It’s a no-brainer that Artificial Intelligence is currently taking over the market. It all started with the big boom made by Amazon Go, that used AI capabilities to completely reinvent the experience of shopping, removing queues and check-out lines completely. Other industries also followed the lead. Tesla utilises it to predict drivers behaviours at certain GPS locations and recently even the travel and hospitality industry has started with AI as it’s been noticed that Hilton hotels are testing a new robot concierge called “Connie” that can answer guests’ various questions about amenities, services and local attractions. What a time to be alive!

 

A simple mobile app might not be enough

 

No-one wants to fall behind with this new technology and it looks like the Mobile Application Industry is also following the trend. No wonder, the recent increase of mobile natives (people brought up during the rise of mobile phone technologies and therefore familiar with them from an early age) and dramatic decrease in use of desktop computers, helped companies realise the impact of mobile applications on company’s success. Transportation sector has been particularly influenced by smartphone’ users for 2 simple reasons:

  1. the devices are easy to carry almost everywhere
  2. that allows to have access all sorts of information within seconds

However, in a world of rapidly developing technology and therefore higher customer requirements, a functional mobile app might no longer be enough. Nowadays, those, who commute or travel frequently expect more of the transportation software. It is no longer about the app doing what you asked it to, in fact it goes much further than that – it is now about being understood by the machine, having the software learn customers’ preferences and anticipate their needs at the right moment without explicitly programming it to do so.

This is when the Artificial Intelligence comes into action, bringing on board its unique human-like capabilities. AI can learn new things, process natural language, manage what it already knows and more. Machines with such abilities can dramatically improve all the world we live in.

Sadly, unlike the rapid growth of AI investment, AI implementation rate outside of technology sectors hasn’t grown much in 2017. However, seeing Amazon and Tesla revolutionising products and services that were believed to had reached their heights of success, it is more urgent than ever for all kinds of businesses to follow the example of the digital giants and take another step towards AI adoption. Why? Well, there are lots and lots of benefits, let’s focus on the ones relevant to tourism & travel industry.

 

Improved customer journey 

 

AI is a blessing for customers who, despite googling their problem, haven’t found an answer and are forced to contact the customer service. Clients who for an unknown reason are struggling with overcomplicated booking systems are no longer forced to wait hours and hours (ok,minutes!) for a next available representative on the phone to help them resolve the problem. Thanks to smart apps and Chatbots, available 24/7, unanswered questions or sometimes overcomplicated booking systems can be managed within seconds. It results in increased loyalty, customer satisfaction and in some cases even higher conversion rates.

 

Personalised Marketing

 

AI enriches the personal marketing sector making use of already existing data to provide clients with other products or services of interest based on the previous history. With a precision only known to machines, AI can gather, analyse and understand large volumes of data in a short period of time and learn when a specific user is most likely to take action. Airlines and train operators could use that to display more personalised information with regards to other destinations that a customer might like, providing an excellent opportunity to encourage additional purchases and making the competition disappear. For example, being able to make the right offer at the right time e.f. an upgrade to a person who often takes business trips but this one time purchases an economy ticket (e.g. when going on holidays) will results in selling better and more.What’s best is that clients generally like personalisation and respond well to is, therefore it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

 

More personalised User Experience

 

An individually tailored design is nowadays possible thanks to the AI’s deep learning capabilities and, of course, thorough analysis. Having the software understand the circumstances of previous purchases allows more customised messages and even colours of the application to suit individual needs. AI, at every step of the customer journey, can enable the app to change and display personalised information to fully fulfill the user expectations. There are many ways of achieving that. For example, Waze could display different homepages to its users. It would be even nicer if the system analysed its users patterns to knew e.g. when they usually leave work to provide push notifications with the current traffic condition on their way home. In the end, the purpose of making the user experience more personalised is to trigger the one activity businesses desire most: clicking the check out button.

 

Smarter Push Notifications

 

Push notifications are undergoing significant changes: they are turning the lock screens of consumer phones into news feeds that catch their attention, even if the only reason for taking out the phone was to check the time. Creating more meaningful notifications with the help of AI will not only result in richer interactions, but will also generate richer information that can be used in the future. Having each and every customer thoroughly analysed and continuously learnt from can lead to a better understanding of their needs – knowledge necessary to create new irresistible products and services.

 

IoT and AI 

 

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of Internet Of Things, it’s a technology that enables various devices interact with each other, for example: a smart keyless door lock that can be controlled from you phone. In some cases it can be a lifesaver, especially when going on a 2 weeks vacation and not being sure whether the front doors have been locked or not. Phew! IoT, that doesn’t work without AI, is the future of tourism technology and can noticeably improve travel experience. Airlines are working hard to use IoT to help track luggages, navigate across enormous airports easier and provide swifter hotel check ins. What’s more, it can all be achieved with no effort except speaking, thanks to AI’s voice processing capabilities.

 

Businesses must act now 

 

The era of GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – the 4 most powerful American technology companies) made the travel industry more competitive than ever. Companies are at risk of losing their clients due to a lack of features used by travel application gigants. This is why it is important to stay up to date with new technologies and use them creatively to your business benefit. Nobody likes changes. They push us out of our comfort zones, but they are what grows human mankind. Without constantly changing technology we would be deprived of all the luxuries it brings. Both businesses and people have to adjust to the fact that nothing in technology world is as it was yesterday. Things change day by day, leaving behind these companies that couldn’t follow. In order to retain and grow new loyal customers, businesses must act and invest in serious latest trends such as Artificial Intelligence, that is not reserved for tech giants only, but can also be adopted by the smaller ones. No matter how scary or unknown AI seems, companies should take courage, identify the directs benefits the technology will bring and follow what’s best to their customers.

The world is shifting fast to an AI world, it’d be best for all of us to jump on board and be a part of it.