How an AI digital human cabin crew is bringing a new level of customer experience

Artificial intelligence brings marketers the chance to reach consumers efficiently, enhancing the overall brand experience and empowering consumers with tailored recommendations and personalized interactions. The right AI means buyers can enjoy a seamless experience, from personalized product recommendations to instant assistance, enhancing their satisfaction and confidence in the brand’s ability to meet their needs efficiently and effectively. This can be particularly helpful when it comes to making pricey purchases such as booking a flight, where a host of stress-inducing logistics and concerns can come into play. The challenge is how to do this while making AI helpful, relevant to your product and trustworthy in the eyes of consumers who might be hesitant to embrace a virtual assistant. That’s where Sama comes into play. Sama (the Arabic word for “sky”) was already the first digital cabin crew in aviation. Now, Qatar Airways is relaunching Sama as the world’s first AI-driven flight attendant. Embracing emerging technologies in the airline industry is already paying off for the company. Since launching QVerse in 2022, the immersive virtual tour that lets you try-before-you-fly, we’ve seen over a 1,000% return on ad spend and more than a 200% product return on investment. More than half of the customers on the site, acquired via this immersive experience, were first-time bookers. Sama will debut officially March 5 at ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, with the ability to speak in English, and up to 12 languages later in the year. Bring human personality into your AI For brands considering investing in AI tech, remember—you’re not selling just a product, you’re selling a whole experience. Qatar Airways prides itself on hospitality and making people feel welcome from the moment they step on board until the moment they leave the aircraft. And Sama can help bring the essence of an in-person cabin crew into a digital cabin crew. With AI, you can create a character that has certain traits in how it communicates. This is an essential part of bringing the specific human feel that suits your brand. In keeping with the cordiality of Qatar Airways’ on-board flight attendants, Sama will be a digital human with a backstory, who is programmed to bring positivity and offer hospitality. To start, Sama will be able to answer popular questions about baggage allowance or traveling with children. In the future, she could help book and upgrade a trip, or provide suggestions for passengers at Hamad International Airport about what to do and see in the area. Eventually, if Sama can’t answer a question, she’ll be able to hand it over to a live agent. Sama is not there to replace a human being. She’s there to support customers 24/7, in real time, using voice and text. Ultimately, customers will be able to ask, “Sama, could you book me a flight from Doha to London?” Keep in mind that companies should never add AI just to stay on trend—it should have a real use case and empower customers. Qatar Airways’ primary motivation is using AI to simplify the complexity of air travel. Hospitality brands like restaurants and hotels can benefit from adding AI like this too. As with any cutting-edge tech, some consumers may be hesitant to adopt AI assistance, but once the majority of them see the tech’s benefit, they will want it in the future. Use caution and customer priorities to feed your AI Your AI should know your customers well enough to feel like a helpful friend. And today’s smart marketers can generate sample personas to help predict consumer behavior. Sama was developed via extensive research about the commonly asked questions within various personas. A passenger traveling with an infant might prioritize asking about a bassinet, but a solo traveler might ask more about Wi-Fi or upgrading a seat. Every persona has a different priority, and your virtual assistant should have a sense of the specific needs of your subgroups of customers. With the launch of a new AI-powered feature, you’ll want to stay ready to expand as customer demand grows. Sama could land on a range of touchpoints, such as kiosks and different apps, on interactive ads in a movie theater—she might even become an online influencer. Fears of misinformation easily finding its way into AI models have been widespread long enough that some ads are now parodying AI-phobia. Newcomers to the space need to understand it’s important to feed the AI only with specific data sources that are trustworthy and contain the correct information. You don’t want a situation where you give misleading information and damage the user and your brand. AI has potentially limitless applications, but as with all tech, brands shouldn’t dive into AI headfirst without knowing their core needs. AI is most beneficial when it can help solve pain points, both for the user and for the company. The real challenge is to find the use case, the reason to invest in such technology and then structure it to reflect a brand’s voice and help the customer get what they need. About Qatar Airways A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the ‘World’s Best Airline’ for the unprecedented eighth time at the 2024 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax. The airline continues to be synonymous with excellence, also taking home, ‘World's Best Business Class’, ‘World's Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. Qatar Airways currently flies to over 170 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, the ‘World’s Best Airport’, as voted by Skytrax in 2021, 2022, and 2024.

How an AI digital human cabin crew is bringing a new level of customer experience

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