How to Use the AI Product Finder

The Problem: Shoppers Can't Find What They Want

Traditional ecommerce search is rigid. A shopper looking for "a birthday gift for my mom who likes gardening and cooking" has to mentally decompose that query into separate searches: garden tools, cookbook, kitchen accessories. Most won't bother. They'll leave your store and try somewhere else.

The AI Product Finder solves this with conversational product discovery. Shoppers describe what they need in natural language, and SellerZoom's semantic AI understands intent — not just keywords — and returns the most relevant products from your entire catalog.

How It Works Under the Hood

When you connect your store, SellerZoom embeds your entire product catalog using BGE-large, a state-of-the-art embedding model. Each product's title, description, categories, and attributes are converted into a high-dimensional vector and stored in a Qdrant vector database.

When a shopper types a message in the chat widget, their query goes through the same embedding model. SellerZoom performs a vector similarity search across your catalog — finding the products that are semantically closest to what the shopper described, not just keyword matches.

The top results are then passed to an LLM that generates a natural conversational response explaining why these products match the shopper's request. The shopper sees product cards with images, prices, and a human-sounding explanation — all in under two seconds.

Setting It Up: Step by Step

Why Conversational Discovery Increases Revenue

The AI Product Finder doesn't just improve navigation — it fundamentally changes how shoppers interact with your catalog. Here's why it drives more revenue:

Higher intent capture. Shoppers who type a conversational query have strong purchase intent. They know what they want — they just can't find it through traditional filters. The Product Finder catches these high-intent sessions that would otherwise bounce.

Larger basket sizes. When the AI understands the full context of a request ("I'm redecorating my living room in mid-century modern style"), it can suggest complementary products across categories — a rug, a lamp, a throw pillow — in a single response. Shoppers discover products they didn't know you carried.

Reduced time to purchase. Instead of clicking through 5 category pages and applying 8 filters, a shopper describes their need once and gets results in seconds. Shorter paths to product pages mean higher conversion rates.

Works 24/7. Unlike human sales associates who work shifts, the AI Product Finder handles unlimited concurrent conversations around the clock. It's especially valuable for international stores where shoppers browse across time zones.

Best Practices for Maximum Impact

1. Write for Humans, Not Keywords

The embedding model understands natural language, not keyword density. Product descriptions that read naturally and describe real use cases will outperform SEO-stuffed copy in semantic search. Write descriptions the way a knowledgeable salesperson would talk about the product.

2. Keep Your Catalog Clean

Remove out-of-stock products and discontinued items from your active catalog. The Product Finder searches everything that's synced — stale products in results erode trust. SellerZoom automatically filters by inventory status, but make sure your inventory data is accurate.

3. Customize the Greeting

The default greeting is generic. Replace it with something that tells shoppers what your store specializes in: "Hi! I can help you find the perfect outdoor gear — just describe what you're looking for." This primes shoppers to ask relevant questions.

4. Review Chat Transcripts

Check the Product Finder dashboard weekly. Look at queries where the AI returned no results or low-confidence matches. These reveal gaps in your product descriptions or catalog that you can fix to improve discovery.

Case Study: Outdoor Gear Retailer

Common Questions

Does it work with small catalogs?

Yes. The Product Finder works with catalogs as small as 50 products. Smaller catalogs actually benefit more because the semantic search is highly precise when every product is well-described. The embedding and search process is the same regardless of catalog size.

Will it recommend competitor products?

By default, the Product Finder only searches your own catalog. If you've opted into the SellerZoom Network, it can optionally include complementary products from partner stores — but only non-competing, complementary items, and you earn a commission on any resulting sales.

How does it handle out-of-stock items?

SellerZoom automatically filters out-of-stock products from search results. When inventory syncs from your platform (typically every 15 minutes for Shopify), the Product Finder immediately reflects the updated availability.