Harvesting data & harnessing AI

Rachel brought 20 years’ experience in the wine industry and 10 years in AI data insights to the Wine Business Forum in August, asking attendees to get their businesses AI engaged or, at the very least, AI ready.

Generative AI is about “creating data from existing data”, whether that’s the “world’s data” or your proprietary data, she says, urging companies to recognise the unique assets of their own information. “How do you get yourself AI ready with your data, so that when you want to use it you can?” Recordings of conversations, presentations and vlogged sales insights can be valuable data to be “mined” when needed, while robotics in the vineyard can glean extraordinary insights.

AI can help companies interpret specific data to make better decisions, as Air New Zealand did in assessing which meals were not hitting the mark, and to mine global data for market insights, as Rachel demonstrated by looking at a retro themed Miami Wine Cooler and asking how that would appeal to a GenZ audience. “I can get a response to that idea.”

She demonstrated AI creating tasting notes in two minutes and creating a wine label inspired by Deadpool in four minutes. She also demonstrated the power of Yabble’s wine drinker personas, which can be asked questions – shallow and deep – to give insights into influences on their wine choices. There were caveats to her enthusiasm, including one Deadpool-inspired label that infringed Marvel’s trademark. “It’s understanding the limitations and knowing you have to follow some rules.”

The AI space is moving quickly, and Rachel’s take home message for the audience was to be open to its opportunities in all facets of business, from vineyard and cellar door to design and market, and to ensure data is available when you need it.“Capture it with visual imagery, video, drone, receptors in the ground for your soil, conversations. Everywhere you can capture data, capture it, label it, and it will be an amazing asset for you now and into the future.”