A researcher from the University of Missouri used an artificial intelligence (A.I.) program to find ways to improve airlines for customers. After the program analyzed customer reviews it came up with eleven changes that would improve the airlines. Some of the suggested airline improvements included more flexible seating arrangements, self-cleaning bathrooms, luggage trackers, and personal comfort settings for each seat.
Sharan Srinivas, an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Marketing, had an A.I. program analyze 400,000 customer reviews for six major airlines. He sorted through the information and developed algorithms that identified the most common themes in the reviews. Then Srinivas determined the customer’s positive or negative view toward each of the identified themes. This would allow airlines to better understand the customer experience.
Srinivas said in a news release that airlines can use this information to determine their next steps as a company. “The ultimate goal is to help inform these airlines about what the customer is actually thinking,” Srinivas said. “It’s impossible to hear every customer and potential customer’s voice, especially for bigger airlines, but our software and recommendations will significantly assist the airlines in thinking about things from a consumer perspective.”
Suggestions from the A.I program.
The A.I. program saw the most common complaint is issues with seating. It suggested that airlines offer more flexible seating arrangements. Faster TSA lines was also on the list of suggestions from the A.I program. Its solution was to use biometrics like face recognition to I.D. everyone. This sounds a lot faster than showing a boarding pass and I.D. at the airport. Another A.I. recommendation on the list is to “Provide more frequent and automated baggage-related updates to passengers’ phones.”
Everyone who has traveled can certainly agree with a thing or two from the A.I.’s suggestion list.