Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH) has unveiled an artificial intelligence assistant for business travelers based on OpenAI's GPT-4.
The technology, which is called Swifty, enables travelers to share their hotel and flight preferences via chat, select appropriate options and have them booked. Swifty then shares the itinerary and receipts.
According to a release, the launch of Swifty is the first step to building an AI business travel assistant to deal with any queries that might arise during a trip.
The assistant works by interpreting travel content and the user's booking intent and interacting with travel booking systems. The plan is to further develop the technology to bring in rail bookings and other ground transportation options as well as sustainability elements. Currently, Expedia Group is the hotel supplier for Swifty, while flights are sourced from another partner.
Going forward, Swifty also wants to enable restaurant reservations and the booking of co-working spaces and integrate calendar functionality to allow for meeting scheduling.
Christine Wang, managing director of Lufthansa Innovation Hub, said: “The rapid emergence of AI presents a tremendous opportunity for the travel industry. Despite the existence of various AI-powered solutions aimed at revolutionizing travel planning, the booking experience has remained relatively untouched. This untapped potential is particularly significant within the expansive business travel segment."
Subscribe to our newsletter below
Swifty founder Stanislav Bondarenko said: “We have tailored the generative AI technology to address the unmet needs of millions of business travelers who have previously been underserved by existing products in the market. Swifty is democratizing the personal assistance experience by making it available for every business traveler, as opposed to only corporate top managers.”
Swifty is the latest venture from LIH. Like previous spin-offs Navit (formerly Rydes) and Squake, it will be given the support to transition into an independent company.
Mobility application Rydes, which recently announced €3.5 million in funding, was spun off in early 2021 with Porsche taking a stake. Squake, a sustainability marketplace, was spun off in December of the same year and recently announced funding of €3.5 million.