WordPress Shines in the Age of AI
Turning your neglected WordPress website into a business asset for the AI era
Hello, this is Neko-san.
Recently, at CATOOL, we have been building business tools that run on WordPress.
Customer management, staff management, product master data, document transcription, reservation management, task management, payroll and labor management, notification settings, and an AI Assistant.
Looking at this list, it has more features than I initially thought.
WordPress is too valuable to be used only for a website
When people think of WordPress, they might strongly associate it with blogs or company websites.
Company profiles.
Announcements.
Recruitment information.
Contact forms.
I think many companies use it in that way.
However, even if you built one, updates might have stopped.
The announcements section might have been stagnant for years.
It exists as a company website, but it is rarely used in daily operations.
There are probably quite a lot of WordPress sites like that.
But in the age of AI, those neglected WordPress websites have the potential to become more than just old websites.
Neglected sites can become repositories for business data
WordPress inherently has elements that can serve as a foundation for business tools.
It has a login function.
It has an administration dashboard.
It has user permissions.
You can save data.
You can add functionality with plugins.
In other words, you can use a WordPress site built as a company homepage as a foundation for internal business tools.
I believe there is significant potential here.
Transforming a neglected WordPress homepage into a repository for business data.
Transforming it into a foundation for internal tools.
Transforming it into a place to accumulate data to feed into AI.
This is the direction we are currently considering at CATOOL.
What AI needs first is material for judgment.
No matter how convenient AI becomes, it cannot make correct management decisions out of thin air.
To have AI analyze things, you need material for judgment.
Customer information.
Staff information.
Product information.
Reservation information.
Task information.
Information related to sales and billing.
Daily correspondence history.
Only when business data is organized in this way does it become easy to pass on to AI.
Conversely, if business data is scattered everywhere, it becomes difficult to pass on to AI.
It's in Excel.
It's on paper.
It's in emails.
It's in the staff's heads.
It's in LINE.
The reservation list is somewhere else.
The billing documents are somewhere else again.
In this state, even if you ask AI to 'analyze our business,' it's quite difficult.
Therefore, first, centralize your business data.
Before using AI, first create a place for your business data.
Build that on WordPress.
This is what we are currently doing at CATOOL.
For example, put customer information into customer management.
Put staff information into staff management.
Put product names and prices into the product master.
Manage reservations and tasks using that master data.
By doing so, you won't have to enter the same information over and over again.
Like manually entering customer names every single time.
Copying and pasting the person in charge's name every time.
Searching for product names and prices in Excel.
Writing reservation details in a separate memo.
These kinds of small, tedious tasks will be reduced.
Making data usable across platforms rather than in isolated tools
A tool just for customer management.
A tool just for reservation management.
A tool just for task management.
Each of these is useful on its own.
However, when they exist separately, the data also becomes fragmented.
With the WordPress plugins we are creating at CATOOL, we want to connect those points as much as possible.
Customers, staff, products, reservations, and tasks.
Each piece of data gathers on WordPress.
And we are making it possible to use them in other business tools as well.
When this is possible, WordPress is no longer just a website.
It becomes a place where a company's business data gathers.
WordPress shines precisely because it is the age of AI
Recently, we often hear stories like "AI will do everything for you."
But in actual practice, it is not that simple.
If the data passed to the AI is not organized, the AI cannot work effectively.
Conversely, if your business data is well-organized, AI becomes much easier to use.
Summarize this month's reservation status.
Identify tasks that are behind schedule.
Check which products are being used most frequently.
View the status of interactions for each customer.
Check the workload for each staff member.
It becomes easier to provide AI with the material for such analysis and decision-making.
The Philosophy of CATOOL
What I want to do is not simply create a few convenient plugins.
Centralize business tools.
Accumulate daily business data.
Organize it into a format that can be passed to AI.
And then, utilize it for analysis and management decisions.
This is the CATOOL approach.
To me, this direction is the core philosophy behind CATOOL.
Not 'made by AI', but 'made with AI'.
It is not the case that AI will automatically complete everything for you.
However, if humans organize business workflows, create storage locations for data, and integrate AI where needed, it becomes a highly practical tool.
It doesn't have to be a large system
There is no need to suddenly implement an expensive business system.
I believe you don't need a grand DX project.
Start by making the most of the WordPress you already have.
Gradually add the necessary business tools into it.
You can start with customer management.
You can start with reservation management.
You can start with task management.
The important thing is that your daily business data accumulates little by little.
Transform the WordPress website you've been neglecting into a business asset for the AI era.
I believe that is a way you can use it.
The tools listed here are almost complete.
The tools introduced this time are almost complete.
Of course, I continue to make adjustments to suit each company's operations, refine how screens are displayed, and make minor improvements.
However, these are not just concepts; they have already taken shape to the point where they can be used as business tools.
In fact, there are already companies using them.
When you have people use them in actual business operations, you inevitably notice many things.
This part should be simpler.
This item is unnecessary.
Conversely, it would be better to see this information in a list.
By listening to this kind of feedback from the field, I am gradually refining them into a more user-friendly form.
I will distribute them on a limited basis to those who request them.
Moving forward, I am considering distributing it on a limited basis to those who are interested.
Rather than just making it freely available to everyone right away, I think it would be better to first have it tested by those whose needs and environments seem to be a good fit.
You operate your company website using WordPress.
But updates have stopped.
Managing things in Excel is starting to become a burden.
You don't need a large-scale system, but you want a simple business tool.
You want to consolidate customer management, reservation management, task management, and product management.
In the future, you want to use AI for your business as well.
For such people, it might be a pretty good match.
If you are interested, feel free to reach out via comments or inquiries.
Summary
WordPress shines precisely because we are in the age of AI.
Turn your neglected website into a repository for business data.
Centralize your business tools.
Accumulate data that can be passed to AI.
And then, utilize it for analysis and management decisions.
At CATOOL, we create the perfect tools for tasks where you need an extra hand.
Building business tools into WordPress, little by little.
With that in mind, I will continue to build.
CATOOL
https://catool.me/