• TL;DR: Remember IBM Watson, the robot that once won a million dollars on the TV show Jeopardy!? Its not-so-distant cousin has picked up a side hustle in the travel industry.

• So what? If you’re planning a round the world trip with a oneworld airline, it just got a whole lot easier.

In a major development for the travel industry oneworld Alliance, a leading global airline business that's home to American Airlines, Qantas, British Airways and more, and Elemental Cognition, an innovative artificial intelligence company, have successfully completed initial trials of their cutting-edge booking tool designed to simplify the process of planning a "round the world" ticket. 

Elemental Cognition was founded by Dr. David Ferrucci, the renowned AI researcher and inventor of IBM’s breakthrough Watson technology. In 2008 Watson, a question answering machine, competed against two of the most successful contestants on the TV show Jeopardy! and won $USD1million in a clean sweep.

What makes "round the world" tickets so complex?

As global travel increases post-pandemic, the demand for round the world tickets is on the rise. Round the world tickets offer travelers the opportunity to explore multiple destinations with numerous flight combinations, making them one of the most lucrative and complex products in the travel industry. Despite the increasing shift towards booking travel online, a significant portion of these multi-layered trips is still booked through human travel agents because of their expertise in managing the intricacies involved in curating the right flights, layovers and connections.

oneworld and Elemental Cognition join forces

Spotting the challenge, oneworld Alliance teamed up with Elemental Cognition (EC). Their brainchild? An AI Travel Agent that marries human-like charm with the efficiency of machine learning. By harnessing EC's cutting-edge reasoning, natural language understanding, and dialogue capabilities, the duo have designed an entity that intuitively navigates complex itineraries, considering every moving piece in the travel puzzle.

"As our customers plan their next international adventure, we are focused on improving the experience for travellers booking a oneworld Round the World ticket. We've partnered with Elemental Cognition to elevate the technology powering our booking experience and ease the challenges our customers face when planning such complex journeys," said oneworld CEO, Rob Gurney.

Dr. David Ferrucci, CEO of Elemental Cognition, also shared his excitement remarking,"We are thrilled to partner with oneworld to deliver a transformative digital experience to its customers. Accommodating customer preferences while navigating complex product rules and ever-changing flight availability is a perfect demonstration of the power of our AI technology. It is great to see it help oneworld's customers transform their travel ideas into their dream trip."

How AI can change the travel booking experience

Through advanced language models and machine learning algorithms, the AI Travel Agent developed by oneworld and EC seamlessly interacts with travellers, mimicking the personalised experience of a human travel expert. The AI agent takes a customer's unique needs, preferences, and aspirations, guiding them through a diverse range of travel options while considering ever changing flight availabilities. The AI agent can intuitively comprehend a customer's requirements, assist them in evaluating various options and trade-offs, and proactively alert them to potential issues with their travel plans.

Results from the AI travel agent trials

Early results of the AI Travel Agent trials are promising. Travellers who embraced the technology reported a fourfold increase in successfully creating bookable itineraries that perfectly align with their travel plans compared to traditional online booking experience. The personalised and proactive approach of the AI Travel Agent has proven to be a game-changer for those seeking a seamless and tailored booking process.

Shaping the future of travel booking

The partnership between oneworld and EC marks a significant milestone in the evolution of travel booking. As the industry continues to adapt to the digital age, the collaboration exemplifies the potential of AI to enhance and elevate the travel experience. 

By bridging the gap between human intuition and AI's computational capabilities, the AI Travel Agent sets a precedent for a more streamlined and efficient future for travellers worldwide. With oneworld and Elemental Cognition leading the way, the convergence of human intelligence and machine learning in travel booking is poised to change the way we explore the world.