• by Ray Schultz , May 24, 2023

BuzzFeed, which last month announced it was shuttering its news division, is moving ahead on other digital fronts. 

The media company announced two new collaborative projects this week: an online storefront for its wellness brand Goodful, powered by Verishop; and an AI-powered culinary companion, Botatouille, designed by Tasty for its global community. 

For the Goodful storefront, BuzzFeed is deploying a Creator Collective of wellness creators to highlight lifestyle content and curated products to consumers on social platforms like TikTok, Instagram & Facebook Reels.

Verishop will support one-stop checkout, and online customer service..

BuzzFeed has had affiliate partnerships with retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Macy's, and Etsy.

The Botatouille offering will allow Tasty app users to have a real-time conversation with the Botatouille chatbot about recipes, cooking and cleanup.

“We developed Botatouille with our audience in mind, bringing together Tasty’s culinary insights and innovative AI technology to help our community navigate every part of the cooking process,” says Hannah Bricker, general manager, Tasty.

Tasty seeks to “collaborate with our users to continue adapting and improving this AI-powered chefbot based on their feedback — leveraging new technologies to enhance the cooking experience online and in the kitchen.”

Speaking at an investor conference last week, Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti predicted that generative AI is going to “replace the majority of static content.”

BuzzFeed has had its challenges—it recently reduced its staff by 15%, while closing the news division. HuffPosts is now its only news product.