIS was the future. This was the way business applications would be architected, this was the way we would all shop on eCommerce platforms: intelligent, intuitive, interactive. It’s actually what we do here at EasyAsk and Gartner gave us their ‘Cool Vendor’ award for this… but it took another decade for it to be rediscovered and mainstreamed. ChatGPT did that, so ‘thank you’, OpenAI. Combining an Artificial Intelligence/Natural Language query engine with Large Language Models generating comprehensive content for seemingly endless Q&A: Generative A.I.

Like Siri, then OK Google, ChatGPT has the unenviable task of having to ‘index the universe’. So, a common concern is, “is this answer 100% accurate?”. You’ll notice that Chat now qualifies the answer with “to the best of my understanding” or something close. To be clear, this is not a criticism. The tech is fantastic. It’s just always going to be an issue, what content is the answer based upon? They’ve done an amazing job bringing forth a transformative technology and instantly launched the concept of ‘ad hoc query’ forward. We should all be grateful. It IS the perfect User Experience. 

So where do we take this going forward? We, like OpenAI believe in the power of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language mapped to various business applications and vertical market solutions. The future is very bright to transform the User Experience for Business Intelligence and Analytics, CRM, Medical records, eCommerce and so much more. Congratulations and thank you to OpenAI for paving the road here. I believe it will quickly become a freeway! Off we go. 

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Six Scary Site Search Statistics

and how to make sure your customers don’t run away screaming

When eCommerce site search is working well, it is a dream for your customers; they can find what they’re looking for on the first try.  No need to endlessly click through your site’s categories and attributes.  Unfortunately, eCommerce search is too often scaring customers away.  At a time when years of eCommerce progress has been made in a matter of months, it’s even more important than ever that your site search is up to scratch.  We’ll look at six scary statistics and the ways that you can ensure your site search is not one of the frightening ones… Read More

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Six Scary Site Search Statistics

and how to make sure your customers don’t run away screaming

When eCommerce site search is working well, it is a dream for your customers:  they can find what they’re looking for, the first time.  No need to endlessly click through your site’s categories and attributes.  Unfortunately, eCommerce search is too often scaring customers away.  We’ll look at six scary statistics and the ways that you can ensure your site search is not one of the frightening ones…

Scary Statistic #1

70% of eCommerce search implementations are unable to return relevant results,

requiring users to search using the exact same jargon as the site[1]

Yes, that’s right, nearly three-quarters of eCommerce site searches will only return the right products if the customers happen to use the right language.  That’s a lot of lost revenue when those customers become frustrated and abandon the site.

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IRCE @ RetailX 2019: How EasyAsk impressed prospective customers

 

The EasyAsk team recently visited the Windy City to be a part of IRCE at RetailX. This year’s event merged three shows into one, with the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE) holding its 15th annual event. RetailX attracted 20,000 attendees and more than 1,200 exhibiting brands, with EasyAsk proud to be counted among them.

We were able to impress visitors to the EasyAsk booth by demonstrating how outstanding EasyAsk’s Search and Navigation solution is. In case you missed the show, here is what one of the EasyAsk team could have shown you:

The North Face use EasyAsk to power their search so it’s a great example of some of the functionality. This voice search contains references to gender, price and color, as well as redundant words, such as ‘I’m looking for’. EasyAsk has the ability to cope with all of this information and returns the following results:

The EasyAsk engine has understood that ‘wife’ is a synonym for ‘womens’ and brings back only red, waterproof, ladies jackets priced less than $200. Although each of the 11 results are available in different colors, the thumbnail picture presented in the results is always in the red tone.

Contrast this successful search to the same search using Amazon.com:

Amazon’s engine cannot cope with the complexities of this query and the top suggested searches are for ‘I’m red waterproof’ and ‘I’m looking waterproof’.

It is clear that EasyAsk’s understanding of natural language is far superior to that of the eCommerce giant, Amazon. We think this is why the IRCE attendees were so impressed…

It’s worth taking a closer look when it comes to search and merchandising solutions. We’d love to show you further how EasyAsk out-performs Amazon and competes with Google. We can help you help your customers to find the right products, first time.

 

More information about IRCE can be found at www.irce.com

Take a closer look at EasyAsk’s search and merchandising solutions at www.easyask.com

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What is Conversational Commerce and what does it mean for eCommerce?

What is Conversational Commerce?

The term ‘Conversational Commerce’ is used to describe the connection between Sellers and Buyers through messaging and chat applications. Many people now like to use chat systems to accomplish different tasks, but until fairly recently, this kind of interaction has predominantly been used for accessing support, such as customer services. But what if online retailers could use Conversational Commerce to provide a better, more personalized user experience for their shoppers?

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Using AI-based Natural Language to improve eCommerce

Search is the Gateway

Search is essential in eCommerce – it is the gateway. Search is how consumers express what they want and if they don’t find what they want, they can’t buy it. People who choose to search have a far better idea of what they are looking for than those who browse, and are therefore far more likely to make a purchase. This means that understanding the intent of the shopper, however it is worded, is essential to conversion in eCommerce. Read More

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The Proliferation of Voice

And the implications for eCommerce

 

 

Automation of the home environment through Voice

It’s all about the Voice

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B2B Series Challenge 3: Customer-Specific Catalogs

According to Forrester, B2B eCommerce in the U.S. will hit $1.2 trillion by 2021, seeing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the next four years. It is therefore essential that B2B businesses optimize the experience for their customers online. B2B sites have typically been known as less usable, but it is time for them to catch up with B2C and make it really easy for customers to do business. B2B eCommerce has unique complexities, which present unique challenges and therefore require a unique set of best practices. We will explore these challenges in our B2B blog series and offer advice and solutions to ensure that your B2B site delivers a superior experience. Read More

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B2B Series Challenge 2: Complex Part or Product Numbers

According to Forrester, B2B eCommerce in the U.S. will hit $1.2 trillion by 2021, seeing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the next four years. It is therefore essential that B2B businesses optimize the experience for their customers online. B2B sites have typically been known as less usable, but it is time for them to catch up with B2C and make it really easy for customers to do business. B2B eCommerce has unique complexities, which present unique challenges and therefore require a unique set of best practices. We will explore these challenges in our B2B blog series and offer advice and solutions to ensure that your B2B site delivers a superior experience.

The complex world of part numbers

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Is your search scaring off your customers?

No Results, too many results, inconsistency and lack of communication… while there are many reasons for a customer to give up on your eCommerce site’s search the underlying problem is they couldn’t find the products they were searching for. Read More

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