How ChatGPT can be useful for online stores

And will it replace customer service positions?

In the age of digitalization, online stores are a natural thing and we are often surprised if a physical store does not have an online store. As the number of e-commerce platforms increases, more and more businesses are harnessing the power of technology. They aim to reach a wider audience, automate their sales processes and improve customer satisfaction. However, as competition increases, online stores are struggling to differentiate themselves from their competitors and provide a seamless shopping experience for their customers. This is where ChatGPT can come into play.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence-based chatbot that can be integrated into online stores to enhance the user experience. Here we thickly emphasize that it IS NOT artificial intelligence, but a well-trained chat bot.

However, for the past few months the world has been in absolute ecstasy over the software, which is producing rather evasive results for the moment. Sometimes it saves an awful lot of time, but sometimes it gives wrong answers to basic questions. Why? Because it learns from its communication with us and you can literally "teach" it wrong information, like that 2+2=5.

However, we live in a dynamic world and a ChatGPT app is not hard to find. When it comes to e-commerce, this software can save companies a lot of time and money. If you want to be one of the innovators in the field, here are a few ways ChatGPT can be useful for online stores:

1. 24/7 customer support

Online stores can provide 24/7 customer support with the help of ChatGPT. Customers can ask questions about products, track the status of their order, or even get help returning a product. ChatGPT can provide instant answers to these queries. This in turn improve customer satisfaction and reduce the workload on the customer support team.

But do you need to do special integration for this purpose?

Yes, you will need to integrate ChatGPT into your online store, not just for this purpose, but for all of the following. Especially to support customer communication - here are the steps you can follow:

• Choose a chatbot platform: There are several chatbot platforms on the market, such as Dialogflow, IBM Watson and Amazon Lex. Choose a platform that fits your business needs and budget.
• Train ChatGPT: Once you have selected a platform, you need to train ChatGPT to understand your customers' queries. You can use the platform's natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to create a training dataset of frequently asked questions and answers. Don't think it's that easy. It will most likely take you days and weeks, but it is expected to save you quite a bit in the long run.
• Integrate ChatGPT: Once you've trained your new bot friend, you need to integrate it into your online store. You can use chat integrations or a live chat tool to add ChatGPT to your website. Once integrated, it can provide instant answers to customer queries.
• Monitor performance: you need to regularly monitor performance to ensure it is providing accurate responses to customer queries. If it's wrong, you give it the right answers to improve service and correct information.
• Provide human verification and monitoring: although ChatGPT can give immediate responses to customer queries, it may not be able to handle complex queries or customer complaints. I.e., it's a good idea to make sure you have one person who can not only handle the more complex situations in the beginning, but also check the correctness of the responses.

It may seem like a more complicated task, but if you are a large company that has dozens or hundreds of customer support positions - think about how much it could save you? But whether that means we're headed headlong into the era of automated service - it's not yet clear. Still, let's not forget that $10 billion has already been spent, and the model has already processed all the information available on the Internet. That is, there is nowhere to learn from unless we use it as an internal resource and personally train it, as we described in the lines above.

But let's continue with the other applications of the model in e-commerce. Wondering what they are? Check them out below.

2. Personalized recommendations

ChatGPT can provide personalized product recommendations to customers by analyzing their browsing and purchasing history. This is possible because the bot is powered by natural language processing (NLP) algorithms that can understand and interpret customer queries in a human-like manner.

Note: Sounds super in theory, but in practice we don't know if we can implement in Europe yet because of privacy regulations. The European Commission is due to produce regulations by Q3 2023.

When a customer interacts with ChatGPT, the bot has access to the customer's browsing and purchase history to understand their interests and preferences. Based on this information, it can recommend products that are appropriate for the user's needs and preferences. For example, if Male X has previously purchased a smartphone, ChatGPT can recommend accessories such as cases or screen protectors.

ChatGPT can also use machine learning algorithms to analyze user behavior on the website. For example, the pages they visit, the products they browse, and the products they add to their cart. Based on this information, the bot can make personalized recommendations to you that are tailored to your customers' interests and preferences.

