Frequently Asked Questions
- What is generative artificial intelligence (AI)?
- How is generative AI being used by the travel industry?
- What are the challenges associated with generative AI?
- What potential benefits does generative AI offer for the travel industry?
- How do travel brands expect to use generative AI in the future?
Generative AI is a technology that enables machines to generate new content, such as text, images, and videos, based on training and learning from existing data.
The travel industry is utilizing generative AI technology for various applications, including content creation, customer service conversations, automation of text-related complexities, and challenges. It is also being used to personalize and enhance the overall travel experience for customers.
Some challenges include ensuring compliance with regulations and ethical guidelines, maintaining data privacy and security, and accurately training the AI models using high-quality data. Integration of multiple data sources and handling internal data pose additional challenges.
Generative AI has the potential to inspire and enhance the travel experience by providing personalized recommendations based on customer preferences. It can automate repetitive tasks, improve productivity, and enable more efficient interactions between customers and travel brands.
Travel brands aim to incorporate generative AI across various functions, democratizing its use and increasing productivity. They foresee AI-powered tools assisting developers and automating administrative tasks. The technology is also expected to evolve, enabling more diverse forms of communication and new use cases.
Lufthansa Group’s Digital Hangar, established more than a year ago, is focusing on the customer experience and has recognized the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Christian Spannbauer, the chief technology officer of Digital Hangar, emphasized the importance of incorporating generative AI into the travel industry in a recent interview. Instead of relying solely on traditional platforms and technologies, generative AI offers a unique and instantaneous solution.
The implementation of generative AI within Lufthansa began earlier this year with the collaboration and utilization of OpenAI’s services. Spannbauer highlights the fact that unlike other technologies, generative AI is readily available and accessible, eliminating the need for extensive setup or complex integrations. However, ensuring compliance with internal regulations and ethical considerations remains a priority.
Lufthansa’s current use of generative AI is primarily focused on content creation, conversation servicing, and automation of text-related complexities. By leveraging internal regulations, guidelines, and standard operating procedures, Lufthansa aims to train the AI models efficiently and enable straightforward access for its employees. The innovative nature of generative AI encourages other departments within the organization to explore its potential, facilitating a culture of democratization.
While the implementation of generative AI poses challenges, particularly regarding internal data quality and integration, Lufthansa is collaborating closely with Microsoft and OpenAI to overcome them. The availability of open data on the internet is relatively manageable, but internal data requires careful evaluation and quality control to generate accurate insights. Despite these challenges, Lufthansa is optimistic about the future potential of generative AI and anticipates its usage in all areas of the organization.
From a broader perspective, generative AI holds tremendous potential for the travel industry as a whole. While generic use cases, such as finding golf courses reachable by Lufthansa, are already available, the true differentiation lies in leveraging internal capabilities to personalize the entire travel experience. By utilizing customer data and tracking their preferences, generative AI can transform the traditional interaction model into a personalized conversation, resembling a concierge service. This level of personalization can greatly simplify and enhance the lives of Lufthansa’s customers.
Looking ahead, Lufthansa envisions generative AI playing a significant role in various facets of the organization. The broad adoption and understanding of generative AI will lead to increased productivity, efficiency gains for developers, and automation of administrative tasks. Lufthansa also expects further advancements in generative AI technology, facilitating seamless conversions between speech, text, pictures, and videos for unforeseen use cases.
The utilization of generative AI by Lufthansa and other travel brands exemplifies the transformative potential of this technology in the travel industry. As the capabilities continue to evolve, generative AI is anticipated to redefine and elevate the travel experience for both businesses and customers.
Sources:
- https://www.phocuswire.com/ai-insights