Online travel is one of the largest and most competitive e-commerce segments in the world, with millions of customers searching, booking, and reviewing travel products and services every day. To stand out in this crowded market, online travel companies need to offer personalised, relevant, and engaging experiences to their customers, while also optimising their operations and distribution strategies.
One of the online travel companies that is at the forefront of innovation and customer satisfaction is eDreams ODIGEO, one of the world’s largest online travel companies and one of Europe’s largest e-commerce firms. eDreams ODIGEO has recently announced that it is working with Google Cloud to pioneer new developments in generative AI and advance its application in online travel.
What is generative AI and why is it important for online travel?
Generative AI is a branch of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating new content or data from existing data, such as text, images, audio, or video. Generative AI can be used for various purposes, such as data augmentation, content generation, creative design, and more.
Generative AI is especially important for online travel, as it can help online travel companies to create more personalised and tailored travel options and products for their customers, based on their needs, preferences, and context. Generative AI can also help online travel companies to improve their customer support, by providing faster and more accurate responses to customer enquiries, using natural language.
One of the key technologies that enables generative AI is large language models (LLMs), which are AI models that can process and generate natural language at a large scale, using massive amounts of data. LLMs have proven to be a game-changer in AI, as they can outperform previous algorithms in most natural language and text generation tasks.
Google Cloud is making LLMs accessible through foundational models as pre-trained APIs. Through Generative AI support in Vertex AI, eDreams ODIGEO has API access to pre-trained foundational models with built-in enterprise-grade security and governance.
How eDreams ODIGEO is using generative AI to enhance its online travel services
eDreams ODIGEO has been using its own generative AI models for data augmentation use cases, including individualised route itineraries for its Prime members, or offering personalised propositions to subscribers. The group has integrated AI into other aspects of its operations to support both its customers and its distribution strategies, such as:
- the virtual Interlining route discovery;
- the improvement of the performance of machine learning solutions in situations where actual data collection is costly such as fraud prevention, or in anticipation of hypothetical scenarios, such as demand simulations in fast-changing situations.
With Google Cloud and advanced LLMs, eDreams ODIGEO can further enhance productivity, streamline development processes, and reimagine customer engagements. To this end, eDreams ODIGEO plans to develop a range of products that will enable customers to interact with LLM-powered AI agents using natural language at various stages of their journey, from seeking inspiration for their travel and holiday to completing a booking or resolving customer enquiries.
The AI-powered agents will have a deeper understanding of each customer’s needs, preferences, and context, enabling the business to build the best-tailored travel options and bespoke products for each scenario. This represents a significant leap forward in personalising the travel booking experience while minimising the time and effort required from travellers.
In the customer support area, eDreams ODIGEO has already seen the potential of LLMs in executing highly sophisticated tasks and resolving complex customer enquiries, providing a faster resolution and better experience for users.
What are the benefits of generative AI for online travel customers and the industry?
Generative AI can bring many benefits for online travel customers and the industry, such as:
- Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, as customers can enjoy more personalised and relevant travel products and services, as well as faster and more accurate customer support.
- Increased revenue and profitability, as online travel companies can offer more value-added products and services, as well as optimise their operations and distribution strategies.
- Increased innovation and competitiveness, as online travel companies can leverage the latest advancements in AI and create new and unique travel experiences for their customers.
eDreams ODIGEO is one of the first online travel companies to pioneer generative AI in e-commerce with Google Cloud, and it is setting an example for the rest of the industry on how to leverage AI to create more value for customers and the business.
