Capturing the power of Generative Artificial Intelligence to enhance the passenger experience

September 27, 2023

Last updated: January 30, 2024

4 min read

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Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has dominated headlines of late, with the potential – and dangers – of this new technology highlighted around the world.

Many of you will have thoughts on the topic, or you may have been using the technology itself, while some of you may just be getting to grips with this fast-moving space.

Here I would like to shed some light on the work Amadeus’ is currently undertaking, looking at the impact we can have on our industry and, most importantly, the traveler.

What is Generative Artificial Intelligence

First, it is important to stress the significance of GAI.

While AI - the ability to perceive, synthesize and infer information by computers - has been in use across our business for some years, we are now seeing the next-generation of development. Unlike other types of AI, which are focused on classification or prediction, GAI can create original content (such as text, images, voice, or other media), and execute a variety of other tasks based on prompts.

The technology has huge potential to transform various industries by engaging with humans, especially customers, in a personalized and scalable way.

From our location at the center of the travel ecosystem, it has the potential to impact on every stage of the journey, meaning each solution, platform, or technology we currently produce could be impacted.

This is not an incremental change – it is a potentially revolutionary one.

Amadeus’ commitment for innovation
As you would expect,Amadeus is committed to exploring the potential of this new technology . We are currently investing in new tools to help us harness the power of GAI, with teams across the business working to exploit its capabilities.

The impact will be felt throughout the whole traveler experience,as already discussed in this blog from my colleague Rudy .

For example, in the planning phase GAI has the potential to create inspirational, traveler-centric search and shopping experiences. New tools will have the ability to search for, summarize and present information in newly accessible ways, driving up demand and lowering customer acquisition costs.

Stakeholders can get deeper insight than ever before into the motivations and actions of a traveler. With GAI, the purpose of a trip, expectations, willingness to pay – and much more – can be identified through chatbot conversations.

On-trip, travelers could see their needs met in more intuitive and personalized ways. Vivid content will be adapted to what the traveler is looking for, while conversational GAI chatbots can be used to ask the right questions to understand the traveler preferences. Disruptions to travel plans can be resolved faster by intelligent rebooking systems.

Finally, post-trip, GAI can help evaluate customer sentiment and allow travel businesses to respond to online reviews, boost their online reputation, stay in contact with customers in a more meaningful way, drive repeat business and maintain traveler relationships over sustained periods.

Guardrails for safe use of GAI
Alongside the excitement of GAI, we recognize the importance of addressing the potential concerns around the use of this technology.

Alongside the generation and proliferation of false information, other risks include the potential for GAI use resulting in bias and discrimination. There is also the risk of unintended sharing of sensitive data, while we must watch for any potential hallucinations (a confident response by a GAI that is not based on verified source data) in any created content, as well as cybersecurity risks.

To mitigate these concerns and to ensure Amadeus has a trusted, data-secure way to take advantage of these technologies, we are strengthening our existing policies, processes and governance, as well as employee awareness.

In addition, AI technology is required to be designed following Amadeus’ AI Ethics Principles in order to ensure ethical, transparent and responsible use (you can learn more on these principleshere ).

We are also closely monitoring the emergence of new regulations, in particular the EU AI Act, and taking steps to ensure our compliance. We also welcome legislation to protect fundamental freedoms, encourage responsible development in AI, while ensuring that innovation is allowed to flourish for the benefit of the industry and traveler alike.

Ecosystem Approach
Amadeus is at the heart of the travel ecosystem and this is a fast-moving space.Our strategic partnership and joint innovation program with Microsoft allow us to work closely with leading experts on GAI to address travel industry needs with the latest foundation models and cutting-edge solutions.

The Microsoft investment in OpenAI, and work to make sure the GPT models are enterprise ready in the Azure environment, means we can accelerate bringing out solutions that are ready for our customers to start using.

We are also working withAccenture to develop the GAI-powered interactive travel assistant for Cytric Easy .

By taking a responsible approach, by harnessing the combined power of the travel ecosystem, and by thinking beyond today, we can power progress across the entire travel industry.

We are excited about what the future holds.

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