Air India, the Tata Group-owned airline, is making waves implementing advanced features into its generative artificial intelligence virtual agent. This virtual agent handles over 6,000 customer queries daily and now employs ChatGPT to analyze even the most complex questions. This integration enhances the customer experience and allows the virtual agent to better understand natural language.
In a groundbreaking move, Air India announced that it has become the first airline in the world to successfully deploy a Generative AI virtual agent called ‘Maharaja’, powered Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. Since its pilot launch in March 2023, Maharaja has answered over 500,000 customer queries and now handles over 6,000 queries a day in four languages.
The capabilities of Maharaja extend to a vast range of customer queries across 1,300 areas, including topics such as flight status, baggage allowances, check-in, flight changes, and more. Remarkably, the virtual agent is multilingual and can communicate in Hindi, English, French, and German.
The effectiveness of Maharaja is evident in its ability to successfully answer over 80% of customer queries in a matter of seconds. For the 15% of queries that require additional assistance, the virtual agent automatically orchestrates a smooth handoff to Air India’s contact center agents.
Looking toward the future, Air India has ambitious plans to enhance Maharaja with sophisticated features and novel user experiences. These advancements aim to transform customer interactions and further expedite the support process. It is also stated that generative AI solutions assist in automating repetitive tasks, leaving human agents to focus on more complex and valuable interactions.
Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India, Satya Ramaswamy, noted that there has been a definitive shift in guest preferences towards chat interactions for quick information and support, driven the emergent capabilities of Large Language Model-driven generative AI.
This innovative move Air India demonstrates the airline’s commitment to providing cutting-edge customer service while also automating mundane tasks to maximize efficiency.
As Air India continues to expand, its implementation of advanced AI technology sets a new standard for customer service in the airline industry.