Hello, my name is Ramiro Sanchez, and I am the CMO for Google Latin America. Today, artificial intelligence is helping us achieve outstanding business results, but we’re just getting started Artificial intelligence can pave the way for scalable, personalized business experiences that that will reshape the future In this new episode of our AI Conversation series, we are going to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the travel industry. I’m joined by Patricio Majluf, Global Marketing and E-Commerce Director at LATAM Airlines, the largest airline group in Latin America, to discuss this topic.
As I was preparing for this interview, one fact that caught my attention about LATAM Airlines is that every 54 seconds, a plane takes off somewhere in the world. That's more than 1,600 flights daily. And if I am a frequent flyer, Patricio is in the category of "permanent flyer.
" That’s why he is the right person to tell us how artificial intelligence is transforming the industry. Well, Ramiro, first of all, welcome aboard. - It's a pleasure to have you here.
- Thank you. I'm delighted to be here And I’ll start with a story, Ramiro. You see, I’m planning a trip to Europe a few months from now, and I had some questions.
I’m going to Copenhagen for a few days, and I wondered, how do I get from the airport to the city center, specifically to my hotel? So, I decided to use Google Gemini. I went ahead, and asked the question, and the artificial intelligence quickly responded: "the best option is the high-speed train.
It takes you to the city center in 15 minutes. " Well. .
. "and arrives at the central station," it said. Well, how do I get to my hotel?
"Ah, you need to walk 10 minutes to that hotel. " Yes, but I have luggage. And I said exactly that: "but I have luggage.
" "You can take a taxi that is outside on your right, and take this and that street". So, in short, this kink of interaction with an AI assistant reduces travel anxiety, and gives you peace of mind. It, allows you to plan your trip much differently Than we used to And I think that's a fundamental change happening today with consumers.
Today we know that the buying journey is not linear. Travelers seek inspiration about their destination, research and plan activities, but even then, they often go back to research and compare options. In fact, statistics show us that 5 out of 10 consumers actively research again.
In other words, research is present throughout the entire journey. Moreover, 1 in 10 people cancel and rebook their ticket. Exactly!
Today, more than ever, consumers can use AI to tackle a complex challenge What is the complex problem? it's not just about buying a plane ticket It’s about buying a plane ticket, booking a hotel, renting a car, at the destination, and getting everything to work together smoothly And that's the magic of AI today you can talk to an assistant and start building your travel plan in a much easier and simpler way, combining different data sources, different information sources to create your itinerary and reduce the stress of planning. In the case of LATAM, how can we put Google's artificial intelligence to work for you?
Well, artificial intelligence has allowed us to bring in solid business results. How so? I'll give you an example.
Our marketing strategy is primarily based on our own data. Our own data because we have a very robust loyalty program, LATAM Pass, with many members. Therefore, we know our customers' activity, and being able to analyze that activity in a scalable way, with the help of artificial intelligence, allowed us to segment differently.
And that different segmentation delivered surprising results. The high-value segment had a conversion rate 77% higher than the other segments. That's really impressive.
How, based on the data analyzed with artificial intelligence, we were able to achieve impactful results for the business. We have had a close partnership with Google and, for example, for our positioning campaign for latam. com, we faced a challenge: we needed our customers to understand that latam.
com offers much more than just flights: hotels, car rentals, insurance, packages, and more. And for this, we did a positioning campaign where Google participated in the core of the strategy. We designed a strategy together with the Creative Works team at Google, which identified the target audiences and, for each audience, a specific message.
And that structure and order allowed us to design specific pieces for each type of customer and activate them later in a campaign. And that campaign resulted in a 33-point increase in awareness of our ground products within our target segment, making it a huge success. That's great!
Looking ahead, what excites you the most about the travel industry? Well… Going back to my earlier example, about planning a trip and being able to generate conversations, to help customers. I'm excited that technology can help our customers solve a complex problem, such as planning a trip, with all the elements that a trip involves: car, hotel, plane ticket, insurance.
We're on an authentic journey where, thanks to artificial intelligence, we're helping people make complex decisions in a much simpler and more robust way. To wrap up, I'd like to ask you three final questions. One word to describe artificial intelligence?
Look, in this travel industry, I would say "opportunity". And a destination you would like to visit? I know many destinations, especially in the region, but I would like to visit Huaraz, a new destination we have been flying to since July with LATAM.
And where do you see the brand going in a year? Wherever you and our customers want to go. Thank you very much.
Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the flight. Absolutely! Thank you!
