Customers can now search easily for KLM flights by giving spoken instructions in Dutch as well as English. KLM is among the first companies to offer services for multiple languages through this voice-activated platform.
KLM’s smart assistant, Blue Bot, known as BB, helps customers find a suitable KLM-flight. Once the desired flight has been found, BB sends the customer a link, which takes them straight to KLM.com where they can book the flight directly. KLM’s Blue Bot is based on artificial intelligence, which is linked to a combination of KLM and external technologies.
BB is self-learning: the more she is used, the smarter and more personal she becomes. BB has been around for some time in English and was already able to assist with the booking of a ticket through Messenger and the packing of a suitcase on the Google Assistant. Now she can be used to search for a flight through the Google Assistant in both English and Dutch and will soon offer more services on this voice-activated platform and other social media channels in the coming period.
The Dutch Google Assistant is currently only available for the Google Assistant on smartphones and tablets but will later be expanded to include other mobile devices.
“Voice control will rapidly change the world. Consumers are discovering and using voice applications more and more in their everyday lives,” says Pieter Groeneveld, Senior Vice President Digital, Air France-KLM. “KLM wants to be present on the platforms where its customers are and that automatically means a platform like the Google Assistant. Providing the option to search for flights using voice commands in multiple languages is the next strategic step. In the interest of KLM’s passengers and in line with our pioneering spirit, we are already looking forward to new voice applications. We aim to remain the frontrunner in online services worldwide.”
Notably, KLM was also the first airline in the world to offer passengers the option of receiving their flight documents and status updates on WhatsApp, Messenger and Twitter. It was also the first Western airline to offer this on the Chinese platform WeChat.
