Redefining the eCommerce Landscape with AI

Matt: [00:00:00] Well, hello, welcome to the e commerce podcast with me, your host, Matt Edmondson. This is our fifth and final week in our August installment of podcast episodes. Uh, it's great to be with you. I hope you're having a great August where you are. And as always throughout the whole of the August series, I am joined by the sidekick, Sadaf Beynon, uh, who is keeping me on the straight and narrow.

Uh, when she's had her coffee. Yes, that's what I'm doing. So, uh, welcome back to the show, Sadaf. Uh, now, we are talking as you're, well, you're welcome. Uh, and it's great to have you here. Uh, at least in body only, maybe, but, uh, you are here. We are, of course, carrying on the conversation, uh, about e commerce cohort.

If you've been following along from the August episodes, you would know, we have just recorded these back to back over a couple of days. Um, and, uh, we're getting them out. So the shorter, smaller episodes through the month of August, uh, whilst we're all consuming less, doing less and hopefully having a relaxing time.

Uh, I [00:01:00] appreciate for some of you it's winter, you're not, uh, and maybe that gives you time to catch up on the winter episodes where you were having a good time, uh, in, in your part of the world. I don't know. Uh, but anyway, I'm taking August off. That's my plan. So this is why we're getting through these. Um, and so it's great to be with you.

What we are in fact talking about are the lessons from what? E commerce cohorts. Now, last time I asked you what cohort was, it didn't go very well. So, I butchered it. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Beynon the butcher. So, should we try again, Sadaf? Why don't you explain what cohort is? I'll correct, I'll patch up anything and people won't know one little bit whether we've done this well or not.

Right, okay. And we'll take it from there.

Sadaf: Alright, so e commerce cohort is an online mastermind group and where we have different guests come on and deliver [00:02:00] workshops and talk about their area of expertise. So, um, today we're going to be talking about, um, AI and it was the workshop that Max and Claire delivered.

And, um, so yeah, we're going to jump into AI today. So I did a bit of both, Matt. I went from the cohort into what we're doing and

Matt: it was seamless. Yeah, it was it was genuinely seamless and I thought that was very well done very well put together So we are having again if you're regular to the show, you know, we're having a little bit more then say a little bit more fun It's a little bit more Lighthearted, I suppose, because these are the shorter episodes where you and I are having a conversation.

I'm not interviewing you, pushing you for every ounce of knowledge you have about e commerce. Um, and so, uh, they're a little bit more lighthearted, uh, in these. So, yes, we are indeed talking about AI, aren't we? Talking about Max Sinclair. Um, he's, like you say, he's been on the podcast. He delivered. One of our [00:03:00] expert workshops about AI and how we can use AI in e commerce.

Um, and it's fair to say it totally blew our minds. There's no doubt about it. Uh, we were just like, my mind has been exploded a thousand times. Um, to the point where I would say that we did this. I remember in cohort, Max did his workshops. And we had a whole bunch of questions come in, a whole lot. And so what we did was we then did a further sort of bonus workshop.

This is probably the right, is probably the wrong expression. But we did some extra work where we used ChatGPT to build an e commerce business from scratch. And we walked people through that process. Um, that because once we had Max on talking about chat GPT, I spent hours just consuming content, getting my head around chat GPT, what it can do and how it works.

Did some courses, talked to Max a lot. I mean, we, we did some stuff, let me tell you. And so it [00:04:00] was, it was really fascinating. Um, all kickstarted by Max. And so we did these sort of extra bonus workshops in it about how to. I had to launch an e commerce business from scratch and that totally blew my mind as well.

Yeah. Um, everything from naming the website, building the brand out. We use mid journey to design a logo. We found chat founders products. We looked at all kinds of things on how we do that. It wrote product copy. I mean, it was. Insane, like within an hour, what we actually had, uh, had sort of achieved with AI.

So it was a phenomenal workshop by Max, really, really enjoyable. Yeah,

Sadaf: for sure. So, um, let's tell our listeners about some of the things that stood out. So, how about we talk first about how has AI changed or how is it changing e commerce?

Matt: I think AI is changing e commerce in amazing ways We recently had, um, Alan Gormley on.

Have I pronounced his surname [00:05:00] right? Um, uh, what's the name of his company? Uh, Shopbox. Yes, Shopbox. Shopbox. ai, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, Alan. I just totally slipped my mind. So we had Alan on the show. He's been talking about AI. He's got Shopbox, which is an AI driven thing. Max has his image generation tool, which you, which is crazy.

We are using it. You upload an image, um, a series of images of your products, and then it will generate a -whole trigger load of lifestyle images for you based on the prompts that you write. It takes that product of your shot and puts it in all kinds of play, which is just incredible. Um, and so, you know, you can take things like, I don't know.

I've got a can of Coke Zero on my desk here. Um, I can upload pictures of that and then it will generate pictures of Coke Zero in the beach. Do you know what I mean? Just, it's incredible the image generation stuff that's going on now. And so you can, you can use Max's software like that to generate lifestyle images.

