Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have together influenced many businesses and seeing the pace of innovations the trend is likely to skyrocket. While we can always talk about optimized decision-making, predictive analytics, automation, people losing their jobs to automation etc. There is one technology we often ignore in our conversations. The technology that powers 28.7% of the internet - Wordpress. Wordpress is the most popular content management system that is used by a majority of websites on the internet. Some of the popular names include Forbes, TechCrunch, LinkedIn, eBay etc. If you have ever used WordPress then you are probably aware of plugins and their usability. A plugin is a small piece of software that can be added to WordPress for advanced functionality. When these software use AI and ML to bring intelligence to Wordpress we call them smart plugins.
By leveraging the power of AI and ML smart plugins can bring a new level of functionality in Wordpress. These functionalities can include anything from automating routine tasks to personalizing the user experience. Here are 5 ways you can leverage smart plugins for your Wordpress site:
While there are many WordPress security plugins out there, security still remains a primary concern for WordPress users. With the help of artificial intelligence, a brute force attack can be identified before it even affects the site. Additionally, machine learning can help identify suspicious file and malware before it impacts your site’s performance or worse results in Google banning your site. Machine learning uses a training dataset to identify patterns in malware and can use the knowledge gained to classify files as secure or unsecured.
Quttera Web Malware Scanner was an application created for a similar purpose. This plugin uses cloud computing to scan WordPress sites and find suspicious files if any. It also checks whether a site is blacklisted by Google or not.
Personalization is the in-demand service by the customers. With so many businesses on the internet, it is crucial to stand out from your competition. Personalization can involve using chatbots to automate the communication and increase lead generation or by providing content that is most relevant to the user. Chatbots have become common on many mobile apps but they are still not utilized to their full potential on the websites. If properly leveraged chatbots can become the best lead generation tools available to the users. You can also create smart content which changes on the basis of customer’s lifecycle stage, geography, behavior etc.
WP AI Assistant, a plugin developed by Lopus, is also doing a similar job. It provides a virtual assistant to your users to engage and communicate with. This plugin can guide visitors to new products, showcase engaging content, advise them on their purchase decision etc. This plugin encompasses many actions/interactions capabilities and control over the conditional system to create an intimidating experience for your users.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is a technique to increase the number of visitors converting into subscribers, subscribers into leads and leads into conversion. Basically, it the process of increasing the number of conversions in online marketing. CRO can be increased by showing relevant content, increasing the number of offers, improving design etc. Among all the CRO techniques the one which is most effective is A/B testing. A/B testing is the process of analyzing two (or more) alternatives to a problem a identifying the better one based on results. This can be trivial like the color of a CTA button to complex like the content of the site.
While there are many smart plugins that come with CTA features like OptinMonster, Sumo, LeadFormly etc. There is still a huge scope in this area. Using AI it can be identified which color, design etc. resound with the audience and any new CTA can utilize that information. Instead of going back to testing all the time an algorithm can test behavior automatically and ease the process of A/B testing thus increasing conversion rates.
From content creation to publishing to promotion there are many activities involved in creating awesome content. While most of this cannot be done by machines (at least for now), there are some tasks which can and should be automated. For example writing meta descriptions, title tags, URL, alt text etc based on the focus keywords. (In a layman language, a focus keyword is the main topic of the blog. It is the term which you want to rank for in Google’s search results.) Many activities are involved in optimizing a blog post for Google and some of these are routine in nature which should be automated.
Automatic Alternative Textr is a smart plugin that has successfully automated one of these tasks. As the name suggests, this WordPress plugin uses Microsoft’s Cognitive Services Computer Vision API to analyze the subject of the image and then create human-readable alt text for your image. Just like alt text, other rule-based tasks can also be automated using smart plugins in Wordpress.
Engagement is the only way to ensure that your viewers actually notice you. The time spent on site, bounce rate and the number of sessions per user all are critical ranking and behavior signals that define the user interaction with your site. With the amount of content out there it is becoming more and more difficult to hold your audience. This is where smart plugins can come in handy. By using smart plugins you can analyze user behavior on your site and provide suggestions which they are most likely to consider. A recommendation engine ( something similar to Amazon’s recommendations) can be created to show relevant content to the users and significantly increase the user experience.
Kindred posts in one such plugin that can make this easy. It can easily track a user behavior and recommend posts. It also integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics to showcase the type of content that users actually like. Recommendation engines can also be used to suggest products in eCommerce or media in entertainment sites. The level of intelligence in smart plugins can be increased to a great extent if you customize them based on your requirements and business model. The rapid innovation and development have created a scope of improvement and personalization in almost every sphere including WordPress.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have a lot to offer. It is not just about automating routine tasks. The use cases of AI and ML can range from personalization to innovation to communication. Smart plugins are one way of making all these possible. These plugins can be created for any CMS whether it’s Wordpress, Magento, Drupal or any other open source content management system. These algorithms can be used to integrate different services, automate tasks or any of the other uses discussed above. If you are looking for developers who can create smart plugins or any other intelligent solution for your business then feel free to contact us.