Sabre has launched a new customer service chatbot designed for use by airlines, online travel agencies and travel management companies. Designed in partnership with conversational artificial intelligence specialist Mindsay, the "virtual assistant" chatbot integrates directly into Sabre's global distribution platform, enabling it to automatically resolve a variety of requests, from simple questions to complex booking modifications, Sabre said.
The virtual assistant enables airlines, OTAs and TMCs to resolve up to 70 percent of customer requests without including a live agent, thereby "significantly reducing" call and live chat volumes, according to Sabre. With bots handling the majority of common customer requests, travel agents can focus on solving the most urgent and complex requests, Sabre said.
European OTA Kilroy is the first Sabre customer to integrate the solution, using the chatbot to automate customer requests including modifying and canceling flights, qualifying refund requests, providing flight status, check-in info, and access to boarding passes and answering commonly asked questions about baggage allowance, travel restrictions and other topics.