While consumers have an overwhelming number of cannabis products available to them, retailers are tasked with the seemingly impossible — simplifying the cannabis shopping experience.
To help make online shopping more user friendly, data-driven cannabis software company Jointly recently launched an AI-powered Virtual Budtender. Unlike other AI-driven solutions on the market, this assistive technology does more than just respond to basic inquiries. Consumers can engage with the tool in two ways: they can follow a guided experience or ask questions in their own natural language, whether written or spoken.
The Virtual Budtender then taps into Jointly’s algorithm, which is fueled by real-world evidence gathered from hundreds of thousands of consumers’ cannabis reflections logged on the Jointly app since 2020. Every day, new user reflections and feedback are added to the platform, ensuring the AI’s product recommendations are continuously refined and improved.
“With every reflection a user logs, our recommendations get better,” says David Kooi, CEO and co-founder of Jointly. “This is a living, breathing database that grows with every experience shared on our app, and the result is unmatched accuracy in helping consumers reach their goals.”
Virtual Budtender in the Making
Jointly is a purposeful cannabis consumption platform, created with a goal of helping consumers be more intentional with how they use cannabis and their product choices.
“With our Jointly app that’s been out since 2020, consumers can track their cannabis consumption and learn to be more mindful about the products they use and how often they consume,” Kooi says. “So, part of what we’re trying to do with the data that we have from all those reflections and ratings from consumers is to build tools to help customers be matched with products more efficiently.”
After working on the product recommendation algorithm for a few years, the Virtual Budtender was born.
“This is the first tool we’ve made for retailers that was an AI-driven sales assistant for budtenders,” explains Kooi. “It’s a tool to help them match people with certain products in their store.”
As Jointly began selling this algorithm to different cannabis retailers, Kooi says they started asking if Jointly could make a version for their websites, as well. Now, this algorithm is offered for both in-store and online use.
How Does the Virtual Budtender Work?
Jointly’s platform has more product ratings than Weedmaps and Leafly combined. The platform’s ratings are also goal-specific, allowing the Virtual Budtender to offer precise recommendations based on individual needs — whether that’s relaxing, improving sleep or enhancing creativity.
“What sets our Virtual Budtender apart is that it’s powered by the only database in the industry that ties cannabis products to real-world consumer experiences,” Kooi says. “This is not about generic AI responses or basic product information. This is a truly personalized recommendation engine that uses data to make intelligent, goal-specific suggestions based on what actually works for people.”
Where other AI tools may simply rely on certificate of analysis (COA) data, which tells consumers what’s in the product but not how it will perform, Jointly’s Virtual Budtender delivers more reliable recommendations by factoring in real-world outcomes. The algorithm enables retailers to play a crucial role in solving the complexity of cannabis shopping.
By providing answers to questions on everything from safe dosing and best practices to store hours and delivery zones, the AI tool helps retailers enhance the shopping experience and improve customer satisfaction — increasing conversion rates and average cart value. Retailers can even customize the AI to reflect their unique brand voice and values.
Retailer Feedback
As with any newly launched feature, Jointly conducted a trial period before the Virtual Budtender’s official launch last month.
“We launched the first version of this around spring 2023, but we didn’t have access to any of the data, yet,” explains Kooi. “Since then, we’ve continued to improve the algorithm based on both user feedback and our own experience.”
Since the updated version was released around November 2023, Kooi says the feedback has been positive overall. “Our first version did have some problems, such as unreliability, but it takes a lot of work and testing to get a product such as this into a state where it can be used by a consumer,” he says.
Now that all the bugs have been fixed and the product is easily accessible to consumers, positive feedback continues to flow through.
In a statement, Ruben Seyde, founder and CEO of Massachusetts cannabis delivery dispensary Delivered Inc., said “The Virtual Budtender is a game-changer for us. It allows us to provide personalized, reliable guidance to our customers around the clock. Our staff can focus on delivering orders, while the AI handles routine inquiries and ensures that customers always have the support they need — even at 2 a.m. What makes it even better is that it’s backed by real-world data, not just chemistry.”
Future Improvement for the Virtual Budtender
Based on the feedback Jointly has received so far on the Virtual Budtender, Kooi says they have a few exciting changes in store.
“There are a few things that aren’t available yet, but one feature that is available is the Virtual Budtender having access to a certain store’s database,” he explains. “Now, customers can ask questions like ‘What are some new products that came in this week?’ or ‘I have $100 to spend. Can you build me a basket with products to help me relax?’ It can answer all these questions now by reaching into the store’s product database.”
Another cool feature that is currently in the works is the Virtual Budtender being able to support deals and discounts. Soon, the algorithm will be able to let customers know about any specific discounts that the store is offering.
As the Virtual Budtender continues to help cannabis customers and receive feedback, Jointly will continue to make improvements to better the shopping experience.
“Cannabis consumers, especially beginners, feel a lot of uncertainty when shopping. It can be kind of intimidating,” notes Kooi. “But now, we have this feature where you can go and ask your questions and receive truthful advice and information. I hope that it helps people along their journey to be more confident in their product choices.”
