Skyscanner unveils search chat bot in Skype collaboration

Skyscanner unveils search chat bot in Skype collaboration

Skyscanner has collaborated with Skype to build a travel search chat bot for the global communications platform. The travel search bot for the latest version of Skype is Skyscanner’s first to offer interaction in a group chat setting. Skype users involved in a group conversation with friends or colleagues can add the Skyscanner bot in … Continue reading Skyscanner unveils search chat bot in Skype collaboration

Skyscanner has collaborated with Skype to build a travel search chat bot for the global communications platform.

The travel search bot for the latest version of Skype is Skyscanner’s first to offer interaction in a group chat setting.

Skype users involved in a group conversation with friends or colleagues can add the Skyscanner bot in to the chat and interact with the bot as if it were another group member.

The Skyscanner bot for Skype offers users the ability to search for flights, either individually or as part of a group.

It returns live prices in dollars and route options within Skype, before providing a link where users can go to complete the booking for their trip.

Earlier this year, Skyscanner became the first travel search engine to build a voice search tool for Amazon’s Alexa voice service, and more recently launched the first travel comparison bot for Facebook’s Messenger service.

Skyscanner head of bots and conversational search, David Low, said: “Skyscanner is always looking to offer our users fresh, innovative and engaging new ways to search for their travel.

“Chat bots offer something truly revolutionary by bringing travel search within the very platforms users are already interacting with on a frequent basis.

“Working with Skype on creating our bot was a natural fit for us. Travel is an inherently social activity, and so it seems completely fitting that we’ve worked with Skype – the world’s largest peer-to-peer communications platform and the first messaging platform to offer bots which can interact as part a group chat environment, to give users the ability to share the experience of finding the best flights together.”

Available for Skype users on the latest version of the platform and typing in English, the bot can be accessed and invited into any conversation
via this link and addressed in chats using @Skyscanner handle.