The number of mobile users is growing rapidly as is the number of mobile shoppers. Kraft Foods took notice of that. The company is adapting its advertising and sales to this trend. Mobile customers are looking for brands and interacting with Kraft brands. Kraft Foods wanted to make it easy for customers to interact with the company whenever and wherever they want. To achieve this interaction goal, Kraft Foods created a "Food Assistant," also known as Kraft Food Assistant. The Kraft Food Assistant Kraft's Food Assistant is an app for smartphones that allows customers to access more than 700 recipes. Thus, the consumer can browse easily for ideas. Customers enter a virtual store and open the "recipe of the day." The app tells the user all the ingredients needed for that recipe or for any desired recipe. The Food Assistant also posts all the relevant coupons available for the ingredients on users' smartphone. Users need only to take the smartphone to a supermarket, scan the coupons, and save on the ingredients. The recipe of the day is also demonstrated on a video. Unique to this app is the inclusion of an AI algorithm that learns from users' orders and can infer, for example, the users' family size. The more the AI learns about users, the more suggestions it makes. For example, it tells users what to do with their leftover ingredients. In addition, the more the Food Assistant learns about users, the more useful suggestions for recipes and cooking it can offer. It is like the Netflix recommender. The more Kraft products that users buy (the ingredients), the more advice they get. The Food Assistant also directs users to the nearest store that has the recipes' ingredients. Users can get assistance on how to prepare food in 20 minutes and on many cooking-related topics. The AI is tracking consumers' behavior. Information is stored on each user's loyalty card. The system makes inferences about what consumers like and targets related promotions to them. This process is called behavioral pattern recognition, and is based on AI techniques such as "collaborative filtering." AI assistants also can tweak messages to users, and they know if users are interested in their topics. The assistant also knows whether customers are responding positively and whether they are or are not motivated to try a new product or purchase more of what they previously purchased. The Kraft AI Food Assistant actually is trying to influence and sometimes to modify consumer behavior. Like other vendors, Kraft is using the information collected by the AI assistant to forge and execute mobile and regular commerce strategies. Using the information collected, Kraft and similar vendors can expand their mobile marketing programs both online and in physical stores.

Questions for case 2.7
1. Identify all AI technologies used in the Food Assistant.
2. List the benefits to the customers.
3. List the benefits to Kraft Foods.
4. How is advertising done?
5. What role is “behavioral pattern recognition” playing?
6. Compare Kraft’s Food Assistant to Amazon.com and Netflix recommendation systems.