Air Canada, WestJet betting on benefits of artificial intelligence CBC News

Canada's two largest airlines say artificial intelligence can be a game-changer for aviation by helping to boost revenues, pare costs and provide passengers with a more personalized travel experience. Air Canada and WestJet are joining airlines around the world by spending undisclosed amounts of money on AI in an effort to harness technology that promises revolutionary advantages for both carriers and passengers. Several large airlines in the U.S. and Europe have deployed AI in chatbots that respond to common passenger questions, machine learning algorithms to help automate airline operations and facial recognition to verify identification for luggage and boarding. "It's really an untouched area for the airline industry that we need to develop very fast," new WestJet CEO Ed Sims said in an interview, adding he'd like to use the technology to create a "virtual concierge service" similar to Amazon Alexa or Google Home. The aviation sector's investment in AI is expected to grow from $152 million US this year to $2.22 billion US by 2025, for a compounded annual growth rate of more than 46 per cent, according to a report from research firm Markets and Markets.