How Generative AI is Revolutionizing Travel
Artificial intelligence has been common for a while in many industries, including travel. Typically, it’s seen in predictive technology with algorithms that draw conclusions based on large data sets to output recommendations.
In travel, predictive analytics is used to provide personalized recommendations for hotels, flights, and other services. Predictive models are beneficial for both travel providers and their clients because they can efficiently find and compile the most relevant options from the massive amount of alternatives with far less time and effort than doing so manually.
Hopper is an excellent example of making the most of this technology. The company uses AI to predict both hotel prices and airfares by feeding its algorithms enormous amounts of historical data as well as current trends. This not only gives them a competitive edge when it comes to offering the best prices overall, but it also serves their customers well. By predicting when to book flights based on that data plus a customer’s unique travel profile, Hopper can accurately tell travelers when to book flights to save the most money.
However, generative AI is different, and it is upending how many sectors operate. This new and exciting iteration of artificial intelligence has the potential to do so much more for travel beyond what’s currently available. Not only can it upgrade the overall client experience but take it to a whole new level by both analyzing existing content and creating something original.
While it’s true that generative AI still uses amassive body of existing data for its outputs, the interesting thing is that it can set itself apart from simple predictive AI. In travel, that translates to scenarios where the AI is trained on an enormous amount of travel data and, by having access to the broadest array of inventory and content available from travel suppliers, it will be able to respond to the specific requests of the travelers with relevant, personalized products and content.
This is a truly revolutionary and exciting development for an industry that has been rather slow to change for decades. Not only will it be better for customers, but research shows that the companies that lean into using AI consistently have better financial metrics and see up to 50% more revenues.
Established industry players are turning to generative AI to help create better client service chat solutions, including problem-solving customer support and loyalty programs. The travel industry generally operates on thin margins, and this often means that live human support, though so desired by the customers, may not be sustainable. Studies have shown that integrating AI into customer support has allowed the resolution of up to 80% of problems with a single interaction, reducing the stress of human workers and creating a better experience for clients.
Some companies like WestJet already use AI-powered customer service chatbots to parse general requests and decide when to involve a human agent. Still, we can expect to see far more widespread adoption as generative AI continues to advance.
