Tips & Tricks Using OpenAI to Write the Best Product Descriptions
Ryan ODonnell
Last Updated December 22, 2023
Do you want to know the secret trick to selling more products? Writing great product descriptions. As an e-commerce manager, crafting engaging and optimized copy that will drive customer engagement can be hard. But what if I told you there was a way to craft your product descriptions quickly and easily with OpenAI?
In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the tips and tricks for using OpenAI’s advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to create product descriptions that stand out from competitors.
So let’s get started on how producing captivating product descriptions is easier than ever – no matter your level of expertise with artificial intelligence.
Ready to save time by adding AI to your everyday workflows? Install MESA to easily use AI throughout your business.
Note: OpenAI is slowly deprecating aspects of it’s API in favor of ChatGPT. We recommend using ChatGPT step in your workflows instead just to be safe.
Topics:
Tips for using OpenAI to write product descriptions
When using OpenAI in MESA, you need to use the Prompt action step in order to provide text-based instructions. The Prompt action is where you’ll enter text-based instructions so the AI understand what you’re asking and how you want it to deliver it’s response.
For this to be an effective workflow, you’ll want to bring the necessary information about the product, including its key features, benefits, and unique selling points into the prompt instructions.
Since every business is different, using those details in your prompt can look different for everyone. Remember, the more details you can provide with your OpenAI, the better it will understand the product and write a great description for you.
The most basic OpenAI Prompt for product descriptions should include:
Title
Type
Vendor
Price
Tags
To include these product details in the prompt, you’ll need to open the Variable Selector, then choose them from the prior step in your workflow. This is typically coming from the Product Create trigger event.
Variable Selector
Additionally, if you store boilerplate language about your brand as a metafield, you should also bring that over as a variable into your prompt.
For example, let’s say every product description includes the same statement about the quality of your brand or the materials it’s sourced from. In good practice to store that text as a metafield in the Shopify Admin so you can update it once and it propagates across all products.
Add the Shopify > Retrieve Metafield step, then paste the ID value found in the Shopify Admin URL when viewing the metafield.
Shopify Retrieve Metafield
By adding this workflow step, you can then add the metafield value to the OpenAI prompt instructions to give additional, helpful details.
⚖️ OpenAI Prompt tokens
The other field you should be modifying is Max Tokens.
OpenAI Max Tokens
Think of this as the maximum number of characters that OpenAI should use in its response. Technically, each token is the equivalent of ¾ of a word but rounding up is easier.
2000 is the maximum number you can use with the current free offering with most API keys. For product descriptions, that is likely excessive anyhow. In our examples below, we’ll be using 1000 as our value.
Add your brand’s style and tone to OpenAI Prompts
This is where you should have some fun and experiment with what works best for you and your business. Be sure to include your target audience so OpenAI understands who it’s writing for.
Let’s look at some different prompt styles:
? Conversational:
Write a witty product description in a conversational style so young adult shoppers understand what this product does and how it benefits them. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Write a product description for expert carpenters that focuses on the benefits of this product in their day-to-day work. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Write a motivational product description for busy middle school teachers that describes this product and its benefits to their students so they promptly purchase it for the upcoming school year. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Write a clear and concise product description for expert rock climbers that describes this product for its use while repelling canyon walls made of hard rock materials. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Write a vivid product description for hungry individuals that describes this product and how satisfying they’ll feel after consuming the entire box. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Consider counter-intuitive prompts for unique ideas
Asking counter-intuitive ideas to describe a product can help OpenAI spark creative thinking and encourage unique and original perspectives.
By approaching the prompt in a non-traditional way, it can help break through mental blocks and lead to more innovative and imaginative descriptions that stand out from the competition.
✏️ Standard Prompt Example
Write a witty product description in a conversational style so young adult shoppers understand what this product does and how it benefits them. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Hey, there stylish shopper! Are you ready to upgrade your wardrobe with some faux leather goodness? Allow me to introduce you to the Amber Pants Choco.
These pants are the perfect blend of edgy and comfortable. They’re made from high-quality faux leather, so you get that rockstar look without having to sacrifice your values. And trust me, they feel just as good as they look.
The slim fit design will hug your curves in all the right places, while the mid-rise waistband gives you the perfect amount of coverage. And the best part? The elastic waistband will keep you comfortable all day long, no matter how much you move.
