As a Sitecore Platinum partner at QEdge, we've been closely following the rapid rise of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT. Almost overnight, these powerful language models have captured the public's imagination with their ability to produce high-quality content from simple prompts. While the potential applications are exciting, blindly applying AI without considering your audience risks creating generic, impersonal content that fails to resonate.
To truly harness the power of AI for your brand, it's crucial to combine it with robust customer data. By integrating GPT capabilities with Sitecore's industry-leading customer data platform (CDP), we enable our clients to generate personalized, one-to-one content at scale. Here are three key focus areas we help brands navigate to drive greater impact with AI-powered content.
Know Your Audience Inside and Out
The old adage "know your audience" has never been more relevant than in the age of AI. ChatGPT and other large language models are trained on massive datasets spanning countless topics. While this allows them to capably discuss cryptocurrencies or pen features, the generated content lacks the nuance required to engage specific audiences.
Consider how you might explain crypto to different groups:
To a general audience: "Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography to secure and verify transactions and control the creation of additional units…"
To a non-technical person: "Cryptocurrencies are digital forms of money that are created, used, and stored online. They are not tied to any government or bank, and instead use decentralized networks of computers to manage and secure the transactions."
To a child in France: "Les cryptomonnaies sont des monnaies numériques qui peuvent être utilisées pour acheter et vendre des produits et des services. Elles sont différentes des monnaies traditionnelles parce qu'elles sont virtuellement stockées et transférées entre les personnes sans passer par une banque."
The core information is the same, but the language, complexity, and context shifts dramatically based on the intended reader. As Microsoft's Pablo Castro notes, "Appropriate context and grounding data are going to be key to helping users determine the trustworthiness of responses generated by ChatGPT-like experiences in applications."
At QEdge, we specialize in helping clients build rich audience profiles by unifying first-party data across touchpoints. By feeding this customer intel into the AI, we enable hyper-relevant content creation that builds trust.
Enhance AI With Robust Customer Profiles
The true potential of generative AI lies in its integration with customer data platforms. Many businesses have a single target audience that a copywriter or marketer can easily write for. But in today's hyper-competitive landscape, brands must engage diverse customer segments across products, services, and channels.
Imagine asking GPT to sell the same pen to an artist versus a teacher. Here's what it might generate:
For an artist: "This pen features a fine-tipped, waterproof, and fade-resistant ink that will not smudge, making it ideal for precision drawing. The ergonomic rubber grip makes it comfortable to use for extended periods of time…"
For a teacher: "This pen is made with high-quality materials, so it's sure to last a long time. It has a comfortable grip that makes writing easier and more enjoyable. Plus, it comes in a variety of vibrant colors, so it's fun and stylish."
Even basic audience context dramatically improves the relevance of the AI-generated content. Now imagine enhancing those audience insights with Sitecore's powerful CDP, which aggregates individual customer data across all touchpoints.
By combining visitor input with their historical data (geo, segment, preferences, language), we create a rich prompt that enables one-to-one personalization at scale. We call this approach Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG):
- Capture visitor input and ID from your website or app
- Enhance the prompt with customer context from Sitecore CDP
- Feed enhanced prompt into GPT to generate hyper-personalized content
- Visitor receives tailored response that treats them as an individual
With Sitecore and GPT, brands can finally deliver on the promise of personalization.
Proactively Address Potential Biases
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Even without explicit audience inputs, businesses must be aware of the potential biases baked into generative AI models.
Just like news outlets that appeal to certain demographics, AI models can reflect the biases present in their training data. Brands must carefully curate the data they feed into these systems.
Additionally, as you incorporate audience insights, be mindful of what information to include or exclude. Indiscriminately injecting data points like household income could lead to awkward, insensitive outputs like "As a high-income resident of Kansas…"
To mitigate these risks, we recommend:
- Carefully controlling what customer data gets fed into the AI
- Establishing human-in-the-loop processes to review and approve AI-generated content
- Continuously monitoring and tuning your models as you learn
With the right guardrails in place, brands can safely reap the rewards of AI-powered content.
Driving Personalization With Sitecore and GPT
At QEdge, we're excited about the potential of generative AI to revolutionize how brands engage customers. But we also recognize the critical importance of audience intelligence in realizing that potential.
By combining the power of GPT with Sitecore's market-leading CDP, we enable our clients to have personalized conversations at scale. Our team of experts helps companies harness their customer data to inform the AI, allowing them to generate hyper-relevant, trustworthy content.
If you're looking to elevate your brand's voice and drive personalized connections with your diverse customer base, we'd love to help. Contact us to learn more about how QEdge can help you unlock the full potential of Sitecore and GPT.
