Artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing travel and we’re only at the beginning of what some are calling “a second machine age.”
At last week’s Phocuswright Conference in Florida, Oliver Heckmann, vice president of engineering for Google, highlighted some examples of where machine learning is already being put to good use in travel as well as other industries such as healthcare.
He went on to share three areas where travel companies can use machine learning to improve operations today - price insights, customer service and online marketing.
Heckmann says that getting machine learning systems to crunch through historic price information enabled Google to offer a three-week flight promotion in August with a price guarantee.
He brands the initiative a “spectacular success” and adds that it improved user confidence and drove bookings for partners.
Further use of machine learning in call centers can help travel companies with the first line of customer service as well as gauging customer intent and sentiment.
Finally, machine learning is also playing a key role in online marketing in terms of helping to define when to place advertisements, Heckmann claims.
See the video below for his full presentation.
Tech Talk: Google - The Phocuswright Conference