Should We Deploy a Gen-AI Sales-Bot – Questions and Considerations, and the Future of Retail
- Should they deploy a AI chatbot now or wait?
- What should they consider as they make that decision?
LLMs are becoming increasingly prevalent in our day to day lives. Is it only a matter of time before they take over shopping and retail as well? As Jeannie considers whether or not she should deploy a Gen-AI Sales-Bot, she faces over considerations over whether or not this will be in the best interest of the company. She believes that the Sales-Bot will outperform human representatives, increasing sales for the company. However, she also has to consider job attrition and head count reduction that could result. Jeannie also hears feedback from her peers that they value the human-to-human sales experience, and she should just invest more in the existing Sales Chatbot.
I believe that Jeannie should deploy an AI Sales-Bot now. This past October, Walmart and OpenAI partnered to bring a personalized shopping experience straight to ChatGPT – starting the wave of LLM retail. There are number’s to back this strategic partnership. According to Forbes, ChatGPT has 70 million users showing purchase intent, bringing Walmart “potentially 20% digital growth for many years to come.” Given the growth potential that AI Sales-Bots have to bring, I believe this is a worthwhile investment to make. However, there are also many safety and ethical considerations that should go into the training of the Sale-Bot to make sure there are safeguards against any inappropriate conversations, as this can pose a great risk to the company.
