ALL-AI strategy for Icecat’s content processes

We implement an ALL-AI strategy in Icecat, as a global publisher and content syndicator for the e-commerce market. This means that we believe that all our content processes and services will fundamentally change because of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI-prone content processes

What content processes are well-suited for AI? AI tools do particularly well for the Icecat tasks that involve our large volumes of data, repetitive processes, and pattern recognition. Some of the most AI-prone tasks are:

1. Content Generation: we use AI to create marketing texts, product titles, bullet points, feature texts, blog posts, blog illustrations, press releases and pre-process product data-sheets.
2. Content Summarization: we use AI for summaries of reviews, product information, technology trends and market developments.
3. Language Translation: we use AI-powered translation tools to quickly and accurately translate text between multiple languages. For example, product descriptions and taxonomies.
4. Sentiment Analysis: we test AI to analyze text to determine the sentiment. The sentiment – positive, negative, or neutral – is expressed in reviews, social media posts, or customer feedback.
5. Content Curation: we use AI tools to sift through vast amounts of content to curate and recommend relevant posts, news, or strategy subjects.
6. Automated Proofreading and Editing: we use AI tools to identify and correct grammar and spelling errors in written content.
7. SEO Optimization: we have AI to assist us in optimizing blog content for search engines by suggesting keywords and analyzing competitor content.
8. Personalization: we don’t use AI yet to tailor content or sites to individual user preferences. We are a bit hesitant because of GDPR concerns.
9. Data Extraction: we experiment with AI to extract structured information from unstructured data sources. An example is extracting product details from manufacturer websites to fit it into the Icecat taxonomy.
10. Speech Recognition and Transcription: we make very limited use of AI-powered speech recognition to convert spoken words into text, for transcribing meetings.
11. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: we will soon launch an AI-driven chatbot on our blog. This AI helps to handle customer inquiries, provide information, and assist with basic tasks.
12. Image and Video Analysis: we test and implement AI tools to analyze and improve images using object recognition.

AI tools excel in automating these and still other content-related tasks, freeing up our human resources for more creative and strategic roles while improving efficiency and accuracy.

ALL-AI

The big challenge is to embed selected AI tooling in our core systems and PIM services. Gradually, more and more AI services will show up in our roadmap of 2023 and following years. Implementing an ALL-AI strategy is a bit more than just applying user-level tools.

Martijn Hoogeveen

Founder and CEO of Icecat NV. Investor. Ph.D.