The world is grappling with the impact of generative artificial intelligence as the landscape evolves at breakneck speed: new models emerge, new products are launched daily, and an ecosystem of parallel services thrives.
While research, shopping and booking interfaces have been the focus of attention, several other use cases have been prominent on the consumer side: Below is an excerpt from Phocuswright’s travel research report, “From Buzzwords to Bottom Line: Keeping Pace with Generation AI in the Travel Industry.”
customer service
Customer service has proven to be one of the best use cases for generative AI. Expedia has been using generative AI for about a year to automate customer service call summaries and reduce costs, while Airbnb has helped customer service agents navigate 70 different user policies. DataArt deployed a generative AI-powered chatbot as first-level support for its client airline contact center. The chatbot reduced the number of calls and minutes handled by agents per month by 30%, and the average request handled by the chatbot was resolved in just 3 minutes.
Review Summary
Summarization is one of the most powerful uses of generative AI because it can quickly read text and summarize it with high accuracy. Tripadvisor, which has amassed a huge collection of travel reviews, uses generative AI hotel summaries to help travelers extract the information most relevant to them. Other companies that have implemented review summarization include Expedia, Home2Go, and MakeMyTrip.
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Accessibility: Multimodal/Translation
While there are other methods for speech-to-text and translation, travel companies are starting to bring generative AI into the mix. MakeMyTrip is in the early stages of implementing speech-to-text, and the company says it is seeing increased conversions with hybrid interactions using voice and visual options.
Productivity
The overall productivity gains that generative AI tools can bring should not be ignored by any business, and there are many areas where employees can be easily trained to use generative AI to speed up internal processes.
Internal Operations
While automating operations can save both time and money, travel companies are struggling with which tasks to delegate to AI, and to what extent. Internal use cases don't appear to have evolved dramatically over the past year, and most have only been refined. According to comments by Priceline CEO Brett Keller at the 2023 Phocuswright conference, travelers' chatbot conversations often reveal traveler concerns and needs that the company would not have known otherwise.
Corporate Travel
So far, leisure travel companies have been quicker to integrate generative AI technology compared to corporate players. Business leaders are being cautious likely due to the additional responsibilities, such as data confidentiality and duty of care, that come with hosting corporate clients. There are some notable moves: In August 2023, Lufthansa launched Swifty, an AI assistant for business travel; and CWT added generative AI capabilities to its messaging service in January 2024, allowing users to have unscripted conversations with a virtual assistant. In March, SAP Concur incorporated generative AI search capabilities, allowing users to enter queries in natural language. We expect to see more corporate applications in the coming year.
coding
A key area of productivity improvement is coding: Airbnb estimates that its developer-led workforce could see a 30% productivity boost in the short to medium term. Booking.com has reported early signs of improved developer productivity with its use of GenAI and is focused on driving further efficiencies. The potential impact is so great that Deets.com founder (and Kayak co-founder) Paul English argued at the Phocuswright conference in November 2023 that “code is no longer a moat,” suggesting that companies with 10 engineers can now compete with companies with 1,000.
Despite significant progress, the industry continues to explore practical applications of GenAI to maximize return on investment. Consumer acceptance remains mixed, with usage remaining relatively low for the time being. As GenAI technology evolves, the travel industry will see significant changes in how services are marketed, sold, and managed, making it crucial for companies to stay informed and adapt to stay competitive.
Part of a content series exploring some of the most significant technology-driven trends impacting travel distribution in 2024 and beyond, “From Buzzwords to Bottom Line: Keeping Up with Gen AI in Travel” answers these key questions about the industry’s interest in generative AI:
- How has generative AI impacted the travel industry since its introduction?
- What has been the most impactful event in the last 18 months?
- What lessons have travel companies learned during this period?
- What are the key areas of generative AI to watch in the near future?
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