Concierge services built on artificial intelligence have the potential to improve the way hotels and other service businesses interact with customers, a new paper suggests.
In the first work to introduce this concept, the researchers outline the role that an AI concierge, a technologically advanced assistant, can play in different areas of the service sector, as well as the different forms such A helper may also be involved.
Their paper envisions a virtual supervisor that, by combining natural language processing, behavioral data, and predictive analytics, will assess user needs, recommend certain actions, and perform routine maintenance. Without explicitly commanding tasks to do so automatically.
Although such a skilled assistant is still years away, Stephanie Liu, the paper's lead author and an associate professor of hospitality management at The Ohio State University, and her colleagues drew on insights from several contemporary fields, including service management, psychology , the human computer. Interaction and ethics research, to detail what opportunities and challenges AI gatekeepers might create to manage human encounters.
“The traditional service industry uses concierges for high-end clients, meaning only a few people have access to them,” Liu said. “Now with the help of AI technology, everyone can have access to a concierge that delivers superior experiences.”
On this basis, the benefits of incorporating AI into customer service are two-fold: it allows companies to offer round-the-clock availability and consistency in their operations, as well as improve the way individuals engage with professional services organizations. Permission will be given.
Additionally, as the young workforce gravitates toward more tech-oriented jobs and global travel becomes more common, Liu said creative AI may be a suitable solution to meet the growing demands of emerging hospitality trends. can
He said that there is a lot of potential in the development of AI technology for hotels, restaurants, healthcare, retail and tourism.
The paper was published recently. Journal of Service Management.
Liu said that despite the social and economic benefits associated with implementing such machines, how effective AI gatekeepers can be at completing a task depends on both the specific situation and the type of user interface.
According to Liu, there are four basic forms a smart assistant can take, each with specific attributes that will provide different levels of convenience to users.
The first type is a dialog interface that uses only text or speech to communicate, such as ChatGPT, a conversational agent often used to ask questions and get help in real time. Many of these interactive devices are already used in hotels and medical buildings for contactless booking or to connect customers to other services and resources.
The other is a virtual avatar that uses a vivid digital look and a fully formed personality to develop a deep emotional connection with users. This method is often used for telehealth consultations and online learning programs.
The third iteration is a holographic projection in which a simulated 3D image is brought into the physical world. According to the paper, this is ideally suited for scenarios where visual impact is desired, but the physical support itself is not necessary.
The paper completes the list by proposing an AI doorman that would pose as a tangible, or touchable, robot. The form will offer highly human-like sensory experiences and will potentially be able to perform multiple physical tasks such as transporting heavy objects.
Some international companies have already developed these advanced devices for use in a limited capacity. A robotic concierge, known as Sam, was designed to assist senior living communities by assisting them, assessing fall risk and staffing non-medical tasks. can help Another stationed at South Korea's Incheon International Airport helped customers navigate routes to their destinations and made top shopping and dining recommendations.
Yet as advanced computing algorithms become more embedded in our daily lives, industry experts will likely have to consider consumer privacy concerns when deciding when and where to implement these AI systems. One way to deal with these issues is to create AI gatekeepers with limited memory or other safe walls to protect stored personal data such as identity and financial information, Liu said.
“Different companies are at different stages with this technology,” Liu said. “Some have robots that can detect users' emotions or take biometric input and others have really basic ones.
What's more, the paper notes that having a diversity of concierge options available for users to choose from is also beneficial from a mental health perspective.
Because AI is seen as having less agency than their human counterparts, it can help reduce psychologically uncomfortable service situations that can arise because of how customers interact. feel that they can be understood by a human gatekeeper. This reduced anxiety about machine feedback may encourage increased comfort levels and result in more favorable responses to AI concierge success, Liu said.
Ultimately, there is still much multidisciplinary testing to be done to ensure that these technologies can be applied broadly and equitably. Liu added that future research should seek to determine how specific design elements, such as the perceived gender, race or voice of these robotic assistants, will affect overall customer satisfaction.