Dive Brief:
- Alaska Airlines’ AI-powered natural language search tool, Alaska Inspires, helps customers cut destination planning time by 75%, according to a Microsoft blog post Wednesday.
- The tool, which was built using Microsoft Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models, lets users discover, compare and book travel options. Alaska Inspires supports more than 90 languages and voice input.
- Alaska Inspires connects to the airline’s Atmos Loyalty Program, which can enable it to personalize recommendations based on members’ points, status and travel goals.
Dive Insight:
Alaska Airlines sees Alaska Inspires as an opportunity to make travel discovery an emotional journey rather than a transactional one.
The carrier found that customers were spending an average of 40 hours researching trips to new destinations and often felt overwhelmed by the options, according to the blog post. Alaska Airlines includes a “Where We Fly” option in its website menu, but fewer than 1% of visitors clicked on it.
“We realized that dreaming about and discovering all-new travel destinations isn’t an analytical problem,” Bernadette Berger, director of innovation at Alaska Airlines, said in a prepared statement. “It’s one of passion that must take personal preferences and emotional desires into account.”
Since its public launch in June 2024, Alaska Inspires has achieved a 7% conversion rate, outperforming the standard 5%, according to the blog post. It has received a 90% guest satisfaction rating and 87% of customers say they will use the tool again.
Alaska is looking to personalize the Alaska Inspires experience even more and is exploring new use cases across HR, finance and operations within the airline.
Alaska isn’t the only airline exploring the potential generative AI can have on the travel experience. In October, Delta Air Lines rolled out Delta Concierge, its AI-powered digital travel assistant, to a small number of app users who are also loyalty members.
Delta customers can use natural language text or voice queries to interact with Delta Concierge and receive tailored recommendations. The tool offers proactive guidance, such as notifying customers of upcoming passport expiration, as well.
