Artificial Intelligence ‘is transforming our business’, says eDreams ODIGEO

European OTA claims to be seeing gains from latest deployment of its intelligent tech

European OTA group eDreams ODIGEO claims to have seen signs of a significant positive impact on the relevance of search results having deployed Artificial Intelligence.

The Opodo parent has reported it has achieved “greater personalisation” for its users following the deployment of its latest AI search engine tech.

It said almost three-quarters of users (72%) that have conducted a previous search, now order the first recommended travel option provided to them in a subsequent search.

This represents an increase of 17% since the technology was introduced at the end of last year, eDreams said.

Algorithms developed by eDreams for its search engine make predictions on results that will better meet each traveller’s requirements.

It collates the user’s previous selections alongside dozens of additional criteria and data points as well as aggregated data from 1.7 billion monthly searches from users.

“Providing truly personalised travel experiences is a key priority for the business as it strongly enhances the customer experience, making it easier and faster for travellers to book the travel option that is most convenient and tailored to their individual needs and preferences, which ultimately means cost, effort and time savings for travellers,” eDreams said.

“The accuracy of this technology reduces the need for users to manually use filters, spend time browsing, comparing and building different itineraries on their own, as the platform makes all the necessary combinations and calculations on their behalf, and in a matter of seconds.

“When given personalised and tailored-made travel propositions, users are more likely to complete their bookings after making a search on the platform, translating more searches into bookings. The business has seen a growth in conversion rates following the implementation of this enhanced AI solution.”

Christoph Dieterle, chief product and retail officer, said: “Machine-based learning is transforming the way we do business by enabling us to offer a better shopping experience and personalised itineraries for our customers.

“Over the past five years, we have invested heavily in developing proprietary technology to industrialise data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence across our organisation, and we are excited to see such positive results in improving the traveller experience.

“With this latest enhancement, we offer our customers unique tools that dramatically improve their ability to search and book for the most convenient travel products.

“Our ambition is to go above and beyond to continue being a leader in the application of Machine Learning and AI at scale in the travel sector, driving continuous innovation and serving as a lighthouse for the wider industry.

“As a technology company and the second-largest flight retailer in the world, we leverage our unrivalled data to create superior itineraries and offers for the 17 million travellers that book with us every year.”