IA: The assistance of first class

Mejora del servicio de atención al cliente en aerolíneas.

In the airline industry, a good customer service is, without a doubt, the guarantee of a pleasant travel experience. Among the main levers that allow to improve the care they are the help center and chatbots generated through artificial intelligence generative.

What are they exactly and how do they work?

Help Center: es una plataforma centralizada donde los clientes pueden encontrar respuestas a preguntas frecuentes, guías de usuario y recursos de autoayuda. Permite a los usuarios buscar información de manera autónoma y resolver problemas comunes sin necesidad de asistencia directa. Suele incluir artículos detallados, tutoriales y secciones de preguntas frecuentes que cubren una amplia gama de temas relacionados con los servicios y productos de la aerolínea.

Chatbot Artificial Intelligence Generative: this interactive chatbots use sophisticated algorithms capable of understanding what the client wants to know and respond in real-time. These types of systems also imitarían then a conversation similar to the human, providing personalized answers and correct based on the context of the question. These systems can handle a wide range of questions and complex problems, providing an experience of superior customer service, dynamics, and more functional.

1. Deployment in the Market

Several airlines have integrated chatbots and Help Centers to improve customer service and to provide a more personalized experience:

• Air Europa: Use a virtual assistant via Twitter to provide information about flights, make reservations and changes, and provide assistance in real-time.
• Volotea: Offers customer service through its web site by using a Help Center and a chatbot.
• Iberia: You have deployed a chatbot on its website that provides information about flight status, baggage, special services and more. In addition, Iberia has developed applications and skills for voice devices like Alexa and Google Assistant, and offers virtual assistance through WhatsApp.
• KLM: Have chatbots integrated into WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Twitter and WeChat to issue a boarding pass, confirm bookings, notifications, check-in and status updates of the flight.
• Aeromexico: Use WhatsApp to provide a direct channel and easy to consult flights, make reservations, ask for information, make changes, check-in and obtain your boarding pass.
• Emirates: Use chatbots to issue a boarding pass, confirm bookings, and provide notices of check-in.
• Qatar Airways: Applies to chatbots to provide information about flights, make reservations, and provide assistance in real-time.
• Singapore Airlines: You have deployed chatbots to manage bookings, provide updates of flights and assist passengers with their queries.
• Lufthansa: Uses chatbots to provide information about flights, manage bookings and provide assistance in real-time.
• Air France: You have deployed chatbots to improve the customer experience, providing real-time assistance and managing bookings.

3. Advantages and Disadvantages of the implementation.

Advantages:

• Availability 24/7: The chatbots can serve customers at any time of the day, improving user experience and reducing waiting times.
• Automation of routine tasks: You can manage frequent consultations, reservations and updates of flight, freeing the human personnel for more complex tasks.
• Reduction of costs: To automate many tasks, the airlines can reduce the operational costs associated with the customer.
• Improvement in the data collection: The chatbots can gather valuable information about the customers efficiently and friendly.
• Notifications and updates in real-time: You can send automatic reminders and notifications about flight status, improving the communication with passengers.

Disadvantages:

• Limitations in the understanding of language: The chatbots can have difficulty to understand complex queries or to nuances in the language, which can lead to incorrect answers or unsatisfactory.
• Lack of empathy: Unlike human agents, the chatbots can not show empathy or understanding of emotions, which can be a drawback in delicate situations.
• Technological dependency: The implementation and maintenance of chatbots requires an investment in technology and can present technical challenges.
• Not completely replace the human attention: Although they can handle many queries, it is still required human personnel to solve more complex problems.

How to Measure your Performance

To evaluate the integration and effectiveness of a chatbot for an airline, consider the following metrics:

1. Customer satisfaction
   • Satisfaction surveys: Conducts surveys to assess the satisfaction of users interacting with the chatbot.
   • Net Promoter Score (NPS): It measures the probability that the customers will recommend the service to others.
2. Operational Efficiency
   • Rate of Resolution in the First Contact: Percentage of queries that the chatbot resolves without the need to escalate to a human agent.
   • Average time of Resolution: Average time that it takes for the chatbot to resolve a query.
3. Reduction of workload
   • Number of Queries Handled: Number of queries handled by the chatbot in comparison with the total volume of queries.
   • Reduction of Human Interactions: Decrease in the number of queries that require human intervention.
4. Accuracy and Efficiency
   • Rate of Correct Understanding: Percentage of queries that the chatbot understands correctly.
   • Rate Correct Answer: Percentage of responses provided by the chatbot that they are correct and useful.
5. Costs and Benefits
   • Operating Costs: Comparison between the cost of operating the chatbot and the cost of human personnel for the same volume of work.
   • Return on Investment (ROI): Measuring the financial return obtained by implementing the chatbot in relation to the investment made.
6. Interaction and User Experience
   • Dropout rate: Percentage of users who start a conversation with the chatbot, but drop out before receiving a response.
   • Frequency of Use: Number of users who use the chatbot on a recurring basis.
7. Integration with Internal Systems
   • Efficiency in the Integration: Assess how well the chatbot is integrated with the internal systems of the airline (for example, reservations, flight information, etc).
   • Data synchronization: How to sync and update data between the chatbot and other systems.