AI Shopping Assistant
How to use the BabyShopHub AI chat assistant powered by Groq and Llama 3.3.
AI Shopping Assistant
BabyShopHub includes a built-in AI-powered customer support assistant to help you find the right products, understand policies, and get parenting advice — instantly, without waiting for a human agent.
Opening the Chat
From the Home Screen or Profile Screen, tap the chat bubble icon () in the bottom navigation bar or floating action area to open the Chat Assistant Screen.
What the AI Can Help With
The assistant is trained with a specific context to help parents with baby product decisions:
| Topic | Example question |
|---|---|
| Product recommendations | "What diapers do you recommend for a newborn?" |
| Safety questions | "Are your wooden toys safe for 6-month-olds?" |
| Shipping & delivery | "How long does delivery take?" |
| Returns & refunds | "Can I return an opened package?" |
| Baby food guidance | "When can babies start eating solids?" |
| General baby care | "What shampoo is best for sensitive baby scalps?" |
How the AI Works
BabyShopHub uses the Groq API (blazing-fast LLM inference) to power the assistant:
- Primary model:
llama-3.3-70b-versatile— Llama 3.3 70B for rich, detailed answers - Fallback model:
llama-3.1-8b-instant— Faster, lighter model if the primary is rate-limited
The assistant uses this system prompt:
"You are BabyShopHub's helpful AI customer support agent. You assist parents with baby product recommendations, safety questions, shipping details, or return policies. Your tone should be warm, clinical, and reassuring. Keep answers concise and helpful."
Conversation History
The assistant remembers the full conversation history within the current session. You can ask follow-up questions naturally:
You: What diapers do you recommend?
AI: For newborns, look for ultra-absorbent...
You: What about for size 2?
AI: [understands the context is still diapers]
Offline Mode
If the Groq API is unavailable (no internet, rate limits, API key missing), the assistant automatically falls back to intelligent offline responses based on keyword matching:
| Keyword detected | Offline response topic |
|---|---|
| "diaper", "nappy" | Diaper selection advice |
| "food", "formula", "organic" | Baby food guidance |
| "return", "refund" | Return policy summary |
| "ship", "delivery" | Shipping information |
| "toy", "safe" | Toy safety guidance |
Configuring the API Key
The Groq API key is configured as a build-time environment variable:
During development, if GROQ_API_KEY is empty, the app falls back to offline responses gracefully.
Privacy
Conversation messages are not stored in Firestore or any database. They exist only in the local app state for the duration of the session. Starting a new chat session creates a fresh conversation with no history.
Limitations
- The AI does not have real-time access to your specific order status or account data
- For account-specific queries (order status, refund requests), use the Profile → Contact Support feature
- The AI cannot process images or files — text only
The Groq API provides some of the fastest LLM inference available (~500 tokens/second). Responses typically arrive in under 1 second on a good connection.