There's obviously things like Mid [00:06:00] Journey, um, uh, and other AI generation tools which can give you just completely. Out of the box, it's out of the box, out of the, you know, brand new generated images. We've used that, we've used that to generate abstract images. We've used it to generate branding ideas, like on that workshop.

Um, I think ChatGPT told us we should do, um, because we said to ChatGPT, we're looking to start an e commerce business. Uh, we like the idea of a small product, which is lightweight, easy to ship and is... You know a multi purpose buy and so ChatGPT is what kind of market do you want to go into give us some suggestions?

So we picked the peck market and so then it was like, well, why don't you do like a disposable body bag, uh, body bags? Laughter No, ChatGPT didn't tell us to you been watching, Matt? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Disposable doggy do bags is, um, is, is what I meant to say. Maybe we should do disposable body bags as well. I mean, that's actually starting to [00:07:00] become a bit of a business now, but anyway, um, so yeah, these disposable doggy do bags, but it was like, um, so we took some of the ideas from chat GPT that it generated, and we'll talk about how we did that again.

Some of the lessons from Max's workshop. We, um, uploaded that information to Midjourney and I had Midjourney design some branding for the company and after like two tries, it came up with something that was really good. It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it gave me a great starting point to go to our designers and say, that's what I want, sort of design that properly now, right?

And it would have taken me a lot of conversation going backwards and forwards. And so it speeds up that whole journey. So. It's incredible what you can do now with images. You can take software like Alan software and Alan is what they're doing at Shopbox is genius. They're just, they're messing around with your website in real time, right?

So they're, they're analyzing. Uh, very quickly, the customers come into your website, what they're [00:08:00] doing, and the AI is trying to figure out as best it can what the next step should be in the process for you. And so it will adapt your website accordingly, it will show you products differently, it will help you through the checkout process.

So they're doing some really interesting things with AI, and Alan is just a really interesting guy, isn't he? Uh, you know, really interesting guy, I really liked Alan, uh, and spoken to him a couple of times about what those guys are doing. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. So you've got AI in that. You've got AI for data analysis.

Um, you can use, uh, data. One of the things that Max showed us, which was super clever. And one of the things that really blew my mind was he showed us how you can take Chat GPT and have it analyze the reviews on Amazon of a product, right? So go back to my disposable doggie do bags. We found the best selling doggy doo bags on Amazon, just in terms of review [00:09:00] numbers, right?

So we were like, who's got the most reviews? Let's go look at those. 30, 000 reviews. And so we then go to chat GPT with that data and say, Analyze these reviews and tell me top five things people love about this product, the top five things people don't like about this product that would improve it. Right.

And so it goes away. It does the analysis and it comes back and they say people really like that it's biodegradable. People really like the fact that it's slightly bigger than normal because they've got bigger dogs, for example. And some people like the fact that it's small. So they like the fact you can choose two different sizes.

People like the fact that you can choose centered or unscented. I don't own a dog. I just want to point this out, but I learned a lot about doggy doo doo bags this day. Um, and so it was like, it goes through the reviews and it tells you what, what people like, right, about the product. And then it goes through the negative, the smaller reviews, you know, one, two stars, three stars.

And it goes, well, these are the reasons why people were complaining. And so if you wanted to improve this product, [00:10:00] here's five things that you should think about doing. And we were like, this is utter genius. And so, I mean, obviously you've got to validate that data, but fundamentally AI now can examine data.

And do stuff which would take me weeks to do, just in terms of reviews, it can do it in minutes. Yeah. And it can summarize that data and give you all kinds of insights. So you can have it do it on your competitors, um, reviews. We use AI on our own customer reviews just to see what people are saying about our own products.

Um, and again, just staying on top of it with that, it's, it's really, really. Really remarkable, uh, some of the stuff. So AI is helping, yeah, it's helping e commerce across the board with just literally, there's nothing at the moment, I think in e commerce that AI is not helping with. So it's helping with marketing copy.

You can use chat GPT to help you with that, right? Blog posts, et cetera, et cetera. It can help you with SEO. It can help you redo your website. So your conversion rates go up, [00:11:00] can help you with images. It can help you with new product ideas. It can help you with cross sells upsells. There's not a whole lot it can't touch at the moment.

That's not to say it's perfect, it is far from perfect. That's not to say it's not scary. It is very scary in some respects. Um, but it is, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. And I think you can use it really well as a, you know, to start a whole bunch of things. Like I wouldn't have ChatGPT write marketing content and then just post that marketing content.

so there's no area of e commerce that AI is not touching right now.

Do you know what I mean?

Sadaf: Uh, yeah, I do. And I think you're right. It seems to be opening up so many new doors for entrepreneurs, like listening to you talk and listening to what Max has shared on our, on the podcast as well. You know, there's, there's so much. Yeah, there is. Yeah, capacity out there. Um, he shared some philosophical perspectives on AI as well, didn't he?[00:12:00]

Matt: Yeah, because there is the philosophical aspect of it, isn't there? There's the, on one hand, you've got the real practical use of AI. On the other hand, there is a philosophical debate. You've got, um, I saw it in the press the other day. Was it Biden that had some, uh, conversations with some of the tech giants about AI?

