Voice Search Now Available on EasyJet App
EasyJet is poised to include a system in its app that enables users to use their voice to perform searches conversationally. The Speak Now function incorporates Google’s machine-learning-based technology Dialogflow. Google claims that the technology will allow for more natural conversation from chatbots. EasyJet will utilize the engine to ask conversational questions to users in the app to help the system garner the necessary information for putting together a package for the user.
The aim is primarily to discourage users that find using the app tedious. By implementing a bot that can naturally process and create statements, the company hopes to turn its app into less of a disconnected experience and more of an immersive one. By removing the need to interact with the numerous clicks and taps that the user would typically have to face, EasyJet is aiming to streamline its service delivery. In doing so, EasyJet will be the first airline booking company in the world to implement this feature.
Natural Language Processing to the Rescue
Google’s Dialogflow is at the heart of innovation. Developed through iterative machine learning methodology, the system supports casual conversation in over twenty languages. What makes the engine unique is its ability to understand regional dialects and accents. EasyJet sees this as a method of attracting a broader base of clients, since having an appl that can interact with them in their native tongue would be a significant win for the company.
EasyJet intends to build voice interaction into the system, ultimately, to have customers interact with the app without having to deal with the screen at all. With the large number of users that use mobile devices for their flight booking, EasyJet may have struck gold with their innovation. Consumers are already well versed in using personal assistants like Siri or Google Assistant, so this innovation seems like a natural step and one that won’t confuse users in its implementation.
