Travel companies partner up in chatbot technology
Online travel booking and expense management company Serko and Orbit World Travel have signed a deal to offer a new artificial intelligence travel system to corporate travellers.
The agreement is multiyear and will see Orbit World Travel offer the Zeno chatbot platform to its New Zealand customers.
Zeno has been developed by Serko and uses intelligent technology, predictive workflows and a global travel marketplace and the company says it will transform business travel across the entire journey.
Serko chief executive Darrin Grafton said Zeno would deliver Orbit’s customers more efficient corporate travel programmes through online adoption, travel-saving optimisation and an amazing traveller experience.
“This agreement means Serko has now established agreements as a preferred online booking tool across all major corporate travel management companies in Australia and New Zealand.”
The voice-controlled Zeno app officially relaunched to investors in Auckland yesterday and will soon be in Britain and the United States.
Developed with support from Microsoft, the Zeno booking platform uses artificial intelligence to allow customers to book travel through voice recognition. Through AI, Zeno can now learn customers’ preferred hotels, predict whether they’ll be travelling from home or work depending on the time of day and generate customised itineraries in the same way a trusted agent might have done in the past.
Serko says Zeno’s intuitive interface eliminates the need for user training to maximise adoption and decentralise travel management.