How AI Teams Can Speed Up E-Commerce Growth Through GenAI for Product Descriptions

The process of crafting product descriptions can be very time-consuming, especially at large scale. The challenges vary depending on what you sell – they will be different for FMCG and tools, for example. However, they often center around having multiple sources of information, both technical and marketing-related, and the inconsistent quality of provided product information.

This is where AI can help. Generative AI is already very smoothly getting into the niche of writing product descriptions that really sell. A study from Bain shows that organic traffic can be increased by 40% thanks to content optimization. The key KPI, conversion rate, can increase by up to 20 times compared to current industry levels. AI can also significantly increase revenue, boosting the profit margin by 13% YOY and customer lifetime value by 11%.

GenAI solution-based description writing has the potential to significantly improve results in three key areas:

• lower rejection rates,
• increase customer engagement with fresh, delightful text,
• increase conversion rates.

So, how to get deep, rich, insightful content to spice up the product pages on your e-commerce site? You can try some of the popular Large Language Models (LLM), such as ChatGPT. However, ready-made solutions are not perfect – they don’t know your target audience as well as you do.

If you want a system that will empathize with your customers’ needs, opt for a tailor-made solution. Custom software will learn your target from the inside out, observing the effectiveness of existing descriptions and learning as it goes. You can easily adjust the number of its features to the size and activities of your business.

If you decide to improve on-page customer experience, a dedicated AI team can build you a custom solution that generates new, secure, automated, and scalable content. In broad terms, here is what the process is likely to look like.

First, the team will conduct initial experiments with LLM models from your selected cloud provider. Once the most suitable one for your needs is chosen, it will be followed by aggregating the relevant data. This will include all product documentation and materials, as well as linguistic resources to capture terms specific to your niche.

Then, using cloud-based AI services, the collected data will be transformed into compelling product descriptions that are semantically accurate and deeply resonate with the essence of the product. For international stores, it’s worth including mechanisms for translating product descriptions into foreign languages to reach a wider audience. It’s best to start with 1 or 2 languages – you can add more later, once you’ve successfully tested your new tool.

Make sure that SEO specialists are included in the process. They can optimize the descriptions for search engines, allowing your store to rank higher in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you. A dedicated UI should also be designed to display the results in the most appealing way.

Once the content is refined, it is uploaded into the relevant sections of the site. The result of the efforts are rich, insightful product descriptions that decorate your e-commerce product pages.

Finally, as new products are being developed, you can add new sources to your tool, to extract text and images and store them in the cloud for further enrichment of the descriptions.

Throughout the development process, it is crucial for your IT and marketing teams to work together with data engineers and data scientists. This will allow you to combine business knowledge, technical specifications, and scientific expertise that will contribute to the final success of the product.

You can make changes to your product descriptions by yourself with free tools. Alternatively, you can work with an experienced AI team, which will implement a customized system following best practices, and provide the necessary training and support. You can then start creating content that perfectly fits your target audience.

The retail industry is expanding together with product design and marketing. Your opportunity to grow as a retailer lies in personalized recommendation and design automation. Natural Language Processing systems will help you reach more customers, personalize messages, and enhance the customer experience and loyalty.

When you plan to generate content based on AI, you don’t need to start a huge operation that will absorb your time with no guarantee of increasing website traffic and conversions. We recommend you start working on a smaller area that needs improvement the most, or choose a leading flagship category in the store where you will notice changes immediately.

You can start out by trying the most popular conversational Large Language Model (LLM), ChatGPT, or its equivalents. They can give you a good idea of the possibilities and potential. For small-scale or testing efforts, it’s a great approach to take. However, if your store has thousands or millions of products, a custom tool may be more effective.

Note that no AI model won’t work excellently right away. Iterate on the results of the initial tests to allow the model to learn, and add data as needed to adapt it to your needs and expectations. Once you notice the model’s results are consistent with your guidelines and assumptions, you can gradually expand to other categories, regions, or product lines.

GenAI can also help you with other marketing materials based on the gathered information. You can create lead magnets as catalogs or trend books, advertisements’ scenarios, and content and images that can help you generate more business. Test different ideas and see what works best for you.

The capabilities of GenAI will help your retail business grow faster. But keep an eye on the results and make sure they are consistent with the best practices:

• Always verify model outputs for accuracy and formatting. Define constraints explicitly to ensure desired results. Keep adding features gradually, and don’t start with the target experience.
• Monitor translations for consistency and ensure the content is optimized with SEO guidelines. The quality of product descriptions directly impacts conversion rates.
• Improve marketing productivity by leveraging AI to manual processes first, where possible.

Given that 72% of retail executives are satisfied with AI performance and outcomes after initial implementations, GenAI emerges as industry game-changer. It is rapidly transforming the landscape by elevating product discovery, personalizing customer interactions, and automating content creation. With this technology retailers can significantly enhance their operational efficiency by 10-20% and foster deeper connections with their customers.

Embracing GenAI is not just an option but a necessity for retailers aiming to stay ahead of the competition. Leaders in adopting the technology already report significant results. Based on recent research by Nvidia, 69% of AI users believe it has impacted their annual revenue. 28% of those respondents reported an increase of 5-15% while 15% reported an increase above 15%.

The journey towards integrating GenAI into your retail operations may seem daunting, but with the right strategy and support, it can unlock incredible opportunities for your business to thrive in the digital age. If you’re ready to propel your e-commerce platform to new heights, contact us to scale up your GenAI project. Together, let’s redefine the future of retail and create engaging, personalized shopping experiences that drive success.