Purpose

An AI concierge is a technologically advanced, intelligent and personalized assistant that is designated to an individual customer, proactively taking care of that customer’s needs throughout the service journey. This article envisions the idea of AI concierges and discusses how to leverage AI concierges in the customer journey.

Design/methodology/approach

This article takes a conceptual approach and draws insights from literature in service management, marketing, psychology, human-computer interaction and ethics.

Findings

This article delineates the fundamental forms of AI concierges: dialog interface (no embodiment), virtual avatar (embodiment in the virtual world), holographic projection (projection in the physical world) and tangible service robot (embodiment in the physical world). Key attributes of AI concierges are the ability to exhibit semantic understanding of auditory and visual inputs, maintain an emotional connection with the customer, demonstrate proactivity in refining the customer’s experience and ensure omnipresence through continuous availability in various forms to attend to service throughout the customer journey. Furthermore, the article explores the multifaceted roles that AI concierges can play across the pre-encounter, encounter and post-encounter stages of the customer journey and explores the opportunities and challenges associated with AI concierges.

Practical implications

This paper provides insights for professionals in hospitality, retail, travel, and healthcare on leveraging AI concierges to enhance the customer experience. By broadening AI concierge services, organizations can deliver personalized assistance and refined services across the entire customer journey.

Originality/value

This article is the first to introduce the concept of the AI concierge. It offers a novel perspective by defining AI concierges’ fundamental forms, key attributes and exploring their diverse roles in the customer journey. Additionally, it lays out a research agenda aimed at further advancing this domain.

中文翻译：

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客户旅程中的人工智能礼宾服务：它是什么以及它如何为客户增加价值？

目的

人工智能礼宾是技术先进、智能和个性化的助理，专门针对个人客户，在整个服务过程中主动照顾客户的需求。本文设想了人工智能礼宾服务的想法，并讨论了如何在客户旅程中利用人工智能礼宾服务。

设计/方法论/途径

本文采用概念方法，并从服务管理、营销、心理学、人机交互和伦理学方面的文献中汲取见解。

发现

本文描述了人工智能礼宾员的基本形式：对话界面（无体现）、虚拟化身（虚拟世界中的体现）、全息投影（物理世界中的投影）和有形服务机器人（物理世界中的体现）。人工智能礼宾服务的关键属性是能够表现出对听觉和视觉输入的语义理解，与客户保持情感联系，表现出改善客户体验的主动性，并通过各种形式的持续可用性确保无所不在，在整个客户旅程中提供服务。此外，本文还探讨了人工智能礼宾员在客户旅程的接触前、接触和接触后阶段可以发挥的多方面作用，并探讨了与人工智能礼宾员相关的机遇和挑战。

实际影响

本文为酒店、零售、旅游和医疗保健领域的专业人士提供了有关利用人工智能礼宾服务来增强客户体验的见解。通过扩大人工智能礼宾服务，组织可以在整个客户旅程中提供个性化帮助和精细化服务。

原创性/价值

本文首次介绍AI礼宾的概念。它通过定义人工智能礼宾服务的基本形式、关键属性并探索其在客户旅程中的不同角色，提供了一种新颖的视角。此外，它还制定了旨在进一步推进该领域的研究议程。