Jake Nelson 
In an Australian first, Virgin said its customers will be able to surface destinations based on budget or departure city; find best-value travel periods for different dates; compare cash fares or points-plus-pay; and find the lowest fares across multiple days through the chatbot.
“Today marks a significant milestone for Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer and for the future of travel,” said Virgin Australia CEO Dave Emerson.
“Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we’re giving our customers a faster, more intuitive way to plan and book their trips, all within a platform many are already using every day.
“Importantly, we’re also unlocking more value for Velocity members with a new way to locate Reward Seats directly within ChatGPT, making it easier than ever for members to redeem their Points on flights.
“Our landmark collaboration with OpenAI and the launch of our very own ChatGPT app is about removing friction from the travel experience and meeting our customers where they are, with smarter tools that make planning travel simpler and more personalised.”
According to OpenAI’s head of GTM, ANZ, Satya Tammareddy, around 50 per cent of Australians are using ChatGPT every week.
“Australians are already turning to ChatGPT to plan, compare and make everyday decisions, and travel is a natural extension of that shift,” she said
“Together with Virgin Australia, we’re making travel discovery more conversational, more useful and ultimately more accessible for millions of people.”
The integration comes after Virgin last year announced a partnership with OpenAI to help its customers “plan and shop for their travel in more personalised, convenient, and connected ways”, while staff members will have access to “secure, enterprise-grade AI tools”.
“By being present where our customers already are, such as ChatGPT, we’re making it easier and more convenient to connect with Virgin Australia,” said Emerson in November.
“We’ve been applying advanced analytics and AI across various parts of our business for many years, and this collaboration with OpenAI marks an important step forward in the next stage of our digital transformation.
“In true Virgin Australia challenger spirit, we’re bringing innovation to the market that will positively reshape the way Australians travel.”
Australia is in the top 10 markets worldwide for ChatGPT subscriptions.
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