WestJet is first Canadian airline to employ an AI chatbot to help book passenger's trips

Count travel agents as one of the professions that could replace real people with artificial intelligence and robots. WestJet today announced Juliet, their S.I. powered Chatbot which will be designated to help passengers, 'manage many aspects of their trip including destination inspiration and discovery, flight booking and day-of travel information..'

"Juliet is the first of many ways WestJet will be raising the bar using digital to improve the guest experience, and make the travel journey easier and more enjoyable," said Alfredo C. Tan, WestJet Chief Digital and Innovation Officer. "A majority of internet users are already using a messenger platform, including Facebook Messenger. Launching Juliet gives even more access to quick, simple support on a platform that a majority of our guests already have at hand."

Juliet, named after one of WestJet's original aircraft, uses reinforcement learning allowing the chatbot to learn the way humans do, with a combination of instruction, examples, and experience, leading to better responses over time. WestJet will continue to add more functionality, features and capabilities to Juliet including availability on different platforms and voice interaction.