8 Reasons Why You Don’t Want an AI Sommelier on Your Website.
More than 70% of online wine & spirits customers want advice from AI, according to a survey published by the LA Times. If you’re not ready to put an AI Sommelier on your website, there must be a reason why. Let’s take a look.
1 .You think AI is a technology that is not relevant to wine buyers
Well, your customers don’t agree. 76% of consumers expect that AI will significantly change wine and spirits shopping, according to the survey. What’s more, 31% have already used it to help them choose their alcohol.
That means you’re way behind your customers.
2. You think that customers don’t like getting wine recommendations from non-human AI.
Think again. More than 40% of customers trust AI-recommended wine pairings, according to the survey. (And incidentally, only 30% said that human expert advice was “very important” to alcohol purchases).
Why would such a high percentage of wine & spirits buyers trust AI? The view of Barry Collier, head of R&D at DRINKS, who commissioned the report, is that AI is non-judgemental and that’s very appealing to wine buyers.
“…the insights of an AI ‘sommelier’ can make alcohol less intimidating,” he said.
3. For online, I have a chatbot, you say.
A chatbot is not an AI Sommelier. It’s nothing more than a fancy FAQ. Chatbots just frustrate your customers. And Chatbots can’t pair, recommend, or upsell.
4. Your site has excellent filters and search functions to help customers.
That’s great for experts and people who always buy the same product.
It’s useless for the vast majority of customers who don’t know what they want, who need advice for a gift, or who need guidance to experiment with something new.
I recently made a video demonstrating this.
5. You have a Live Chat serviced by skilled staff.
Very good. But staff are expensive, and waiting for questions to pop up is not the best use of their skills. They can only deal with one customer at a time, and they’re offline when most customers are doing their online shopping (9-10pm).
6. Your website offers email support.
Yes, but by the time you respond, your customers have bought elsewhere.
7. “An AI Sommelier can’t possibly replace the personal advice of a human sommelier,” you say.
That’s true – but this isn’t about replacing human sommeliers.
It’s about the fact that the human sommelier isn’t available to your online customers.
Remember, online, your customer is alone and friendless, and faced with countless filters and page after page of wine, spirits and beers. No one is there to guide or advise them, and no-one answers their specific questions about how to find the right product – the one that matches their preferences, budget and the occasion, and one that you actually have available in stock right now.
8. You don’t understand what an AI Sommelier can actually do for your business.
The AI Sommelier is an AI Agent that is trained on your live inventory. Available 24/7, it can deal with any number of customers simultaneously. It recognises and responds in 16 languages, using natural, friendly language.
It doesn’t just answer FAQ from your website. It listens to your customers’ preferences and then makes suggestions from your live inventory that match their criteria.
For the customer, it’s effortless, fast and simple. No more guesswork, no long and frustrating searches. No judging.
It’s almost as if your most knowledgeable, helpful and patient staff member was available to each customer individually, helping them find the perfect product. Even if it’s 3am on a Sunday morning.