WEBER RANCH VODKA INTRODUCES ‘TEX,’ A FIRST-OF-ITS KIND PERSONALIZED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MIXOLOGIST

Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka, the innovative new vodka brand distilled exclusively from 100% Blue Weber Agave, has launched “Tex,” a groundbreaking new tool that combines professional mixology expertise with the intelligence of AI – delivered right through SMS text or online chat – to help address consumers’ ongoing frustration with how to craft and perfectly pair cocktails at home.

Personified by an icon of a friendly Texan tipping his cowboy hat, Tex (“Your Weber Ranch AI Mixologist”) leverages cutting-edge OpenAI technology to connect users instantly with a Weber Ranch virtual bartender trained on the knowledge of industry pros. It’s a useful, functional, and remarkably individualized tool (not scripted) that highlights the versatility of Weber Ranch Vodka in cocktails, utilizing recipes that were created by bartenders across the country. By blending human creativity with AI precision, Tex is ready to recommend, guide, and personalize drink recipes anywhere, anytime.

“While most companies and brands use AI simply for automated customer service ‘chat,’ we’re doing something very different and innovative, harnessing the immense power of AI technology to create a first-of-its-kind personalized tool that deepens customer engagement in a way that is helpful, informative, and fun,” says Lee Applbaum, President and CEO of Texas-based Round 2 Spirits, the brand owner and creator of Weber Ranch Vodka. “AI is replacing search, it’s the way that people access and consume information today, and Tex delivers on that in an entertaining way, while also staying true to our respect and appreciation for the professional bartender’s craft.”

Tex was built for real-world, real-life behavior. For example, users can snap a photo of the items inside their refrigerator or pantry, text it to Tex, and immediately get a cocktail recipe suggestion, using ingredients on-hand. Tex can also direct people to a bar or retail store, or answer questions about batching recipes, planning a cocktail menu for a special occasion, personalizing cocktail names for a friend’s birthday party, find alternative ingredients, or virtually anything else that someone might want to ask about bartending and cocktails or brand and category information. Because Tex isn’t scripted, the exact way he phrases answers will be different each time.

Over 70 percent of Tex’s logic is powered by ChatGPT, not just for conversation, but for core application logic. Development of the tool will never be completed, it will only continue to get better and smarter as more people engage with it, and those engagements over time help improve Tex’s reasoning, and his answers. 

“Most bots just talk. Ours thinks,” says James Penfold, co-founder and Experience Director at New York and London-based Cyphr, the digital-first experience and venture studio that partnered with the Weber Ranch team to master the technology behind Tex. “Tex isn’t just answering questions, he’s learning what you like and adapting. The more you interact, the more personalized your experience becomes – just like talking to your favorite bartender who remembers your favorite drink.” 

This digital-first approach to marketing is baked into Weber Ranch’s ethos of innovation. Not only has the brand disrupted the vodka category by creating a vodka distilled from agave (whereas most other vodkas are made from wheat, corn, or potato), from the day that Weber Ranch launched last year it has leveraged leading-edge technology for brand storytelling, social engagement, CRM, and ecommerce – and now AI. The team behind Weber Ranch Vodka previously created and led Patrón Tequila, a company that also had a proven history of harnessing the latest tech innovation for consumer engagement and marketing – from Oculus to augmented reality to Amazon Alexa, when those technologies were first introduced years ago.

“We’re setting new standards for how brands engage with consumers, recognizing that innovation in our industry must extend well beyond the bottle to truly be meaningful,” says Applbaum.

Source: Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka & FAB News

  AI, Cyphr, Marketing, Technology, Weber Ranch, Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka