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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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 15^th 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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We currently live in a time where five generations make up the overwhelming majority of our country: Baby Boomers I (1946-1954), Baby Boomers II (1955-1965), Generation X (1966-1976), Generation Y (1977-1994), and Generation Z (1995-2012). And Millennials bridge Gen Y and Gen Z. These are the main generations that make up your customer base. That’s a 76-year age gap you’re trying to connect with. A rather daunting task.

Over this 76-year gap, the way people search has changed dramatically. Baby Boomers up through Generation X went to a library and owned an encyclopedia. Generation Y started this way but adapted to current forms of search via the internet. Early generations hoarded multiple maps in their glovebox. Later generations relied on printing the specific route you needed before you departed (anyone remember Map Quest?). Today we instantly look up directions complete with turn-by-turn instructions. Yes, there are still people who go to the library, own an encyclopedia, and use paper maps, but their numbers are dwindling.

These generational side-effects also change the way we all do one common thing: Shop.

Shopping is something that will never go away, but it will always change. From Sears and Roebuck’s catalogs beginning in 1886, to mega malls in the ’90s, to having your order delivered same-day by a drone. And it is the way people shop that brings us to the point of this very long-winded diatribe.

People shop online. The way they find products is through search. Whether it’s on Google to find information, on your maps to find a location, or on your eCommerce site to find a product – Search is the one aspect that is constant. How people search is not, and much of it goes back to the generational differences. Some will type, while others will speak. Some will begin with old Keyword search (i.e Nike Shoes), and then drill down via Navigation (i.e. choosing a color, choosing a size, choosing price-point, etc.). Others will say exactly what they want, using Natural Language Search, to begin the search (i.e. Red and White Nike basketball shoes under $150). Some will search on their laptops, others on their tablets, while a full 67% will search on their phones.

The point is this: Your audience is made up of many different generations, and each has their own way of doing something as simple as Search. There is no correct or incorrect way… but you, as an eCommerce Retailer, better be able to return the right results. Here at EasyAsk, our Artificial Intelligence/Natural Language Search Engine allows us to span that generational gap.

Update: We will be putting the generations to the test as we ask a member of each to go through our Search Challenge. Results coming soon… Stay tuned!

The post Retailers are Marketing to more than Five Generations, is your Site-Search Flexible enough to help them all? appeared first on EasyAsk.