In an effort to improve overall customer experience, American Airlines has become the first airline to use Google Assistant’s interpreter mode, helping employees better communicate with travelers who speak a different language.
Testing of the service, which works via a Google Nest Hub, began recently at Admirals Clubs lounges at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), allowing American’s premium customer service representatives to offer more personalized service. American says the service, which can translate in real-time and has the capability to translate 29 languages, including Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and more, will be used only when a multilingual representative is not available.
“The science fiction universal translator is now science fact,” Maya Leibman, American’s Chief Information Officer, said in a company release. “Incorporating technology like the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will help us break down barriers, provide a worry-free travel experience and make travel more accessible to all.”
American Airlines, which is based in Texas and offers 6,800 daily flights, has been focused on technology upgrades, with recent introductions including “mobile passport scanning, boarding notifications, online virtual 3D aircraft tours, a redesigned self-service kiosk menu that simplifies the check-in process and an improved family seating approach, which ensures adults and kids under 14 are seated together.”
This partnership between American and Google was announced during CES in Las Vegas last week. American Airlines has not yet confirmed if there will be a wider adoption of Google Assistant in other airport locations or cities, but it certainly would be a welcome customer-experience addition for travelers.
As airline loyalty programs continue to evolve, airlines are looking to make travel more comfortable, affordable, and convenient by offering ancillary benefits such as early boarding, free seat selection, waived baggage fees and more. American Airlines’ partnership with Google and adoption of Google Assistant to support travelers is its latest CX enhancement to help customers on their journeys around the world.