From booking flights to creating itineraries, AI (artificial intelligence) is already changing the face of the work trip, says Jenny Southan
Towards the end of last year, I spoke at the Dubai Future Forum, an annual gathering of “futurists” from around the world who assembled at the emirate’s space-age Museum of the Future. As you might imagine, there was much discussion around the development and applications of artificial intelligence, as well as potential doomsday scenarios.
Experts spoke about things like the emergence of the “non-creative creative class – augmented by AI”; and how philosophers are now working with AI technology companies to devise fair, transparent, inclusive and controllable algorithms. During a coffee break, I interacted with an uncanny humanoid robot who displayed highly convincing expressions and gestures, and it made me wonder how long it would be until we all employ AI personal assistants?
Today’s much-talked about iteration of artificial intelligence is Generative AI, which comes in the form of machine learning systems such as ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney, but the difference between the capabilities we have right now and what could come next are huge. Some believe that the contrast between Generative AI and tomorrow’s (theoretical) “General AI”, which can self-teach, could be as vast as that between the fax machine and the internet.
Although we are some way off from having robots as part of our daily lives, digital advisors are popping up all across the travel sector to perform specific tasks. I don’t know about you but I really dislike having a “conversation” with those perky little chatbots that appear in the corner of some websites, but when I tried Expedia’s new Gen AI trip planning tool I was impressed at how seamless it was. Powered by ChatGPT, OneKey members can send a stream of messages as they would on WhatsApp, and the bot will reply with hotel, flight and car hire suggestions ready for them to book. It’s a big step up from the formulaic exchanges I’ve had with virtual customer service reps.
This month, metasearch site Kayak unveiled a new AI airfare comparison tool called PriceCheck, which allows Kayak app users to upload a screenshot of a flight itinerary from any site. In so doing, Kayak will rapidly check hundreds of partner sites to verify whether or not they are getting the best possible price. Then there is travel technology company Amadeus, which has joined forces with both Microsoft and Accenture to develop a cutting-edge AI-powered tool that will allow travellers to use “natural language processing” to swiftly and efficiently research and book business trips without the need for a flesh-and-blood travel manager. It can even propose itineraries.
“Business travellers will be able to converse with an AI-powered chatbot like they do via mail, or chat,” says Arlene Coyle, senior vice president at Amadeus Cytric Solutions. “They will get trip recommendations aligned with policy, they will be prompted on when to travel or the best choices to get there. The impact will be profound and will completely change the lives of our business travellers.”
• Jenny Southan is the founder of travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender