IBM Watson supercomputer will test itself as a qualified sales assistant

On Habré more than once and not two news about the IBM Watson supercomputer was published. This system is already able to provide qualified medical advice , prepare unusual dishes from ordinary products , as well as calculate the most difficult economic scenarios.

Among other things, a special division of IBM was created on the basis of IBM Watson, and third-party developers got access to the system API. Applications created by these developers will define the entire IBM Watson ecosystem, including the directions of the supercomputer.
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One of the first companies that decided to actively cooperate with IBM Watson, was the company Fluid, engaged in online trading. This company is working to create an application that will allow the supercomputer to play the role of a highly qualified sales assistant who will be able to choose the right clothes for you. Well, for example, clothes for a picnic in the lap of nature. With all this, the goods will be selected based on the personal preferences of the buyer, the place where you will need clothes, and many other factors.

The Consultant will go to work at The North Face, a company that specializes in sports and travel goods. And to pick 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 through the Amazon delta, given the buyer a question, “What should I buy for a week-long tour of the Amazon, in the lower reaches of the river, in June?”.

The system in its councils will be based on a variety of factors, including the weather conditions of the region, the time of year, the age of the buyer, as well as the 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 customers use various kinds of technology to collect data on the desired product. But still, most of the collected data 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 a person really needs.

But IBM Watson in a very short time will be able to pick up all the most relevant, taking into account not only the factors mentioned above, but also such criteria as the evaluation of goods by other buyers, product reviews, reviews about the company-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 assistants leaves much to be desired. In most cases, these guys are only interested in increasing the level of sales of their store, and, accordingly, raising their salaries. To blame them for it or not is a difficult question, and we will not discuss it now. But the virtual consultant will not think about his own wages for sure, and the product data from IBM Watson is an order of magnitude more than that of a regular seller. That the supercomputer does not "know" himself, he will find out on the web.

Fluid is currently working on creating a cloud-based Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) application, which will work as a merchant, using supercomputer resources. 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