Operations
10 April 2023
Meet Max, an AI chat assistant for data analysis, powered by GPT-4
AnswerRocket launched the conversational tool to help CPGs zero in on insights held within growing volumes of data.
Photo by Pietro Jeng on Unsplash
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For most businesses, any problems that arise with data are no longer tied to scarcity.
Enterprises have access to more data than ever, coming from a multitude of sources.
This can provide a path to enhancing understanding of consumers and how a business operates, all so that a business might improve.
But there’s now so much data that issues are stemming from abundance.
The question asked around CPGs and other enterprises is no longer, "Do we have data on this, and how can we get it?"
Instead, business leaders are asking, "What data do we have? And, how can we find it and put it to use in the most resource-efficient way?"
That’s an area where AnswerRocket is finding a role for the generative AI engine GPT-4, and a conversational approach.
The company recently released Max, an AI assistant that is designed to help businesses analyze their data through chat. On its recent launch, it was set to be used by CPGs such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and American Licorice Company.
The tool allows users to ask questions of the assistant that can be answered through their data. Then, they receive answers back in the form of insights and visualizations.
It arrives on the heels of the March release of GPT-4, which is the latest version of OpenAI’s large language model that powers tools such as the wildly popular ChatGPT.
AnswerRocket CEO Alon Goren has been working on technology that helps businesses find and analyze data since the company was founded in 2013, and before. Recent advances in large language models, particularly with the release of GPT-4, marked a step forward that enhanced both the technology’s ability to understand the question, and deliver answers to users that had the amount of detail necessary to solve a problem, Goren said.
These backend leaps have also improved the user experience. A tool like Max can now be approachable, even for those without data or tech skills.
“It's designed to be used as you would converse with an assistant,” Goren said.
Max aims to take high-level questions, and provide answers that go deep into a company’s data. Combining AnswerRocket’s augmented analytics platform with GPT-4, Max allows users to ask questions to the assistant in the same language they would use with another person when curious about a trend or outlier, and technical expertise isn’t required to dig into the data.
“It enables us to go from what the user said to a format where we can now query available content, search the data and then respond in a very natural narrative that a user can read,” Goren said.
While the questions can be basic and high-level, Max can provide statistical, diagnostic and predictive analytics that go deep into a company's data. In a large business, Goren said this can help advanced analytics spread across different departments. With an AI powered assistant, access to data analysis will be less tied to the decisionmaking that goes with expenditure and prioritization of human-powered resources.
“Suddenly, this long tail of products becomes much more manageable than it previously was with having to have a human in the loop to do every bit of analysis,” Goren said.
Along with availability, such a tool also holds the promise of making technology and data analysis more integrated into workflows than ever.
“A chat-based tool like Max can help more users feel comfortable interacting with data,” said Sabine Van den Bergh, director of brand strategy and insights for Europe at Anheuser-Busch InBev, in a statement. “Having an on-demand assistant that can quickly answer the questions that pop up throughout the day would enable our team to make data-driven decisions at scale.”
Nestle and General Mills joint venture Cereal Partners Worldwide, which is an existing AnswerRocket partner, sees the chat experience taking AnswerRocket "to the next level," said Chris Potter, global applied analytics at CPW.
"We need our teams to make informed, fact-based decisions," Potter said, in a statement. "Max will enable users across all levels of CPW to quickly access data and insights through intuitive questions and responses.”
AnswerRocket will be rolling out the technology to businesses throughout the second quarter.
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Marketing
09 June 2023
'There's a lot of ways to frame value'
Campbell Soup Company CEO Mark Clouse offered thoughts on messaging amid inflationary shifts in consumer behavior.
Photo by Kelly Common on Unsplash
After months of elevated inflation and interest rate hikes that have the potential to cool demand, consumers are showing more signs of shifting behavior.
It’s showing up in retail sales data, but there’s also evidence in the observations of the brands responsible for grocery store staples.
The latest example came this week from Campbell Soup Company. CEO Mark Clouse told analysts that the consumer continues to be “resilient” despite continued price increases on food, but found that “consumers are beginning to feel that pressure” as time goes on.
This shows up in the categories they are buying. Overall, Clouse said Campbell sees a shift toward shelf-stable items, and away from more expensive prepared foods.
There is also change in when they make purchases. People are buying more at the beginning of the month. That’s because they are stretching paychecks as long as possible.
These shifts change how the company is communicating with consumers.
Clouse said the changes in behavior are an opportunity to “focus on value within our messaging without necessarily having to chase pricing all the way down.”
“No question that it's important that we protect affordability and that we make that relevant in the categories that we're in," Clouse said. "But I also think there's a lot of ways to frame value in different ways, right?”
A meal cooked with condensed soup may be cheaper than picking up a frozen item or ordering out. Consumers just need a reminder. Even within Campbell’s own portfolio, the company can elevate brands that have more value now, even if they may not always get the limelight.
The open question is whether the shift in behavior will begin to show up in the results of the companies that have raised prices. Campbell’s overall net sales grew 5% for the quarter ended April 30, while gross profit margins held steady around 30%. But the category-level results were more uneven. U.S. soup sales declined 11%, though the company said that was owed to comparisons with the quarter when supply chains reopened a year ago and expressed confidence that the category is seeing a longer-term resurgence as more people cook at home following the pandemic. Snacks, which includes Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm, were up 12% And while net sales increased overall, the amount of products people are buying is declining. Volumes were down 7%.
These are trends happening across the grocery store. Campbell is continuing to compete. It is leading with iconic brands, and a host of different ways to consume them. It is following that up with innovation that makes the products stand out. Then, it is driving home messaging that shows consumers how to fit the products into their lives, and even their tightening spending plans.
Campbell Soup is more than 150 years old, and has seen plenty of difficult economic environments. It is also a different business today, and will continue to evolve. At the end of the day, continued execution is what’s required.
“If it's good food, people are going to buy it, especially if it's a great value,” Clouse said.
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