WORLDTECHFlight Centre Global Leisure puts AI agents to work on holiday itineraries
Flight Centre Global Leisure has built and deployed AI agents that help its travel advisors piece together complex holiday itineraries and give customers quick replies to their questions, according to a report by iTnews. The company's chief product officer says the agent has helped grow sales, raise average booking value and lower the cost of service.
Agents serve advisors and customers
The agents work on two fronts. For advisors, they gather material from many sources and assemble it into a complete trip. For customers, they offer what the company calls instant responses to questions.
Wendie Lee, chief product officer for technology, sales and service, outlined the role in a broadcast interview on the sidelines of the Salesforce Dreamforce conference. In her account, advisors can add their own expertise to the agent's draft, rather than searching for each detail across a broad network of travel suppliers themselves.
Operational gains beyond planning
Lee said designing a holiday is more complicated than it looks, because it spans air travel, land arrangements and tours. Beyond the immediate task of building itineraries, she said the agent is making a measurable operational difference, which shows up in productivity and revenue.
Lee said the agent has grown sales, raised average booking value and lowered the cost of service. These are the company's own claims as relayed in the interview.
Rollout planned across all brands
Flight Centre intends to bring AI agents into every one of its leisure brands and functions, a plan supported by new executive appointments, according to the report.
Open questions
- What figures sit behind the reported gains in sales, booking value and cost of service?
- When will the rollout across all leisure brands and functions be completed?