What MakeMyTrip and Yatra’s Back-to-Back AI Launches Signal for Indian OTAs
Photo Credit: Rajesh Magow, MakeMyTrip Co-founder & Group CEO (L) and Dhruv Shringi, Yatra Online Co-founder & CEO (R), speaking on March 20, 2024, at Skift India Summit. Skift
Skift Take
Two AI assistants. Two of India’s biggest online travel companies. Ten days apart. That’s not coincidence, it’s proof that AI is moving from experiment to core strategy in India’s online travel sector.
India-based Yatra Online has launched DIYA, a generative AI travel assistant that it says can handle everything from planning trips to managing bookings in more than 100 languages.
The Monday launch comes just days after MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel agency, rolled out the beta version of its own AI trip planning assistant, Myra, on August 7.
Both companies are betting that artificial intelligence will not only make travel booking simpler but also help streamline their operations.
Yatra’s DIYA: Search Refinement and Cost SavingsYatra said its new assistant goes beyond basic customer service tasks like cancellations and e-tickets. The OTA has designed the app to refine searches and generate more relevant results for travelers.
CEO Dhruv Shringi said during the company’s earnings call last week that the goal is to cut down the noise