Providing personalized product recommendations can improve the customer's shopping experience and increase the chances of a successful sale. It can also help online stores improve customer loyalty by providing a personalized shopping experience that meets consumer needs.

However, to implement personalized recommendations using ChatGPT, you'll need to train it using machine learning algorithms and integrate it with your online store's product catalog.

3. Fewer abandoned trolleys

One of the main challenges for online stores is to reduce the number of abandoned carts. ChatGPT can help in this "fight" in the following ways:

• Cart Recovery: ChatGPT can send personalized messages to customers who have abandoned their cart, reminding them of the items in their cart and encouraging them to complete their purchase. By providing a personalized reminder, the bot can help customers remember the items they left behind and motivate them to complete their purchase.
• Social Proof: ChatGPT can persuade users by highlighting customer reviews and ratings for products in the customer's cart. By showing that other customers have had a positive experience with the products, the bot can increase customer confidence and trust in the products, reducing the likelihood of cart abandonment.
• Discounts and promotions: in addition to what has already been selected, it can offer discounts and promotions to customers who have abandoned their cart, incentivizing them to complete their purchase. By providing an additional incentive, the bot can increase the customer's motivation to complete their purchase.

Last but not least, the GPT model has another rather important advantage that you can take advantage of, namely

4. Better feedback from customers

ChatGPT can be used to collect customer feedback on products and the shopping experience. This can help online stores improve their product offerings, website design and customer service.

By collecting real-time feedback, online stores can quickly identify and resolve any concerns or issues raised by customers. And this will lead to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

So far so good. Sounds very cool in theory, but is this applicable to every store? To be honest, there are already so many platforms that we can't give a definitive answer for this purpose, but a good and experienced programmer can do wonders. After all, there are platforms with which integrations are already a fact. Wondering which ones they are?

Platforms you can integrate ChatGPT with

The software can be integrated with various online store platforms. Some of the popular ones that support ChatGPT integration include:

• Shopify can integrate using third-party apps available in the Shopify app store.
• WooCommerce can be integrated using plugins available in the WordPress plugin repository.
• Magento can be integrated using third-party extensions available on the Magento marketplace.
• BigCommerce can be integrated using third-party apps available in the BigCommerce app store.
• PrestaShop can be integrated using third-party modules available on the PrestaShop add-on marketplace.

In general - modules and applications. Note that these are not the only platforms that offer integrations with the actual software. If you have an online store, but are not sure if integration is possible - we recommend you contact your developer and discuss the topic.

But is it complicated and how does it work?

Each platform has its own specifics, and if we talk about curtailment, there is no clear answer. However, we will give some points of reference for integration with one of the most common platforms worldwide.

How to integrate ChatGPT with WooCommerce?

Integrating ChatGPT with WooCommerce is a relatively simple process. Here are the steps you can follow:

• Choose a ChatGPT service: there are several ChatGPT services available that offer integrations with WooCommerce, such as Tars, Acobot and Collect.chat. Choose the service that best suits your needs.
• Sign up for the service: once you've selected a service, sign up for an account on their website. Most ChatGPT services offer a free trial that you can use to test the service before committing to a paid subscription.
• Create a chatbot: After you sign up, create a chatbot that is customized to your needs. The chatbot can be designed to help customers with various tasks, such as product recommendations, order tracking, and customer support.
• Install the chatbot plugin: install the chatbot plugin provided by the ChatGPT service on your WooCommerce website. This plugin will allow the chatbot to interact with your customers on the site.
• Configure the chatbot: Once the chatbot plugin is installed, configure the chatbot by setting its behavior, language and appearance. You can also customize the chatbot's responses to customer queries.
• Test: Test the chatbot to make sure it works correctly. Try out different scenarios, such as asking for product recommendations, order tracking, and requesting customer support.
• Launch the chatbot: Once you're happy with the chatbot's performance, launch it on your website. You can place it on different pages of your website, such as the homepage, product pages, and checkout page.

ChatGPT can be a valuable addition to any online store. It can provide 24/7 customer support, personalized recommendations, reduce cart abandonment, and gather valuable customer feedback. Using the power of artificial intelligence, online stores can improve the customer experience and stay ahead of the competition. But remember one thing - for it to work correctly you need to spend time, attention and train it.