Mercari Utilizes ChatGPT for Search and Recommendation Capabilities
In the ever-evolving world of retail, companies like Mercari and Instacart are leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer service and product recommendations. One of the key technologies they are integrating is ChatGPT, a cutting-edge AI model developed by OpenAI.
Mercari, a global online marketplace, is moving towards a cross-category discovery-based shopping experience powered by AI. This shift aims to offer customers a more intuitive and personalized product discovery experience, eliminating the need for specific searches.
The integration of ChatGPT allows Mercari's AI-driven shopping assistant, Merchat AI, to handle customer inquiries more efficiently and provide tailored product recommendations that facilitate purchases with less friction. This not only improves the user experience (UX) but may also enable more seamless transactions, such as scheduling or booking via AI agents that link to service systems for reservations or deliveries.
Instacart, a leading online grocery platform, is also using ChatGPT to improve its search engine capabilities and build shopping lists. By doing so, it aims to offer a smarter and more personalized shopping experience to its users.
The adoption of ChatGPT by these retailers is part of a broader trend known as "agentic purchasing," where AI agents assist or fully manage purchasing decisions on behalf of customers, creating a more integrated and efficient retail experience.
John Lagerling, Mercari U.S. CEO, stated that Merchat AI marks an exciting turning point in the evolution of secondhand shopping. The company, which adds over 350,000 new product listings daily, as stated in its press release, has already seen its app downloaded more than 50 million times.
According to a July 2022 Gartner survey, over half of the respondents use chatbots, virtual customer assistants, or conversational AI platforms for customer-facing applications. The survey also predicts that chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for about a fourth of businesses by 2027.
While Mercari is enhancing its personalization capabilities to improve recommendations and search, it acknowledges that the chatbot might provide inaccuracies and inconsistencies. However, the company plans to update the feature using data from user interactions to improve its accuracy. Merchat AI is currently available across the country but is still in beta testing.
Interestingly, social media companies like Meta and Snap have also been experimenting with chatbot technologies, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. As retailers rework their stores to suit shoppers by implementing complementary shop-in-shops, age-appropriate experiences, and integrated technology, the integration of AI-driven shopping assistants like Merchat AI and others is set to revolutionize the retail landscape.
- In the realm of retail, businesses like Meta and Snap are also delving into chatbot technologies, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
- Mercari, amidst the integration of ChatGPT, is striving to update Merchat AI, aiming to rectify potential inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the chatbot's functionality.
- As AI-driven shopping assistants like Merchat AI and those from Meta and Snap become more prevalent, they are poised to transform the traditional retail landscape.
- The latest Gartner survey reveals that over half of the respondents are already utilizing chatbots, virtual customer assistants, or conversational AI platforms for customer-facing applications, a trend that is projected to intensify in the business world by 2027.
