ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, has the potential to revolutionize the travel industry, as it can use natural language search to determine customer intent. Personalization has been a challenge in travel despite loyalty programs, and companies have struggled to purchase data to enhance personalization. However, ChatGPT has the potential to change this by combining customer data with chat information to provide personalized search results and products.
Natural language search allows ChatGPT to better understand customer intent, such as for a romantic vacation, which enables it to customize search results. The chatbot can analyze the customer’s words and optimize the resort choices, select images, and display reviews specific to the customer’s preference. However, interpreting language can be tricky, but data stored in a dusty loyalty warehouse can help ChatGPT to know about previous choices and convince the customer to hit the buy button.
Capturing customer intent from chat leads to personalization beyond the shopping and buying process, as it can be displayed on the hotel point-of-sale system at check-in or even sent to the property before the guest arrives. This information helps the hotel to greet guests according to their anniversary visit or to provide room amenities, such as surfing gear if the property knows that the guest is coming for surfing. This information can help connect the traveler to their travel goals and the right property.
ChatGPT is changing travel search for the better, and travel habits and intent will help foster this change. Senior citizens will appreciate travel sites that consider their preferences and needs and recommend hotels that are quieter than ones that rave about non-stop rooftop bar music. ChatGPT‘s personalized search results and relevant travel products will make travel experiences more wonderful and memorable.
Terry Jones, the founder of Travelocity, the founding chairman of Kayak, and the co-founder of Wayblazer, authored the article.