Open AI Response
? Counter-intuitive Prompt Example
Write a snarky product description using unconventional benefits so young adult shoppers understand what this product does and how it benefits them in counterintuitive ways. Use the following product details to summarize your description:
Alright folks, listen up! Tired of boring pants that do nothing for your style or comfort? Well, it’s time to upgrade to the Amber Pants Choco.
These faux leather pants are not for the meek. They’re designed to make you feel like a badass, no matter what you’re doing. And let’s be real, who doesn’t want to feel like a badass?
The slim fit will hug your curves in all the right places, giving you a confidence boost that’s second to none. And the elastic waistband? It’s like a hug from your grandma, but 100 times better. The mid-rise waistband provides the perfect amount of coverage, so you can feel comfortable and stylish at the same time.
OpenAI Response
As a result, by thinking outside the box, you can create product descriptions that are not only informative, but also creative, engaging, and memorable, which can help your products stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Who doesn’t love that?!
How to test the generated product descriptions
First, if you’re working on new products that are saved as a Draft first, the easiest way to see the output is to simply let the workflow update the product description directly. There’s no harm in letting the workflow run and then manually reviewing and editing the descriptions before they’re published on your store.
However, if you want to review the generated descriptions first, MESA has the perfect built-in app to add to your workflow:
This built-in app allows you to pause the workflow and add the generated text from OpenAI as a message that will be emailed to you.
Approval by MESA
From MESA, you can then Approve or Deny the response, and the workflow will either continue updating the product description or, if denied, simply stop executing any additional steps.
Workflow is Pending Approval
Essential details for product descriptions
Include these essential details in product descriptions to effectively communicate the value of your products to online shoppers. Doing so will increase sales and customer satisfaction.
Key features and benefits: Product descriptions should clearly explain what the product does and how it benefits the customer.
Relevant SEO keywords: Include relevant keywords in the description to improve the visibility of the product in search results.
Unique selling points: Product descriptions should highlight what makes it unique and different from others in the market.
Brand information and technical specifications: Provide information about the brand and any relevant technical specifications to help establish credibility and authority.
Clear call to action: Product descriptions should include a clear call to action that encourages customers to take the next step, whether that’s purchasing the product or learning more about it.
Writing style and tone for product descriptions
The writing style and tone for product descriptions should be tailored to your target audience and brand. Some effective styles and tones that are proven to convert include:
Conversational: Writing in a conversational style can make the product description feel more approachable and personal.
Beneficial: Focusing on the benefits of the product can help emphasize its value to the customer.
Urgency: Creating a sense of urgency can encourage customers to take action and make a purchase.
Expertise: Demonstrating expertise in the product and its category can help establish credibility and authority.
Emotional: Creating an emotional connection with the customer can help establish a personal connection and drive conversions.
Use a writing style and tone that helps you effectively communicate the value of your products to your shoppers. Each brand has its own voice and speaks to its target audience differently. Be sure to match the expectations of your target audience to increase relevance.
The importance of product descriptions in ecommerce
Product descriptions are crucial for ecommerce businesses because they provide potential customers with detailed information about the products being sold. This information helps customers make informed purchasing decisions, which can lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
Additionally, they play an important role in search engine optimization (SEO), as they can include relevant keywords that help improve the visibility of the product in search results.
When written effectively, product descriptions can help establish the credibility and authority of the brand, differentiate the product from others in the market, and drive conversions by emphasizing the benefits the product provides to the customer.
Thus, well-written product descriptions are a vital component of an effective ecommerce strategy.
OpenAI’s potential for writing product descriptions
In case you’ve been living under a rock since the new year started…
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research lab that develops cutting-edge AI technology. OpenAI’s language model, ChatGPT, is trained on a large corpus of text and can generate human-like responses to text-based prompts.
This makes it a powerful tool for writing product descriptions, as it can generate concise and engaging descriptions that highlight the key features and benefits of products.
Using OpenAI, you can save time and resources compared to manually writing product descriptions, while still producing high-quality and effective descriptions for your Shopify store.
These ARE the bots you’re looking for…
If you’re looking for a way to take your product descriptions from ‘meh’ to magnetic, consider connecting OpenAI to your Shopify store with MESA.
Not only will it help you save time in crafting effective and keyword-rich descriptions, but it can also give you an edge in ranking well in SEO. And we all know that higher ranking = more traffic = more potential customers.
You might be surprised at how quickly MESA can help you boost sales.
So, what's next?
Add MESA from the Shopify App Store. Enjoy a 7-day free trial to start.
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