Some airlines are already using Whatsapp to provide passengers with easier to access information about their flight. For example, Malaysia Airlines sends notifications, flight confirmation and itineraries through the messaging app, but developments in AI could take this to a new level.

Travel expert, The Points Guy, reports that these advancements were discussed at the World Aviation Festival in London in the first week of September, where aviation app developer ASI Group explained that chatbots could be the future when it comes to booking travel.

Essentially a chatbot is a robot that speaks to you like a human. You’ve probably come across one before, for example when you look on some websites a window may appear at the bottom of your screen with a message asking if you need any help.

By using chatbots in Whatsapp, it could mean that airline customers can simply talk to the sophisticated AI like a person on a help desk and ask for advice on booking a budget-friendly flight, explaining what time and date they’re looking for, before being presented with flight options.

Booking your flights through Whatsapp may soon be a thing