A recent innovation in travel technology sees the introduction of a virtual travel agent prototype named ‘AI Emily’.
- Developed by a Steve Endacott-backed start-up, AI Emily utilises advanced neural voice technology to assist real-life agents with customer engagement.
- AI Emily is designed to capture crucial travel preferences during customer interactions, enhancing the initial stages of trip planning.
- The technology integrates with large language models to transcribe and respond to customer inquiries effectively.
- Neural Voice anticipates that AI Emily can significantly cut customer service costs by 60% compared to human agents.
In a groundbreaking move, a start-up supported by industry expert Steve Endacott has introduced ‘AI Emily’, a virtual assistant crafted to support travel agents. The primary purpose of this innovative tool is to facilitate agents in maintaining meaningful connections with returning clients through tailored communication about their holiday desires.
During verbal exchanges, AI Emily captures essential travel details such as the client’s preferred destination, departure airport, travel group composition, trip duration, and board requirements. This capability allows for a nuanced understanding of customer needs right from the initial planning phase, often referred to as the ‘dream stage’.
Steve Endacott, who chairs Neural Voice, expressed that these tools are intended as ‘co-pilots’ rather than replacements for human agents. He noted, ‘AI tools are great, but they cannot understand customers’ tones or buying indicators, meaning they are poor at closing the sale.’ This insight underscores their utility in generating leads and setting the stage for final booking processes, which are likely to remain within the human domain.
The technological framework of AI Emily incorporates a ‘voice’ overlay compatible with large language models—such as ChatGPT—and integrates seamlessly with travel companies’ knowledge databases. When customers present inquiries, these are digitised, processed, and addressed by AI Emily at a speed comparable to a human response, with all exchanges summarised and logged in the company’s CRM systems. Such operational efficiency supports enhanced marketing strategies, streamlines online bookings, or facilitates appointments with human agents to finalise sales.
Furthermore, Neural Voice’s CEO, Jeremy Smith, highlighted ongoing discussions with leading travel brands aimed at embedding AI Emily into existing CRM systems. This development is set to contextualise customer interactions by leveraging historical booking data, thereby enhancing personalisation. Additionally, compliance with cost-effective measures remains at the forefront. Smith remarked, ‘On a per-minute basis, we are 60% cheaper than human agents on average, so we offer major cost savings’. This aspect potentially revolutionises cost management in customer service for airlines and online agencies.
AI Emily marks a significant step forward in augmenting travel service efficiency through advanced technology.
