Air India launches Generative AI Virtual Agent 'Maharaja'

Air India has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by deploying the airline industry's first Generative AI Virtual Agent named "Maharaja," powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI service. Since its successful pilot launch in March 2023, Maharaja has efficiently addressed over half a million customer queries and presently handles more than 6,000 queries daily in Hindi, English, French, and German.

Covering 1,300 areas related to flight status, baggage allowances, check-in, and more, Maharaja caters to a broad spectrum of customer queries. Fluent in four languages, the AI agent rapidly answers over 80% of daily queries within seconds. Recognising the complexity of about 15% of queries, Maharaja seamlessly transitions them to Air India's contact centre agents.

Dr Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India emphasised their commitment to delivering top-notch service and responsiveness to changing guest preferences. Maharaja employs patent-pending innovations and a blend of traditional machine learning techniques and Generative AI, with ongoing plans for further enhancements.

Air India utilises ChatGPT to analyze complex questions, ensuring continuous learning and improvement for Maharaja. The airline employs a strategic mix of traditional machine learning alongside Generative AI, with safeguards against biased or harmful language.

Generative AI, unlike rule-based chatbots, comprehends user intent and context, generating natural and coherent responses. This not only enhances user satisfaction but also automates repetitive tasks, allowing human agents to focus on more complex interactions. Air India's plans include launching sophisticated features, introducing a novel user experience, and incorporating data-driven deep-personalisation capabilities into Maharaja, transforming it into a reliable personal assistant for air travel needs.

“We are pleased to see Air India's successful deployment of their AI-powered agent, Maharaja, and the use of Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to provide a personalized and relevant customer experience. We believe that this is the beginning of a new era of customer service, and we look forward to seeing more organizations use the power of Generative AI and our AI-optimized Azure
cloud to provide a seamless and efficient customer experience,” said Marco Casalaina, Vice President, AI Platform, at Microsoft.