Two years after launching SAM, which stands for Smart Assistant for Mobile, travel management company Flight Centre has added three features to the chatbot.
SAM Duty of Care provides travel alerts and travel information to both travelers and travel managers through the app. Travelers can check in, send their locations and ask for help in emergencies. The app's two-way communication capability also enables travel managers to request traveler check-ins when trouble arises. The TMC's existing duty of care platform, FCM Secure, combines FCM's traveler tracking data and travel risk information from travel risk management company WorldAware, formerly iJet. Previously, travel managers used FCM Secure to "see what's happening in the world" and find out which travelers are impacted, explained FCM chief experience officer John Morhous, and travelers had access to some information through the FCM Secure portal. "Now we've extended all capabilities into SAM," he said.
Another addition, SAM for Travel Arrangers, gives those who book travel for others, such as executive assistants, access to itineraries, trip disruption notifications and the ability to take action from the arranger's smart device. Until now, travelers had to interact directly with the TMC to make changes. "Most executives that have EAs prefer to deal with the booker instead of us," Morhous said to explain the enhancement. "I'm not aware of any competitor that's doing that now. [Existing] chatbots let you talk to the TMC, not the booker."
Last, SAM Community allows travelers to submit trip-related tips and delivers tips to others at relevant times based on their itineraries. For example, a traveler may receive a tip to eat breakfast at his or her hotel because another traveler said it's good. "We're bringing in TripAdvisor-type content," but rather than "third-party generic information," it's generated by business travelers using the app, Morhous said.
Lumo Integration
Additionally, FCM now sends booking data to flight-delay predictor Lumo, which then emails flight disruption predictions to travelers or provides the information through a dashboard or mid-office integration, depending on the client company's preference. Lumo, formerly known as Flightsayer, uses artificial intelligence to score flights on a one-to-10 risk index, considering factors like recent flight history, seasonal impacts, changing schedules and flight patterns.