United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Airline replaces all call centres with chatbots
In a victory for automation over the human touch, budget airline AirAsia has closed its voice call centres in favour of going all-in on AI chatbots.
The airline’s chief customer happiness officer Adam Geneave admitted the move was ‘controversial’ but says the future of customer service is messaging and voice artificial intelligence.
The company has full confidence in its Ava chatbot.
"We’re so proud of Ava. She’s done some amazing work for our guests. We weren’t the first airline to launch a chatbot but we really believe we’ve launched one of the best and through Ava you can book a flight, you can add things to your booking, you can change details, she can answer hundreds of questions," Geneave said.
Ava is part of the airline’s Salesforce platform and when the bot cannot provide an answer it switches to Salesforce live chat.
"We had nine different call centres, we had different systems managing our call centres and our live chat and our social media, and we’ve been able to bring all those things together into that omni-channel environment," he said.
"Nobody wants to sit on hold to a voice call centre anymore. Life is about messaging,"
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Tony from Gatto’s Pizza on Columbus’s Unique Pizza Trail
Sophia Hyder Hock on Global Social Inclusion in Tourism
Sustainable Tourism: Don Welsh on Community Values and Global Collaboration
Jane Cunningham: Enhancing European Engagement in Tourism
Kristin Dunne: Navigating Destination Strategy
Revolutionizing Mobile Connectivity: Boris Bijlstra on HUBBY eSIM
Capturing Glasgow’s Vibrancy: An Interview with Susan Deighan, Chief Executive of Glasgow Life
Lebua Hotel & Resorts: Rajan Khurana on Hospitality and Bangkok’s Charms
Sustainable Tourism and Growth: Insights from Chiravadee Khunsub from Tourism Authority of Thailand
Revolutionizing Travel: SmartSIM USA’s Dale Takio Unveils the Power of E Sims
TravelMole Interview with Hishan Singhawansa, Deputy CEO of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, Sri Lanka
Unveiling the Essence of Magari Tours: A Dive into Authentic Italian Experiences
Abercrombie & Kent hails $500 million funding boost
British Airways passengers endure 11-hour 'flight to nowhere'
CLIA: Anti-cruise demos could cause itinerary changes in Europe
Gatwick braces for strike
Co-pilot faints, easyJet flight issues ‘red alert’