Air India, in a recent announcement, claimed to be the first airline globally to successfully deploy a Generative AI virtual agent named ‘Maharaja,’ powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. People have been shocked and a new phrase has been taking the social media by the storm; AI (Air India) for AI (Artificial Intelligence).
The airline is now set to enhance the capabilities of this generative artificial intelligence virtual agent, which currently manages over 6,000 customer queries daily. Utilising ChatGPT, the airline, owned by the Tata Group, aims to analyse intricate questions, improving its responsiveness and customer experience.
Unlike rule-based or keyword-based chatbots, Generative AI solutions understand the intent and context of a user’s query and generate a natural and coherent reply. This enhances user experience and satisfaction, while reducing the need for human intervention.
It also helps to automate repetitive and mundane tasks, such as booking, cancellation, confirmation, etc., and free up bandwidth for human agents to focus on more complex and value-adding interactions.
Recently, the big economies met in the UK and decided to control the adverse effects of the AI. This is a ground breaking use of the technology especially for the aviation industry.
What are Air India’s future endeavours in technology sector?
Air India has ambitious plans for the future, intending to introduce advanced features driven by patent-pending technologies. These enhancements include a novel user experience combining textual and graphical interactions to potentially expedite customer interactions.
Additionally, the airline aims to augment the AI agent with data-driven deep-personalisation capabilities.
Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India, noted a discernible shift in guest preferences towards chat interactions for quick information and support, driven by the capabilities of Large Language Model-driven generative AI.
The aviation company is well aware of having the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in their business. Since, AI has made itself the most used word in the last couple of years; Air India are leaving no stone unturned to invite consumers via their Maharaja AI.
As part of its broader strategy, the airline is actively pursuing an ambitious expansion plan. The next generation technology allows the company to strategise in a way none of its competition are. This will lead to rapid expansion and increased financial numbers.
Air India’s Maharaja’s performance report
Since its pilot launch in March 2023, Maharaja has effectively addressed over half a million customer queries and now handles queries in four languages.
The virtual agent covers a broad spectrum of topics, spanning 1,300 areas, including flight status, baggage allowances, check-in, and more. It is proficient in Hindi, English, French, and German.
Maharaja handles about 6000 queries daily. “Of the 6,000-plus questions received each day, over 80% are successfully answered in seconds. About 15% of customer queries today require additional assistance, and Maharaja recognises this automatically and orchestrates a seamless handoff to Air India’s contact centre agents,” the release said.
The language diversity and proficiency allows the technology to address people travelling across the globe. This helps the company to create a web of connections with the people around the world residing in different countries but using Air India as their way of commute.
The Maharaja has provided a stellar performance. India has not been that AI friendly but using such complex technology in an untapped industry is beyond brilliance.
Conclusion
This addition could be industry shaping and lead to many further extensions in the aviation sector especially impacting the country. Flying vehicles are now almost a reality and AI could really help it make a self driving option.
Since Air India has already achieved this feat, will the other airline companies copy them or will the trend fade out over time?
