On Groupon Buying The Alfred App

Alfred might be the best example of artificial intelligence used on a restaurant recommendation app. Yesterday, Jason Kincaid wrote that Groupon is on the verge of acquiring Clever Sense, the company behind Alfred. This acquisition should bode well with $GRPN investors. 

If you have never heard of Alfred, imagine an iPhone app that ‘speaks’ restaurant recommendations to you. What separates Alfred from the competition is something called model-based learning. Alfred is a semi-intelligent agent that is capable of serving a unique recommendation drawn from the user’s taste preferences. Like Siri, Alfred listens and adapts to the user. It really is something magical. 

And now Groupon is acquiring Alfred’s technology. 

Groupon will likely use Alfred’s AI technology to power a new method of targeting customers. “It seems like you enjoyed the dining experience at Chop House. I thought you might also enjoy Waterbar. You are close to the restaurant. Click here to purchase a $10 for $25 coupon,” Alfred will say.

Using location data to target customers is great, but using location data in conjunction with a user’s taste preferences is even better — thumbs up for Groupon if they actually go through with this acquisition.

UPDATE - Dec. 13th 2011 – Damn, Google outbid Groupon!

(Source: techmeme.com)