Air India has achieved a historic feat by deploying the world’s first Generative AI Virtual Agent ‘Maharaja’ powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI service. Launched in March 2023, Maharaja has efficiently addressed over 500,000 customer queries and currently handles over 6,000 daily inquiries in Hindi, English, French and German.
The Maharaja AI agent efficiently handles a wide range of customer queries spanning 1,300 sectors related to flight details, baggage allowances, check-in procedures and more. Speaking in four languages, it provides instant answers to more than 80 per cent of daily queries, with the remaining 15 per cent automatically transferred to Air India’s contact center for further assistance.
How does Air India’s ‘Maharaja’ work?
By fully utilizing Generative AI technology, Air India employs ChatGPT to analyze complex queries, thereby enhancing the customer experience in subsequent interactions. This approach allows the airline’s newest customer service channel to continuously learn and improve while embracing the nuances of natural language. Air India adopts a strategy that integrates various traditional machine learning techniques with generative AI to deliver an engaging consumer-grade experience while implementing safeguards to prevent biased or harmful language in its conversational AI systems .
Moving away from rule-based or keyword-centric chatbots, generative AI solutions understand the intent and context of user questions, generating natural and consistent responses. This not only increases user satisfaction but also reduces dependence on human intervention, automating routine tasks like booking, cancellation and confirmation. This automation frees up human agents to focus on more complex and value-added interactions.
In the coming months, Air India intends to introduce advanced features powered by patent-pending technologies. It includes an innovative user experience that revolutionizes the way customers interact with AI agents through a mix of textual and graphical interactions to potentially speed up customer interactions. Some of these innovations, developed over more than two years, aim to enhance the existing AI agent with data-driven deep-personalization capabilities, turning it into a trusted personal assistant for all air travel needs. The expanded capabilities of the AI agent will include travel inspiration and streamlined booking experiences, with plans for additional support for Indian languages also in progress.
