In this article

How To Include ChatGPT In Your eCommerce Strategy

Oli Kashti - Writer and Fact-Checker for Fast Simon
By Oli Kashti

Published December 3, 2024.

a cell phone sitting on top of a table

ChatGPT’s powerful text generation tool has made huge waves in the technology world. With its ability to create content easier than ever before, the fast-paced eCommerce world is considering how this advance can be used to benefit their own needs. ChatGPT can be included in your eCommerce strategy when it comes to personalization, content and social media to raise the bar of your customer experience.

What is ChatGPT

Chat GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) now in its fourth generation, is a machine learning model trained on the vast amount of text data present on the internet. These include massive sources such as textbooks, websites, published papers and various articles.

Through processing these, it has come to understand natural language and can generate highly human-like responses. The outcome of this is the creation of a superhuman assistant which can conduct research, analyze data and create content faster and more effectively than ever before. 

Why Use ChatGPT in Ecommerce

Since the latest update, eCommerce retailers have been rushing to figure out how ChatGPT can be integrated into their eCommerce strategy, or if it’s even worth it. The answer is yes; it’s a great way to improve customer experience, boost sales and reduce business costs. 

It has the capacity to enhance customer interactions, drive business growth, and allows your business to stay competitive. Using ChatGPT ensures that you continue to meet the needs for customers in a constantly digitally evolving industry.

a computer screen with a purple background


Where To Use ChatGPT

ChatGPT has started to give us a sense of how AI will enhance the online shopping experience. As it learns more about shoppers and what they desire, we will see advancements with:

  • Personalized shopping requirements
  • Responses to questions
  • Assistance with the purchasing process

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can include ChatGPT in your eCommerce strategy.

Personalized Chatbot/Customer Service

Personalization is a real winner from this latest AI advance. Using ChatGPT for a personalized chatbot, or customer service rep takes the service to a whole new level, as the interactions become more thought out than ever before. This is because it can remember previous conversions and relevant context to any given situation, which helps to improve each customers’ experience in a deeply personal way.

Personalized responses can be generated immediately, helping to increase brand image and customer satisfaction; leading to lifetime loyalty. Through analyzing these conversations, the AI driven analytics can then help businesses understand their customers better, allowing more relevant future tailored recommendations, suggestions and offers. 

Questions about product availability, shipping information, concerns about returns; can all be more than adequately answered by the chatbot. Customer service reps can then focus on more complex issues that need to be solved manually. Even queries about sales and stock levels can be answered by the AI; essentially there will always be someone capable on hand to handle the regular daily issues in a way that meets the customers’ needs.

two white paper speech bubbles on a pink background


Personalized Recommendations & Emails

ChatGPT can function as a recommendations engine, using browsing history and purchase behavior to suggest relevant cross-sell and upsell products. This kind of AI already exists in platforms that specialize in it, but ChatGPT makes it more accessible to all. 

This data can also be matched with an email marketing platform, to help create a more holistic strategy. Personalized emails can also be created by the system based on customer data.

Social Media

ChatGPT can create content for social media, helping to build a strong brand. We know the importance of social commerce, and having an app help generate the content that is required is a huge help. Text can be written that is tailored to a specific audience, and perform other automated social media tasks (posting, responding, engaging). It can also monitor the trends on social media to make sure that content is relevant, ensuring the business remains relevant too.

Proofreading/Translation

ChatGPT can serve as a proofreading tool, saving a lot of time and energy for the merchant staff. It can also translate, which can be useful for better customer communication and service; as people may be contacting the business in different languages. It also could translate whole websites- which is great for businesses who are trying to expand to a global market.

Product Descriptions

As much a high-quality, engaging image is important in merchandising and boosting sales, the text is equally as relevant. ChatGPT can create enhanced product descriptions which are compelling, informative and high-quality; exactly what is required. Having these written well can make all the difference to overall sales.

a bottle of mangoes, passion fruits and apples


The Benefits Of Using ChatGPT

ChatGPT can save time and money, as it has the potential to make otherwise long and tedious manual tasks automated. Things such as data analysis, web optimization and email marketing can all be done in a much shorter time with more accuracy than manually. This frees up more time to focus on bigger and better projects that require an accurate touch.

Since it can understand context, ChatGPT’s automated system can understand nuances of customer interactions in ways that previous chatbot systems cannot. This allows appropriate responses to be delivered, building trust and loyalty with customers that can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. 

It can identify trends, target specific audiences and optimize campaigns in minimal time with minimal effort. It enables collaboration as it can be used by different teams and departments at the same time; allowing them to work together.

Lastly, it can demonstrate that your business is going the extra mile in creating new and innovative content, and ways to interact with customers. It will help your business stand out from the crowd with the optimized service it is providing.

Limitations Of ChatGPT

Although ChatGPT clearly has so much to offer any eCommerce business, there are limitations to still consider. As it’s still in relatively early stages, there are limitations on the accuracy of the program. Although it will save a lot of time, it’s still best to double-check that the content it is creating for your site is relevant and without error.

The lack of human ‘common sense’ could come into play, which is something to be aware of, and it can’t make qualitative judgements in the same way a real person can. In order to create the content, you need to submit prompts to the program, which need to be very well worded.

a man standing in front of a camera next to a chess board


These prompts should be kept clear and precise, without industry jargon and using natural language. They should be specific and you should avoid asking too many questions. Getting the hang of how to ask the right prompts to get the right results needs to be considered.

Once you have figured this out, however, training the ChatGPT with frequently asked questions relevant to your business could provide great results.

ChatGPT: The Future

ChatGPT already has millions of users, and this is just the start of the journey; it will continue to grow from here. Incorporating ChatGPT in your eCommerce strategy means that you won’t be getting left behind, but rather- getting in there early. As it continues to grow it will increase in efficiency and consistency, and your business can grow with it. You can align it to your business goals and standards, making the most of the opportunities it presents.