Latam Airlines betting on genAI to gain customers and efficiency

After implementing generative AI to improve customer service, Chile’s Latam Airlines is now planning to use the technology in other parts of the operation, like fuel control and weather forecast. 

“We saw an opportunity to implement bots using genAI to provide faster service, better service and with great results,” Mauricio Ramos, the company’s transformational leader in customer experience and innovation, said during the AWS re:Invent conference.

“We have an ambition for the next few years to reduce our [call center] demand by 70%,” he said, adding that the company has achieved a reduction of 30% so far. 

A genAI bot has been launched in Brazil, Peru and Colombia. “We’re going to launch [bots] in every country we operate,” Ramos said.

Latam Airlines wants to use data based on client behavior to anticipate customer demands and engage interactively, generating more revenue by providing a better experience. “It’s a critical part of our value program,” according to Ramos.

Generative AI is also helping to improve fuel efficiency. 

Latam Airlines will use AI to predict the need for aircraft maintenance, learn about airport operations and forecast the weather. “The sky is the limit. We’re empowering our employees to bring the problem and see how it can be solved with genAI,” Ramos said in response to a question by BNamericas.

“We have to upskill our workforce and that’s one of the challenges we’re facing now.” The company is also using genAI for crew training and recently launched a data democratization program to allow the workforce to utilize company data and use it to boost the AI drive. 

Latam Airlines is using AWS for its AI applications but has chosen Google Cloud for its infrastructure. 

The airline is the largest carrier in South America, with 35,000 employees and operations in five markets. Last year, the company transported over 74mn passengers and is about to surpass 80mn this year.