Danielle Harvey, global vice president, head of travel and hospitality strategy at Quantum Metric, says adopting Gen AI in the airline industry can unlock operational efficiency and enhance customer experience, but it requires clear objectives and thoughtful strategy to avoid potential risks.

The adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) in the airline industry offers numerous opportunities for businesses to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen customer service and boost competitiveness. As such, it’s no surprise that 91% of travel brands are planning to implement Gen AI into their booking experience.

However, rushing to implement Gen AI tools without a strategic approach can lead to significant risks. It’s crucial that business leaders understand these dangers and how they can be avoided. Only then can airlines truly reap the benefits of AI.

Ensuring Gen AI adoption has a clear objective

Implementing Gen AI tools requires careful planning and a strategic approach. Racing to deploy, particularly within customer-facing functions, can lead to data privacy concerns, operational disruptions and bias or ethical issues.

These risks can be avoided by ensuring that the introduction of AI is driven by a clear objective and measured by a key performance indicator (KPI). For instance, the goal may be to enhance the customer booking experience, revenue management or improve operational efficiency. Defining clear AI objectives and KPIs will strategically align overall business goals, focus the prioritisation of resources and measurable outcomes which can be used to track success. Additionally, setting up a framework for monitoring and evaluating KPIs will ensure that progress is continually assessed and adjustments are made, as needed, based on performance data.

Human-AI collaboration in AI implementation

Airlines must also foster a culture of unified human-AI collaboration during the early stages of AI implementation. Building AI into internal processes before passing the information along to a customer is a great way to mitigate risk while still realising benefits like operational efficiencies. Providing training programmes and workshops to employees will also ensure they have the expertise required to correctly apply the technology. With a detailed understanding of AI systems, employees will be able to better support customers and therefore improve the customer experience (CX).

It is also important to note that the overall effectiveness of AI depends on the quality of the data it processes. Incorrect data can lead to damaging outcomes – such as AI chatbots providing incorrect information – which can lead to customer dissatisfaction and reputational damage.

For example, AI chatbots have the potential to incorrectly answer customer questions, which can result in penalties for the business if found responsible for negligent misrepresentation. Situations like this emphasise the importance of ensuring AI accuracy and reliability.

So, before full-scale deployment, airlines must invest in rigorous testing of AI tools in controlled environments, to identify potential issues and ensure that the datasets are comprehensive and accurate. Additionally – in the early days – while data and models are continuing to evolve, brands may also want to provide human reviews of any content that is customer-facing to further mitigate any misinformation risks.

Selecting the right tools for enhanced airline operations and CX

Quantum Metric research has revealed that a staggering 98% of business leaders are overwhelmed by the number of Gen AI tools available today. Airlines can approach this challenge by ruling out tools that are not appropriate for their specific business goals, do not address their unique challenges and cannot integrate with their technological processes. For many airlines, focusing on improving CX should be a key priority. In an often-commoditised space, where travellers frequently prioritise the best price, differentiation through superior digital experiences has become essential.

Because of this, airlines need to ensure that every interaction, from booking to boarding, is seamless and satisfying. Customer loyalty is fragile. In fact, 86% of customers will abandon a brand they were previously loyal to after just one or two bad experiences. Considering the importance of CX, airlines should select AI tools that add tangible value to customers, so that they choose to return in the future.

An example of an AI tool that does this is self-service chatbots. Self-service has become a critical component of the travel experience – meeting customer expectations for convenience while driving operational efficiencies and cost savings for airlines. These chatbots can provide quick and effective customer support during the booking experience, saving customers time that may have otherwise been spent trying to fix the issue over the phone.

However, not every customer is comfortable using new technology to seek support, particularly the older generation. It is important that airlines strike a balance between self-service offerings and personalised support to meet a range of customer needs.

Enhancing customer understanding through AI

Some AI tools can also add value to airlines’ customer understanding, and this clearer understanding of what drives customers can help them determine their business goals and objectives. For example, technology such as automated session summarisation can equip airlines with complete visibility into the customer journey and how passengers interact with the airline at every touchpoint. These insights can then help address friction points and highlight where tangible improvements to an airline’s operations can be made. Technological changes like this can be the difference between making a one-off purchase or becoming a regular customer.

The integration of Gen AI presents a significant opportunity for airlines to enhance their operations and customer experience. By investing time to understand the risks involved, follow best practices, evaluate the customer journey, and carefully select the right tools and data to feed the model and evaluate your success criteria, airlines can approach AI adoption strategically. This will lead to mitigated risks and ensure that AI investments deliver tangible value for both individual airlines and the wider airline industry.