Two of India's largest airlines, IndiGo and Air India, are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize their customer care services. By integrating advanced AI-based tools, these airlines aim to resolve as many customer queries as possible through virtual assistants without compromising the quality of interactions.
IndiGo's Chatbot 6Eskai: A Game Changer
IndiGo, the country's leading domestic carrier, introduced its AI chatbot 6Eskai in November 2023, in collaboration with Microsoft. This chatbot is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4, a sophisticated model capable of generating text from both textual and visual inputs. The results have been impressive: the workload of IndiGo's customer service agents has dropped by 75%, and the chatbot has facilitated over 6,000 bookings and issued more than 39,000 boarding passes since March 2024.
The efficiency gains are notable. 6Eskai now transfers only 2-9% of chats to human experts, compared to the previous virtual assistant, Dottie, which transferred 14-19% of chats. This improvement has boosted overall efficiency by about 5%. IndiGo also conducts daily scans of customer interactions to continually refine the chatbot’s performance.
Air India's AI.g: Handling Millions of Queries
Air India, the largest international operator in the Indian market, has also seen significant benefits from its generative AI virtual agent, AI.g, deployed in 2023. AI.g has managed over two million customer queries, achieving a containment ratio of 93%. This means only 7% of queries require escalation to human agents.
AI.g covers over 1,300 topics, providing human-like responses enhanced with general knowledge, a feature absent in earlier AI versions. This comprehensive approach ensures that customers receive accurate and relevant information swiftly.
Pushing the Boundaries of AI in Aviation
Both airlines are exploring further AI applications to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. Air India is incorporating computer vision technologies into its mobile app and deploying AI across various marketing areas on its website and mobile platforms. Additionally, Air India has developed a CoPilot plugin for Microsoft Teams, enabling users to ask natural language questions about specific areas of the airline's functions or performance.
By leveraging these AI tools, IndiGo and Air India are not only improving customer satisfaction but also setting new standards in the aviation industry. Their commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology demonstrates a forward-thinking approach that prioritizes efficiency and customer experience.