A study by London-based global strategy firm the National Research Group has found that while 49% of respondents who have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help plan their trips found it very helpful, most travellers had concerns about it, reports travelpulse.com.
If using AI to plan a trip, 81% of travellers would want to double-check all the information and were unwilling to share information about their children. The study also found that 77% of travellers were not willing to allow an AI service access passport or visa information and that 51% were worried about personal data risks.
Even though travellers do not trust AI, it’s being implemented within the travel industry up to the point that travellers may not even realise they’re already using it to help plan their travels. Large online travel agencies such as Expedia have implemented ChatGPT for their online chat services, where AI communicates with travellers, helps plan itineraries, predicts prices and more.
Looking at the benefits, technology experts and travel advisers agree that AI in the industry is a game-changing customer service tool and, used as such, it has great benefits but is no replacement for human roles. It is being used by travel advisers for back-end business tasks, freeing them up to provide customer service.
“I find the implementation of AI in the travel industry to be incredibly exciting! It has revolutionised the way we carry out our daily tasks. At present, we leverage AI to enhance our marketing efforts, enabling us to craft captivating newsletters and campaigns. It assists us in generating compelling social media captions, identifying optimal hashtags, and curating photos and videos that align with the ever-evolving algorithms,” says Krystal Aziz, Director of Operations at US-based Modern Travelworks.
The frustrations of using AI, along with its potential use for criminal activity and fake reviews, might in fact turn travellers towards travel advisers. Many travel advisers are cautiously optimistic about the technology, believing it won’t necessarily replace them, but that those who don’t use it for themselves may be phased out.
