A birds-eye guide to travel Artificial Intelligence

A birds-eye guide to travel Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making significant in-roads in the travel industry, you may have noticed. Maybe you haven’t: some AI, like chatbots, is becoming so normalised it’s almost blasé.

As in most sectors, AI is seen as a panacea by many and (for some) a worry.

In reality, Artificial Intelligence is probably best seen as neither saint nor sinner. It’s a technology with vast potential to shape the industry, but comes with its limitations (at least for now). Some AI is still in its infancy from the travel viewpoint.

Artificial Intelligence falls into six broad categories, each having different potential applications for travel technology. Some AI is already widely used in travel, others have possible applications for the future.

• Interactive AI. This is the majority of Artificial Intelligence in travel today. It enables real-time engagement with customers. Chatbots/virtual assistants are good examples. However, chatbots don’t really “understand” context – humans are often required.

• Analytical AI. Used in eg data assessment and pattern recognition for forecasting demand, revenue management and dynamic pricing. Often successfully paired with Interactive AI – it can ‘understand’ implications in a way Interactive alone can’t.

• Functional AI. Designed for specific tasks. Think: Internet of Things. In travel, uses might include powering flight tracking or baggage handling.

• Visual AI. Think augmented reality, picture search and ‘deep fake’. Not currently used much in travel tech but potential applications include landmark recognition for recommending similar destinations.

• Textual AI. This processes natural language to understand/generate human language. It’s increasingly used for reading weather reports or, paired with Analytical AI, re-routing travellers around disruptions.

• Generative AI. The all-encompassing AI beloved of sci-fi. Great strides have been made. However, it has few practical travel applications at the moment.

Journey Mentor products incorporate Artificial Intelligence and other advanced technologies in easy-use solutions for the travel industry, from e-portals to revenue management and dynamic pricing.