AI-powered travel assistant touted as most powerful ever

Travel technology company Mondee has rolled out a new artificial intelligence-powered planning assistant named Abhi, which the firm says is the most powerful in the industry.

The Austin, Texas-based company introduced Abhi this week in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the firm going public on Nasdaq and says the new tool’s ability to generate a fully bookable travel itinerary within the Mondee Marketplace is revolutionary.

Mondee has been developing Abhi for years, and the new tool combines several technologies, including generative AI, deep learning, computer vision and a recommendation engine. It was created using the power of multiple AI engines, including Google’s Bard, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and IBM’s Watson.

Mondee says Abhi can “engage in meaningful conversations, understand complex queries and offer comprehensive responses.” It also creates personalized travel guides.

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During the virtual launch event of Abhi Wednesday, Mondee founder, Chairman and CEO Prasad Gundumogula demonstrated how the tool works.

Gundumogula asked Abhi what the trendiest beach club in Greece is for someone in her 30s who likes house music, and the chatbot immediately recommended a club called Paradiso on the island of Mykonos.

When prompted for a full itinerary for a five-day trip to Mykonos, Abhi presented options for other attractions based on travelers’ interests and suggested a day-to-day plan along with booking options for flights, hotels and activities.

Gundumogula said Abhi is also capable of connecting travelers with local experts to offer real-time guidance. The CEO used the example of someone planning an important event, such as a wedding in Paris. Abhi can assist in finding a specialized expert on the ground there or help in finding the perfect venue in the city.

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“With the launch of the new Mondee Marketplace, we have introduced the most powerful, and the only truly integrated, AI travel planning assistant,” Orestes Fintiklis, Mondee vice chairman and chief corporate strategy and business development officer, told FOX Business in a statement. 

“Abhi is the first fully-integrated AI platform, not just chatting but interacting and making actual bookings, even producing a customized, day-by-day travel guide, taking personalization to an entirely new level.”

The company says Abhi will only continue to improve.

“In addition to our first mover advantage of being the first to launch a fully-integrated AI travel platform, Mondee’s unique ecosystem is giving us an edge. AI is all about data,” Fintiklis said. “Not only do we have the data from 50 million searches per day on our platform, but, more importantly, we have more than 65,000 experts already using our platform.

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“Using the data and connectivity to our growing database of travel experts, our AI will evolve and learn and become even more powerful over time.”

Mondee is not a household name, but the company’s technology is used by travel agents and 100 million travelers annually who belong to membership clubs. 

The company’s global network includes more than 500 airline partners, over 1 million hotels and rentals and 50-plus cruise lines, offering booking for travel experts, influencers and individuals. It specializes in coordinating group travel for organizations. The Mondee Marketplace offers travel content in about 20 languages.