DEV Community

NonProfit Covers
NonProfit Covers

Posted on

Building AI-Powered Product Recommendations for a WordPress E-Commerce Site

One of my clients sells building materials — doors, tiles, flooring. Their
problem: customers didn't know what they needed. Product pages got traffic but
conversion was low.

I built a 5-question needs assessment that feeds into an AI recommendation
engine. Here's how.

The Architecture

User answers 5 questions
→ Form submits to Make.com webhook
→ Make.com calls ChatGPT API with answers + product catalog
→ AI generates 3 personalized recommendations
→ Automated email sent to user with product picks
→ Lead captured in CRM

All running on WordPress with Elementor for the frontend and Make.com for the
backend logic.

The Implementation

1. The Quiz (Frontend)

Built with a custom HTML/JS widget in Elementor. No plugin bloat — just a clean
multi-step form that posts to a Make.com webhook.

2. The AI Engine (Backend)

Make.com receives the form data, formats a prompt with the product catalog
context, and sends it to ChatGPT. The response comes back as structured JSON with
3 product recommendations + reasoning.

3. The Email (Delivery)

Make.com generates a conversion-optimized email with the 3 recommendations and
sends it via SMTP. The lead is simultaneously added to Pipedrive CRM.

Results

  • Lead capture rate: 34% of quiz starters complete it
  • Email open rate: 67% (because they're waiting for their results)
  • Customer LTV increased 36% through better product matching

Key Takeaways

  • WordPress is not "just a blog platform." With the right architecture, it handles AI integrations just fine.
  • The quiz-to-email flow converts better than chatbots in this context. Users prefer answering structured questions over open chat.
  • Make.com as middleware means zero changes needed on the WordPress side when we update the AI logic.

Full project details: L+B Bauhandel — E-Commerce + KI
Integration

More on how I approach web design for SMEs: Webdesign
Fürth


I build digital infrastructure for SMEs — websites that generate leads + AI
automation that processes them. Based in Fürth, Germany.
npc-agency.com

Top comments (0)