We’re hearing a lot about AI, artificial intelligence these days, especially with the release to the public of Chat GPT, which may of you have been experimenting with. Chat GPT can help with brainstorming, writing, coding, and more - definitely check out the free version if you haven’t yet. When I first saw the demo of Chat GPT that used Instacart’s plug-in in a recent TED talk (which I’ve linked in the show notes) and it generated a shopping list based on a prompt for a dinner party, my first thought was, “How do emerging brands fit into this picture when AI helps us shop?” How can our community stay informed about how AI is involved in shopper choices and take advantage of the opportunities available now and going to be available? Because Instacart is on the forefront of using AI in grocery and because they are the leading grocery technology company in North America, I decided to reach out to them. Lucky for us, Ali Miller, their Vice President of Product Management, Ads, was willing to come on the show! As you’ll hear, I’ve been personally using Instacart since 2018 and love the platform and have dug into their ads platform, 3rd party tools, and their new AI features from the Chat GPT plug-in to the new Ask Instacart. I think this episode is packed with really powerful knowledge from Ali about how Instacart works and opportunities available for emerging brands to tap into this technology. Instacart partners with more than 1,200 national, regional, and local retail banners, which is approximately 80,000 stores in North America through their marketplace and nearly 6,000 brands use Instacart Ads to connect with consumers.

Listen in as Ali shares about:

• How Instacart’s 4-sided marketplace works
• How the platform has evolved in the last couple of years especially with ML, machine learning, and AI, artificial intelligence
• How Instacart is partnering with Chat GPT both as a plug-in and to power “Ask Instacart” and ways consumers are using these features
• Opportunities for emerging brands to keep their data up to date within the Instacart platform and use Instacart Ads to get great digital listings (despite physical shelf placement)
• How Instacart Ads automates and optimizes the process to your goals and how you can use Instacart to support retail launches
• How Instacart’s customer service balances using AI and traditional customer service methods
• What Instacart is working on next, how quickly the platform is evolving, and the excitement on what’s ahead
• And more!

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This episode was sponsored by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/startupcpg
This episode was sponsored by Graphite Financial. Go to graphitefinancial.com/cpg
This episode was sponsored by Kickfurther. Go to https://www.kickfurther.com/startupcpg

Episode Links:

• Instacart website
• Instacart Product Library tools & all brand tools
• Ali’s LinkedIn
• TED talk about Chat CPT (including the Instacart plugin)
• Ask Instacart release details
• Startup CPG Webinar recording: Leveraging Instacart for Early Stage Brands with Daybreak
• Brands mentioned: Liquid Death, New Seasons Market

July 2023 Podcast Review Contest:

• Enter the giveaway by completing this form (it only takes 1-2 minutes!)
• By completing the form, you’ll be entered to win one of six prize packages, each filled with goodies from past guests: Tsubi Soup, GoNanas, Forij, Amazi, Chia Smash, Eureka Tortilla, and Nowhere Bakery.
• Giveaway open to US residents only, age 18+. Giveaway ends on July 31st, 2023 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will be notified via email.
• Thank you for listening to the show and helping new listeners find us!

Shopify Links:

• Start a free trial and enjoy 2 months of Shopify for $1/month

Graphite Financial Links

• Graphite Financial website
• Download a free financial model template, chart of accounts template, and more here
• Listen to our episode with Graphite founder, Paul Bianco, episode #96 here.

Kickfurther Links:

• Kickfurther website
• See how much inventory funding you qualify here

Show Links:

• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (12K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Jessi Freitag's Linkedin or website
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at podcast@startupcpg.com
• Episode music by Super Fantastics