Ever since the launch of Chat-GPT, the market has seen a surge of AI-related products capturing the public’s attention. As we shift into an era where robots can do the job for us—simply by providing prompts—the competition in the industry is rapidly evolving. It seems that the focus is less on the people you hire, but more on how fast you can adopt the right AI tools to enhance your efficiency and lower the operation cost.
GetCOAI is one such company dedicated to fostering AI literacy. They build an aggregator website where they publish a range of educational content, news, reports, and tutorials. In the meantime, they collect all the AI tools available in the market and choose the best tools to teach people how to get the most out of very specific solutions.
What is a Content Aggregator?
Content aggregator websites are sites that collect content from other websites around the Internet and “aggregate” it into one easy-to-find location.
Challenge
According to Shane, founder of GetCOAI, selecting the most appropriate AI tools for specific needs can be as challenging as finding the perfect suit for a wedding since hundreds if not thousands of AI assistants exist online. GetCOAI aims to solve the hassle for those AI seekers. They regularly scrape online AI products and their information from their websites, especially pricing and descriptions of online courses to understand what they are offering, and how.
However, even though it is simple web scraping, websites are too difficult to scrape most of the time. Not to mention these websites are continually evolving and updating.
“I had tried a few other tools. I wasn’t really having a ton of luck. I was writing my own code to scrape stuff. Sometimes it was just taking forever.”
Shane, mentioned during the interview.
Data collection was the critical first step in building this AI tools aggregator website and yet they were hindered by technical issues. Then, they stumbled upon Octoparse one day while browsing the internet, which got them out of the problem.
Solution
To effectively scrape data from different AI product websites, each requires a uniquely tailored scraper. Building these scrapers manually involves writing code, configuring the website structure, and setting up data storage, all of which are time-intensive, not to mention the ongoing maintenance required.
There is when Octoparse steps in with its no code point-and-click interface. With the auto-detection feature, users can target specific HTML elements on a webpage by simply clicking on them. Given that there are different types of data on different websites, such as tables, listings, blog articles, and real-time statistics, Octoparse can handle them with great precision and then automatically generate the scraping workflow without users writing a single line of code. This data can be exported in different formats such as Excel, CSV, JSON, or connected to a database. With the speed and ease Octoparse works to provide, teams like Shane’s can scrape large amounts of data from not just existing sites, but upcoming new sites as well.
For another headache—website update, users can change the scraping workflow themselves by adjusting the rule modules or target element X path, which lifts the heavy burden of scraper maintenance. Whenever users need support for rule changing or configuring, Octoparse experts are there to help.
While Octoparse has a learning curve due to its ability to handle complex, multi-website scraping, Shane found the process manageable thanks to the tutorials and dedicated support team. Once the parameters were correctly configured, they could be reused over and over again, significantly speeding up internal operations and reducing the strain on engineering resources.
With the schedule and cloud service, Shane’s team can also monitor any changes in those AI tools’ websites and scrape the updated information back to their database.
The landscape of AI recommendation websites is becoming increasingly competitive, and Shane wants to capture some market share in the fastest way possible. To achieve this, he needs to have good data policies and data practices. The good thing is, Octoparse ensures that all extracted data is GDPR-compliant, alleviating concerns about unethical scraping practices.
It is frustrating to see the massive shift that we see happening in the workplace and in society where AI and automation tools take the jobs of so many. Sooner or later, people are going to prepare themselves for a future where they need to work with AI to bring the best result. Shane mentioned. Together with Octoparse, GetCOAI can collect enough AI news and resources to power its audience in the upcoming career transformation.
Similar Case Study
The use of data scraping to enrich website content is common across various industries. For instance, job aggregator websites like Careerone and GradSiren utilize Octoparse to regularly scrape job postings from job boards and other websites. This data is then provided to job seekers or college students looking for internships. With Octoparse, they can also accurately scrape job details such as interview questions which greatly enhances the chances of success in job applications.
