Air India, in partnership with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service, has introduced an innovative AI virtual agent named ‘Maharaja’. This groundbreaking initiative makes Air India the first airline to deploy a generative AI virtual agent capable of answering up to 6,000 customer queries daily in four different languages.
Maharaja has already responded to over half a million customer queries since its pilot launch in March 2023. The AI agent covers a wide range of topics, including flight status, baggage allowances, refunds, and more. With extensive training across 1,300 topics, Maharaja ensures that customers receive accurate and prompt assistance.
One of the significant features of Maharaja is its multilingual support, currently available in Hindi, English, French, and German. This allows Air India to cater to a diverse range of customers worldwide. The company proudly reports that over 80% of the queries are successfully answered within seconds by Maharaja. For the remaining 15% of queries requiring additional support, Maharaja efficiently redirects them to Air India’s contact center agents.
Dr. Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India, emphasized the airline’s commitment to delivering exceptional service and adapting to changing customer preferences. The emergence of generative AI capabilities has revealed a growing inclination towards chat interactions among customers, focusing on obtaining quick and direct information rather than navigating multiple web pages.
Dr. Ramaswamy highlighted the use of patent-pending innovations in Maharaja, combining traditional machine learning techniques with the latest in Generative AI, ensuring a seamless and effective customer experience. Air India also plans to introduce more innovations in the coming months, enhancing its AI agent’s capabilities.
Marco Casalaina, Vice President of AI Platform at Microsoft, expressed their satisfaction with Air India’s successful implementation of Maharaja and the use of Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to provide personalized and relevant customer experiences. This deployment symbolizes the beginning of a new era in customer service, and Microsoft looks forward to witnessing more organizations adopt the power of Generative AI and their AI-optimized Azure cloud to deliver seamless and efficient customer experiences.
Air India’s introduction of ‘Maharaja’ showcases the airline’s dedication to embracing transformative technologies and enhancing customer service. With the ability to handle thousands of customer queries daily in multiple languages, Maharaja is set to revolutionize the way Air India interacts with its passengers, providing them with the information and support they need promptly and efficiently. This move reaffirms Air India’s position as a global leader in leveraging AI-driven solutions to enhance the overall travel experience for its customers.
