M.AI.A The First AI Assistant in Slovenian Shops
BACKGROUND
At Merkur, providing customers with advice and a great user experience comes first. For years, Merkur’s advisors have been working to make sure that their customers are always well-informed, and we recognized in the AI revolution a great opportunity to further improve their customers’ shopping experience.
IDEA
We have developed a communication tool that allows customers to have a two-way conversation about the use and maintenance of over 16,000 Merkur products in the Garden & Landscape category.
With the first AI assistant in Slovenian shops, called M.AI.A (Merkur’s AI Assistant), customers can chat about Merkur products anytime, anywhere.
The virtual assistant is powered by artificial intelligence similar to ChatGPT, which is designed to interact with humans and exhibits human-like behaviour. M.AI.A facilitates the shopping experience by answering questions related to the maintenance or use of various Merkur products.
The results reached with an AI image creation tool are the image and the appearance of the AI assistant, and we have added the typical features of Merkur’s advisors, such as affability, to the creative parameters.
How does our AI assistant gather data for her answers?
The solution verifies the information in the database and synchronizes it with the databases of ChatGPT. This provides users with the access to information that could previously only be inferred.
The solution was developed in cooperation with Merkur’s advisors. The aim is for the virtual assistant to also serve as a consultancy tool for employees, making their work easier.
EXECUTION
M.AI.A is available for chatting about products on the Merkur website and in their centres.
Online, a special button is located next to each garden and landscaping product that allows users to talk to the AI assistant. All they need to do is select the product they would like to know more about, click the “Start a conversation” button next to the product and ask the question. In stores, customers can chat with the AI assistant by scanning a QR code, which opens a dialogue box where they can ask their question.
M.AI.A currently advises best on the maintenance and use of products in the Garden & Landscape segment. Our long-term goal is to make M.AI.A available to customers to chat about all 60,000 products available at Merkur.
What questions can customers ask?
For example, if the user is talking to the virtual assistant about plants, they can ask her how much light the plants need to thrive the best. If the conversation is about bulbs and seeds, they can ask Merkur’s assistant about the perfect time to plant them.
COMMUNICATION
The news about Merkur’s new employee was accompanied by an advertising campaign on digital channels and at Merkur’s centres.
In static and video ads, we offered customers an explanation of who M.AI.A is and how they can chat with her. Of course, Merkur also launched its virtual assistant on its own channels.
RESULTS
questions answered
of users received a relevant answer