Helping cooperatives "accelerate" in the digital space.

Digital transformation is taking place vigorously across all sectors of socio-economic life. However, in reality, many cooperatives, especially agricultural cooperatives, are still struggling with the challenges of online sales and digital communication management. The emergence of an AI-powered solution that integrates automated sales processes has opened up new avenues, helping to overcome bottlenecks and affirming its feasibility and practical value in the digital transformation journey of the collective economic sector.

The OCOP honey products of Cam Thuy Honey Cooperative aim to expand into the digital market.

Thanh Hoa currently has over 1,370 cooperatives, of which nearly 900 operate in the agricultural sector. These are important production forces, contributing to job creation, increased income for the people, and the promotion of rural development. Many local agricultural products, specialties, and OCOP (One Commune One Product) goods have proven their quality. However, when transitioning from traditional sales methods to the online environment, many cooperatives have revealed limitations in human resources, skills, and support tools.

Based on that practical experience, the solution "Designing an AI virtual assistant on the N8N platform to support agricultural cooperatives in Thanh Hoa province in introducing, promoting, and selling products" by author Tran Mai Linh (Thanh Sony Co., Ltd.) was researched and developed with the goal of supporting cooperatives in operating fanpages professionally and effectively without requiring large investments in personnel or technical infrastructure. Technologically, the system is designed to integrate an AI language model with a process automation platform, allowing for automatic reception and analysis of message content and providing appropriate responses based on context. This is a fundamental difference compared to traditional chatbots, which only operate based on fixed scripts.

Thanks to its natural language processing capabilities, the AI ​​virtual assistant can flexibly adjust its tone and expression to match each cooperative's brand style, ensuring that the responses are both accurate in information and create a friendly, approachable feeling. Customers no longer feel a robotic interaction but instead experience natural communication, similar to chatting with a real sales representative. This contributes to increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates.

Besides replying to messages, the system integrates many features to support digital marketing, such as automatically posting according to a pre-set schedule, introducing new products, updating prices, promotional information, or special offers. Repetitive tasks that previously consumed a lot of time for cooperative staff are now handled automatically, significantly reducing workload pressure. Notably, the solution is built on an open modular structure, allowing expansion to other platforms such as Zalo, TikTok, or email marketing when needed. Product data is managed flexibly and easily updated without requiring the construction of a complex database, suitable for the resource conditions of most cooperatives.

According to evaluation results from the testing phase, applying an AI virtual assistant system can help reduce repetitive marketing workload by 50-70%. Response time to customer messages is shortened to just seconds, instead of tens of minutes or even longer as before. In the online business environment, where response speed directly impacts conversion rates, this advantage is particularly important.

Beyond its technical advantages, the model also demonstrates clear economic value. By eliminating the need to hire additional marketing personnel or spend excessive time managing online interactions, the cooperative can focus more on production, improving product quality, and building a sustainable brand. Operating costs are optimized, while customer reach is expanded. Thanks to its high applicability, flexible implementation, and scalability, the solution was highly praised by the expert panel and awarded Third Prize at the Thanh Hoa Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Competition. This award is not only a recognition of the research efforts but also a testament to the practicality of the initiative in the current digital transformation context.

It can be affirmed that, in the context of Thanh Hoa province's efforts to promote the construction of new rural areas and the development of the collective economy in a modern direction, enhancing online sales capacity for cooperatives is an urgent requirement. The AI ​​virtual assistant solution with integrated automation, recently honored at the Science and Technology Innovation Competition, is not just a simple technological innovation but also a practical suggestion for the marketing challenges of cooperatives in the digital age.

Text and photos: Tran Hang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/giup-htx-but-toc-nbsp-tren-khong-gian-so-280042.htm