You've got the guy that is running ChatGPT going, I'm a little bit scared about where the future's going with AI, um, and what it can do. There's these conversations as well, right? Um, there's the existential aspect of AI. There's the moral aspect of AI. If I get AI to do data analysis, does that take the job away from somebody over here?

And I think there are some arguments, um, that are genuinely good and genuinely reasonable. Max did bring these out and some which aren't. And I think what we can't be, is we can't be scared of AI at the moment. Um, and I think we have to learn what it means for our business. I think if you're in an industry, I was talking to Josh, um, [00:13:00] Uh, one of our designers the other day, he's, he's, he's gone full time freelance, absolute legend, Josh, and, um, he's gone full time freelance in an industry where AI is actually starting to have some serious inroads, right?

So he takes something like graphic design and AI is having an impact there. And what does the future look like in an industry where AI is having an impact for him, you know? And. No one really knows, do they? No one really knows where it's going to go to, but what I can tell you is that for me, the graphic designers that understand that AI is here and that they, how to use it to help them and how they can use it to help clients.

Um, is, is going to be good. I think AI will get rid of all the mediocre designers because why do I need a mediocre designer anymore? I think I can just use AI to generate stuff. Um, and it will make the good designers really, really good. Uh, is I think what will happen. And so, um, I think it'll just change the way.[00:14:00]

Things work and it'll change how we work a bit like when the telephone was invented, it changed how we worked, right? And how we worked as a nation. Um, and I think this AI is going to have that sort of effect. This is going to have the same effect that the internet had on us. It's going to change a few things, some things we're not going to like, but I think we're going to have to rethink our way around it.

And I think it will create new opportunities. But there is, of course, this existential threat where AI is concerned. And I think if Biden is talking to the head of chat GPT about this. I think it's probably quite genuine, you know, and we should, we should not be flippant about it in some way.

Sadaf: Yeah, it's really interesting what's happening and where everything's heading.

Yeah, it'd be good to keep an eye on this space, right? Get some more guests.

Matt: Yeah, I don't think it's going away. Yeah, I just don't think it's going to go away anytime soon. And I think we will definitely be having more people talking about it. Some people are embracing it. Um, wholeheartedly, you know, you think again, like [00:15:00] Alan at, um, Shopbox AI, just building a whole platform around AI.

Some people are a little bit standoffish about it. Um, I think you've got people like me that kind of go, I want to use it for this bit of my life over here, but this bit over here, I'm just, I'm not quite sure right now, if I'm honest with you, um, I can cope with this, but no further. Um, and I, you know, you have boundaries with, with AI, but, um, yeah, the, some of the stuff that comes out like the deep fake stuff, super scary, you know, you could take, I'm not suggesting any of you do this, dear listeners, but I know for, well, you could easily do it.

You could take a podcast where I've talked for 20 minutes and all of a sudden you've got my voice. Hmm. And you can have AI sound exactly like me. You could do your own version of the e Hi. This is the e-commerce podcast with Matt Edmundson ai. And how is that different? I mean, it's, it's an interesting one, isn't it?

So, um, some of that's a little bit scary to see where it goes. Mm-hmm. But I, I, I must admit, I'm quite enjoying, uh, I find AI quite exciting at the moment and all the different possibilities of things that you can do. Just [00:16:00] some of the things I was playing around with last night. It was just, just mind blowing, mind blowing.

For sure,

Sadaf: for sure. All right, I think, um, I think we've, we've hit everything we wanted to on Max's workshop, unless there's something else that you wanted to talk about that

Matt: stood out? No, I, there's a lot stood out. Like I say, totally blew my mind. Sent me off on a rabbit trail. Which has, which has caused me to learn a lot about AI.

Um, and it was, I'm so grateful to Max for coming on and doing that workshop and getting me started. It was super helpful. Um, and it's had a big impact, I think, on what we're doing. So yeah, have a play around with it and see where you go. And of course, if you want to find out any more about e commerce cohort, you can check it out at ecommercecohorts.

com. There's all kinds of information on there. If you're in e commerce and you fancy come along to a mastermind, where expert workshops are delivered and you kind of figure out how in the world does this going to help my business come along, come join us. It'd be great to [00:17:00] see you come join the community.

We'd love to have you as part of it. Um, but yeah, that's e commerce cohort, ecommercecohort. com, check it out, all one word. I think that's the plug over and done with, isn't it? Yeah, it is. It is. Okay, so I'm going to do this then, uh, let me press this button here. That's the music. That's the cue. Oh, yes. Thank you so much for joining us, uh, wherever you are in the world.

All that's left for me to say on this final August episode, normal services resumed by the way, next week, uh, all that's left for me to say is thank you so much for joining us. And of course. If no one's told you yet today, let me be the first person to tell you, you are awesome. Yes, you are. Created awesome.

It's just a burden you have to bear. Sadaf has to bear it. I have to bear it. You've got to bear it as well. That's it from me. That's it from Sadaf. Have a fantastic rest of your August. I'll see you next week. Bye for now.[00:18:00]