It can be difficult to pull the trigger on a big purchase—so for the past few years, retailers have turned to AI-generated questionnaires to guide customers to the specific appliance that best suits their needs.
The company behind the software many of those retailers use is Boston-based Zoovu. Now, the company is expanding its conversational sales assistant through a new partnership with Microsoft Azure.
“Microsoft is always looking for partners that bring unique use cases to their customers to take advantage of their Azure deployance,” said James Novak, CEO of Zoovu.
The software presents users with a questionnaire about a product, anything from a new vacuum cleaner to a new laptop. With each response, the AI sales representative helps the consumer zero in on the best model and add-ons for whatever the consumer's specific need is.
Instead of using a logic tree where the answer to one question leads you to the next, Zoovu uses AI to pick the next best question after the initial response. The result is more specific directions and suggestions from Zoovu.
According to Novak, companies that use Zoovu’s software see an average 18% to 25% conversion rate, which translates to an increase in revenue.
Novak says Media Market, the world's second-largest consumer electronics retailer, saw an 87% completion rate. Completion in this context is when a consumer eventually adds an item to their cart.
“An educated sales rep takes time to understand who you are, asks some needs-based questions about what you're looking for, and then ultimately recommends the right laptop,” Novak said. “That's what our guided selling assistant does, and we use AI to navigate that conversation.”
According to Novak, Zoovu uses what is known as zero-party data by asking questions of the customer. No data is taken from a customer's web or purchasing history; instead, it is aggregated via the series of questions that Zoovu provides.
Zoovu’s software extends beyond consumer-facing selling assistance. It also provides B2B service, providing the same help for larger industrial projects. What would previously take upward of seven weeks to get a quote from a seller can now happen in real-time.
The Boston-based company was founded in Austria a little over ten years ago. Two and a half years ago, it received a $170 million investment from New York-based FTV and moved its offices to Boston.
The company has two hundred employees and is recruiting in the Boston area primarily for go-to-market roles.
