IBM Watson supercomputer to test itself as a qualified sales assistant

On Habré the news about the IBM Watson supercomputer was published more than once or twice. This system is already able to provide qualified medical advice , prepare unusual dishes from ordinary products , as well as calculate complex economic scenarios.

Among other things, a special division of IBM was created on the basis of IBM Watson , and third-party developers gained access to the system API. Applications created by these developers will define the entire IBM Watson ecosystem, including the direction of the supercomputer.

One of the first companies to decide to actively collaborate with IBM Watson was Fluid, an online trading company. This company is working on creating an application that will allow the supercomputer to act as a highly qualified sales assistant, who will be able to find the right clothes for you. Well, for example, picnic clothes in the lap of nature. For all this, the goods will be selected based on the personal preferences of the buyer, the place where clothes will be needed, and many other factors.

"Consultant" will go to work in the store of The North Face, which specializes in sales of sports and travel goods. And picking up everything you need with the help of such a consultant will be easy. For example, IBM Watson will offer everything you need for a walk along the Amazon Delta, with the question asked by the customer, “What should I buy for a week-long trip across the Amazon, downstream, in June?”

The system in its advice will be based on many factors, including weather conditions in the region, season, age of the buyer, as well as personal preferences of the buyer. The latter will be clarified during the conversation with the "consultant".

By the way, according to the IBM Institute for Business Value, about 40% of buyers use all kinds of technologies to collect data on the desired product. But still, most of the data collected remains unclaimed, the buyer does not take into account something, forgets something, closes his eyes to something. As a result, the purchased product is not what the person really needs.

But IBM Watson in a very short time will be able to choose all the most relevant, taking into account not only the factors mentioned above, but also criteria such as the evaluation of the product by other customers, product reviews, reviews about the manufacturer. In the process of selecting products, this supercomputer will work with hundreds of factors that will determine the final set of products offered to the buyer.

We all know that in any store the work of sales consultants leaves much to be desired. In most cases, these guys are only interested in increasing the level of sales of their store, and, accordingly, increasing their salaries. Blaming them or not is a difficult question, and we will not discuss it now. But the virtual consultant will definitely not think about his own salary, and the data on the product from IBM Watson is orders of magnitude more than that of a regular seller. What the supercomputer does not “know” itself, it will find out on the Web.

Fluid is currently working on the creation of the cloud-based Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) application, which will work as a seller using the resources of the supercomputer. Such an application will work on desktops, tablets and smartphones.

Unfortunately, the release date of the application is still unknown, but both partners are trying to launch Expert Personal Shopper as quickly as possible.



Via ibm.com