Now more
than 18 months since the launch of ChatGPT, early excitement about generative artificial
intelligence has shifted to the more challenging work of finding practical use
cases, with a focus on ones that drive greater efficiency, automation and,
ideally, cost-savings or even revenue- generation, for companies.
But where
and how to begin – particularly when new capabilities seems to come out every
week – can be challenging.
Cesc
Vilanova and Riky Vittoria have both been working with artificial intelligence and
its application to travel for many years. In 2014, Vilanova co-founded Sam, an AI-powered virtual travel assistant
that was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group in 2018. In 2015, Vittoria co-founded 30SecondstoFly, an AI-powered booking engine that Amex GBT acquired in
2020.
Last year both started new companies focused on helping companies put AI to
work – Vilanova’s Agent Studio and Vittoria’s
Acai Travel, a PhocusWire
Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2024.
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In a conversation in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright
Europe, Vilanova and Vittoria offer practical tips for travel industry stakeholders
who are determining how to put AI into action.
“What really
delivers the best ROI in the smallest amount of time is to select these smaller
wins that can be highly deployable,” Vittoria said.
The two also
share their take on autonomous agents – “The expectation is that more and more
software products won’t require users to click on buttons,” Vilanova said.
Watch the full discussion below.