Building an E-commerce Chatbot with RAG Technology: Technical Deep Dive into Amazon AI Chatbot
Project Overview & Core Value Proposition
Modern e-commerce platforms require intelligent systems that understand natural language queries while accessing product databases. This project implements a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system using Python 3.11, featuring modular architecture for real-time product information retrieval and conversational interactions.
Technical Architecture Breakdown
Core Components
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Data Processing Layer: Pandas 2.2.3 for data cleansing and structured storage -
Semantic Understanding Layer: LangChain 0.3.21-powered retrieval pipelines -
Conversational Interface: Streamlit 1.43.2-based interactive dashboard -
Local Deployment: Ollama 0.4.8 for localized LLM operations
Key Technical Features
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Multi-source Integration: MySQL connectivity (pymysql 1.1.1) + CSV file support -
Context Management: LangChain Memory module for dialogue history -
Feedback Mechanism: Streamlit-feedback 0.1.4 integration for quality control -
Logging System: loguru 0.7.3 implementation for system monitoring
Deployment Guide
Environment Configuration
# Dependency installation (Poetry-based)
poetry add pandas==2.2.3
poetry add streamlit==1.43.2
poetry add langchain-ollama==0.3.0
Configuration Steps
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Environment variables (.env example):
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=admin
DB_PASSWORD=securepass
OLLAMA_HOST=http://127.0.0.1:11434
-
Knowledge base initialization:
from data_pipeline import DataProcessor
processor = DataProcessor("products.csv")
processor.create_vectorstore()
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Launch interface:
streamlit run chatbot/main.py
Functional Capabilities
Intelligent Retrieval Module
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Multi-field search (title/description/category) -
Hybrid semantic + keyword matching -
Dynamic threshold adjustment (default 0.78 similarity)
Conversation Management
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Automatic context window sliding (5-turn history) -
Abnormal query detection -
Multi-dialog state tracking
Performance Optimization
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Caching Mechanism: Local caching for frequent queries -
Batch Processing: Preloaded product indices -
Async Operations: Non-critical task parallelization -
Resource Monitoring: Real-time CPU/memory tracking
Quality Assurance
Testing Coverage
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Unit tests for core data modules -
End-to-end dialogue validation -
Load testing simulations
Monitoring Metrics
MONITOR_METRICS = {
"response_time": 1.2, # seconds
"cache_hit_rate": 0.85,
"error_rate": 0.02
}
Expansion Possibilities
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Multilingual support -
Cross-platform integration (Web/APP/Mini Programs) -
Sales analytics dashboard -
Personalized recommendation engine
Development Timeline
From commit history analysis:
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Mar 2025: Core framework (3c94794) -
May 2025: Module refactoring (021a009) -
May 2025: Containerization support (9f4064c) -
May 2025: Documentation system (f548c84)
Resource Access
Explore the GitHub repository:
https://github.com/chibuikeeugene/amazon_ai_chatbot
Technical Note: Requires Python 3.11 environment with proper database configurations. Refer to project documentation for detailed setup instructions.