Generative AI in Tourism Customer Service: 7 Use Cases
In 2024, Generative AI is one of the hottest topics in Customer Experience circles. Tourism businesses that were early adopters of generative AI are seeing transformative results, with case studies (including some of our own) reporting happier customers and staff that can lean on AI at key points in the customer journey.
Tourism industry surveys often remind us how important it is to get customer service right. Recently, TravelWeekly found that customer service was the main reason why travellers chose a service provider.
Here are seven use cases where generative AI can help tour operators, attractions and hotels to level up their customer experience.
1. Tour Pick-Up Times and Locations
One of the most common queries that tour customers have is, “What time is our pick-up from our hotel?” Whenever we’re dealing with large lists, human error can creep in. The pick-up process is one of the most delicate operations for tour operators where miscommunication can spiral into a logistical nightmare, especially when dealing with multiple pick-up points and diverse customer groups.
Generative AI products, like Clever Compose AI, can read customer emails regarding pick-up times or locations, then review your full Knowledge Bank in a second before drafting a reply with the precise pick-up time and any other useful details. This ensures that customers receive accurate and timely information, reducing confusion and enhancing the customer experience.
2. Tour Package Inclusions and Exclusions
Customers often have questions about what is included in their tour packages. Generative AI, when connected to your Knowledge Bank, has the power to provide efficient and detailed responses about inclusions and exclusions. Many Clever Compose AI clients have 50+ context documents and website links that make the AI truly unique for their business, like having another well-trained customer service team member available 24/7.
Providing expert-level details on what’s included in the tour and what’s amazing about that experience gives the customer the confidence and encouragement to confirm the booking. Customizable response lengths (brief, detailed, or matching the style of the enquiry) ensure that each customer gets the information they need in a format they prefer.
3. Multi-Lingual Support
Your customers come from all over the globe with varying English language abilities. So, communicating with customers in their native language can be useful, particularly when dealing with groups. Generative AI is used extensively globally – so it is essentially ‘native’ in our most commonly spoken languages. Clever Compose AI, for example, supports English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German, French, Japanese, Italian, and Portuguese. The AI can also match regional dialects, ensuring seamless communication with international clients.
Written replies to initial enquiry emails in foreign languages can be managed far more easily, especially when including details from your Knowledge Bank in the response.
4. English Language Version Support
Which English language version best matches your brand? Casual Australian English or Professional UK English? Perhaps Casual American English is more appropriate. When you’re communicating with a tour operator, attraction, or hotel, customers expect their written response to be in line with the country that you’re based in.
A reply with a warm “G’day Susan!” from an Australian bike tour company is more likely to surprise and delight the customer who is already very excited about their upcoming trip.
Most generative AI tools have similar functionality in this regard. Clever Compose AI can generate responses in different tones (professional, casual, or matching the sentiment of the enquiry) and three different English language versions.
5. Sentiment Analysis and Responding in the Customer’s Tone
Understanding and responding to the emotional tone of customer enquiries is crucial for maintaining positive interactions. Generative AI can perform sentiment analysis on incoming messages, allowing it to tailor responses that match the customer's emotional state.
In a busy tour reservations office, it can be a real challenge to respond with the right energy and sentiment every time. Clients of Clever Compose AI have told us that this is one of its strengths. No matter how busy the office is or what time it is, the AI is always consistent. Whether it’s addressing a complaint with empathy or sharing in the excitement of a booking, AI drafts responses that ensure every interaction is personalized.
6. Review Responses
Responding to reviews can be time-consuming and stressful. A one-star review can have a small team involved in trying to solve the issue and create a positive and fair outcome that protects the reputation of the business.
Generative AI can draft fair, thoughtful, and professional responses to customer reviews, addressing concerns and highlighting your commitment to excellent service.
By weaving AI tools into this customer service task, you can ensure that every review, positive or otherwise, is managed efficiently and consumes less mental bandwidth of your CX team.
7. Consistent Replies Across Your CX Team Members
Every staff member has a unique personality and lived experience; it flows through every task we complete in the workplace. Some customer service team members will be the best at responding to reviews, others will have a lot of operations experience or the friendliest tone.
Consistency is the key to repeat bookings and recommendations. A recent PWC survey found that one in three consumers (32%) say they will walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience.
Generative AI can be used to improve consistency in responses. If, like Clever Compose AI, your AI is trained well, then all draft email replies that it creates will have a consistent brand tone and consistent level of detail. This enables every one of your customer service team to have an excellent starting point. In 90% of cases, your team members might not need to change anything at all before hitting reply to the customer. This can bring peace of mind to managers, knowing that part-time cover staff can lean on the AI instead of a senior colleague who is already at maximum capacity.
Start a Trial Today with Clever Compose AI
Ready to transform your customer service operations? Start a free trial with Clever Compose AI or request a demo. It really does takes just 10 or 15 minutes to set up – a great step towards leveling up your customer experience. Once set up, it only reads emails you ask it to and always requires a human to check before sending. Clever Compose AI could be the best team member you could add to your bookings team.
