Human-assisted travel bots like Mezi and Lola have some new competition.

The Marina bot, developed by Alterra, works within Facebook Messenger to make reservations using natural language understanding techniques. For example, you can type in multiple routes between your home city and your final destination, ask about a “romantic getaway,” or look for the best hotel deals.

Alterra developed the bot by transcribing conversations between humans and travel agents. The company claims the bot can understand natural language without requiring complex coding. In my test, I asked about “sunny destinations,” and the bot found a few good options within seconds.

You can read the full post describing the tech right here.

AI Weekly

The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.

Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.

 

VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More