MakeMyTrip on Thursday launched Myra, an AI-powered multilingual assistant that allows users to plan and book holidays in the Indian language of their choice.
The assistant is currently capable of an end-to-end conversational tour assistant that supports both voice and text and is integrated across the platform's travel services, from flights and hotels to cabs and activities.
Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Magow said that in the next few months, Myra will gradually be able to speak and text in multiple languages. It is aimed at first-time travellers from smaller towns, tier-2/3 cities who have been underserved by English-first digital platforms. Myra addresses two major friction points in the travel booking process — trip planning and post-sales support.
Although Myra can assist with individual travel bookings, it is not capable of solving complex tasks such as booking such as group tours, MICE and more. Magow clarified that Myra may be able to facilitate bookings for an individual but it lacks the complexities of negotiating, handling customer bargains, accounting for individual preferences for a group bookings or tackle emergency situations in the event of an incident with travellers unlike a dedicated tour manager on ground who will better understand the nuances of human requirements.
"Even if AI is able to do 50% of a human tour manager's work, there will still be room for workforce in other tasks and AI related human intervention," he added.
The company, he said, has been investing in artificial intelligence since 2017. He added that Myra was its most consumer-facing AI product yet. It can generate itineraries, answer queries, suggest refunds or modifications, and complete bookings in a conversational format.
Magow said the goal was to "solve for Bharat" by making travel planning accessible to users outside the metros. He added that the use of natural language will help millions of Indians book online for the first time without having to navigate complex interfaces or rely on English.
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