EasyJet will soon launch voice search capability in its
mobile app, enabling travelers to find flight options by saying their
destination, dates of travel and airports they want to fly from.
Dubbed “Speak Now,” the tool has been created by Travelport
using Google Cloud’s natural language understanding tool known as Dialogflow.
Travelport says a typical manual search query takes 12 taps, but with Speak Now, it can be completed in seconds and it can be easier to use
for travelers with certain disabilities, such as visual impairment.
For now the voice tool is only for search,
with booking completed manually, but Travelport says voice booking will be
added in the future.
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“This is the latest in a series of innovative world first
features that make booking travel as easy as possible, giving EasyJet customers
a helpful digital experience,” says Cormac Reilly, vice president and global
head of travel partner solutions for Travelport.
“Conversational voice search is a great example of how we’re
using the latest technologies, including AI and Google Cloud’s Dialogflow, to
make the experience of buying and managing travel continually better for
everyone.”
Speak Now will launch in the coming weeks with available
initially in English on iOS and plans to add Android and additional languages by
early 2020.