Imagine yourself out on Maldives luxury holidays for the very first time in your life, standing amidst a sea of unknown faces. Your stomach growls, signalling it’s time for lunch, but you can’t find a single eatery within the vicinity.
This is where panic starts to build in. But hold on!
Let us tell you. A mere tap of your phone will dissolve all your worries. Yes, we are referring to the AI-powered travel assistants, that define the future of travel, springing into action and providing you with the local nearby suggestions by simply translating the signs.
The cherry on top is, that these travel tools are precise enough to predict the current crowd levels at the respective premises at the moment, acting as your personal guide and linguist, all rolled into one. Amazing, isn’t it?
Gone are the days when people used to carry piles of guidebooks to understand the basics of any new site they wanted to explore. AI-travel tools have entirely changed the way people travel, making their journey more tailored and fulfilling than before.
Let’s discover together how AI gained fame in travel, how these tools work, and how they have changed the travel game.
How AI Rose to Fame in the Travel Industry?
The impact of AI on travel is quite a notable one, though it has drastically impacted other industries as well. The travel sector is a perfect playground to leverage AI’s powerful capabilities. Before, there used to be a complex network of bookings, data management, and suggestions, but thanks to modern times AI travel assistants that have made the entire process much quicker and easier.
Utilising machine learning (ML) algorithms, managing large chunks of data has become easier, and that is what helps these AI-powered tools to evolve from being simple chatbots to highly functional and trustworthy travel companions.
Below are some of the ways AI is helping the travel industry at the moment:
- Personalisation: Utilising past insights, AI can tailor recommendations to provide highly-tailored experiences to millions of users. This includes past travels, stated travel needs, and search history. Before, only high-end travel firms used to provide such high levels of personalisation, which is easily achievable now with AI travel tools.
- Quick and Timely Solutions: In case a last-minute change is required, these tools tend to quickly adapt to these changes. Whether one needs to find an alternate route due to weather, or alternate activities to try, with an AI-travel assistant, they can quickly get real-time insights and solutions to their respective concerns.
- Informed Decisions: Analysing trends and patterns in travel, AI tools help travellers to make more informed decisions. A few of these choices include the prediction of the best time to book flights, crowd levels at certain places, and the best time to travel to specific sites based on local festivities and factors such as weather.
- Risk Management: From tracking the flight status and other safety factors, these tools can acquire real-time security updates, alerting travellers about any possible health risks or issues in their chosen destination. Some tools can even gather information from social media platforms and news sources for accurate reporting on local conditions.
Top 5 AI-Powered Tools to Consider in 2024-25
Now that we have become much more familiar with AI-based tools and how they work, it’s time to look int the top tool recommendations for 2024-25, that can help you enjoy a hassle-free and informed voyage.
1. Google Travel
Google’s AI integration provides a smooth experience from trip planning and flight booking to onsite exploration and activities to try in a particular location. The tool is robust enough to track and learn from your web search history and preferences and provides tailored suggestions accordingly. The entire Google eco-system integrates AI features across its services including:
- Google Lens, to aptly translate real-time menus and signs, and identify different landmarks for gathering more relevant and timely insights.
- Google Flights, to predict flight delays and price trends, utilising machine learning algorithms.
- Google Maps, offering the best recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and nearby attractions, based on your interests and search history.
2. Hopper
The next on the list is Hopper, which is known mainly for flight and hotel booking, with several exciting AI features to save the costs of travelling and reduce the hassle of finding the best deals with its excellent predicting capabilities. Top highlights include:
- Secret negotiation of exclusive deals with specific airlines, to beat the current published fare and get even better rates.
- Travel support for rebooking flights and finding hotel options during times of travel disruption.
- Price prediction using Artificial Intelligence to analyse varying price points on a daily basis, and precisely suggest the best time to book hotels and flights.
3. Kayak
Kayak is another unbeatable travel app on the list, with its smart planning features leveraging AI, making it much more convenient to plan a trip that perfectly fits the travellers’ needs and budget. The app is known for its ideal suggestion of itineraries and trip planning, based on several factors such as your budget, travel style, and likings. Top features include
- Price prediction using AI to have a better idea of the fluctuating price rates and the expected fall in prices, to book the cheapest possible option accordingly.
- Hands-free travel, utilising voice-based searches and integrated smart speakers to save the travellers from the hassle of typing, and simply operating on voice commands.
4. Airbnb
This is the name that certainly needs no introduction and is almost the go-to choice of every second traveller. The app strives to help individuals find a safe and reliable accommodation of their choice and needs. Though it is not traditionally known as an AI company, the firm has been using machine learning for a long time to hone its existing processes. Here is the list of its top AI features:
- Using smart pricing features to help the hosts optimise their prices, as per the demand, weather, local festivities, and other factors.
- Tailoring the search results using AI algorithms that track the common interests, behaviour, and preferences of the individual.
- Machine learning for finding out any bookings that might be problematic or are doubtful to consider at the moment, leading to the best and most secure decisions.
5. Snaptravel
Last but not least, to find the best hotel deals and interact with users via messaging, this platform is a highly suitable choice. It helps make the entire deal booking much easier, as you need to simply send a message, and leave the rest to the integrated AI behind the scene. Here is a glimpse of the top features of this app:
- A chatbot interface to help users look for the best hotels and book them via famous messaging apps.
- AI algorithms for finding the best deals and unpublished rates.
- Machine learning to learn from user interactions and offer them better suggestions over time.
What’s More in the Future?
As we look into the future of smart travelling, it seems brighter than ever, with the impressive capabilities of the above-mentioned digital travel companions, and many more to come.
The future assistant tools are expected to be robust enough to detect a traveller’s mood and provide suggestions accordingly. Not only this, they will be able to predict and solve travel issues before they occur in the real time.
The entire trip will be optimised using AI, keeping the right balance check on factors such as costs, time, and personal interests. With the advancements in Natural Language Processing, these assistants will allow users for an enhanced voice interaction.
So, the next time you think of planning any trip, consider these AI-based tools to help you in better planning and making informed choices, allowing you to focus on what really matters in making your journey hassle-free.
To get more insights on the latest travel trends and technology, contact Virikson Holidays and let us handle all your travel concerns.