“Ok Google, Book Me A Flight” – A.I. Travel Booking Is Here…

Ok Google, book me two tickets to paradise…

The revolution is now. How we browse airfare, book tickets and select seats is changing by the day, and a new era in travel booking is not soon, but now. Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri and other voice activated AI devices are fulfilling more tasks every day, and the Google Assistant is the first to learn one highly valuable trick: finding you the perfect flight.

Ok, Google

KLM is an airline at the forefront of mobile technology and was the first to introduce flight assistance, seat selection, upgrades and rebooking via Facebook Messenger. The airline has now partnered with Google to become amongst the very first to offer flight booking and other services via AI conversations. “Ok, Google – find me the perfect flight” is now a real option in both Dutch and English language. Another such player? Kayak. Google Assistant users can say “Ok, Google – talk to Kayak”, and ask for things like flight notifications, trip planning, flight prices and hotel booking. After finding the perfect option, in the case of KLM, a bookable link would appear on screen.

AI Learning

KLM’s flight offering is a combination of the airlines “BlueBot” AI assistant, and the tech behind Google’s own AI assistant. A.I. stands for artificial intelligence, just in case you were getting lost in the acronyms here. BlueBot, affectionately known as BB adapts to each user, learning from previous purchases, requests and preferences, and is constantly evolving. According to KLM, “BB is self-learning and has her own personality: helpful, friendly, professional, and edgy.”

Hands Free

So who really cares? All of these technologies are an evolution of the busy lifestyles we collectively lead. People simply don’t have the time to make a fire and sit down at the old desktop to spend hours researching flights. Having a glass of wine in one hand, and a knife to start making dinner in the other, Google Assistant and other AI devices allow travelers to find what they need, while multitasking their way through the day.

What do you think about the future of A.I. and travel?