In a collaboration aimed at expanding customer engagement and the scope of digital experiences on its platform, travel services and bookings platform Klook has joined forces with Google Cloud. This partnership leverages the capabilities of Google Cloud’s advanced generative AI to upgrade Klook’s activity content and customer interaction channels.
The collaboration commences with the implementation of automated translation capabilities using Google Cloud’s PaLM 2. Klook has harnessed the capabilities of this large language model to translate activity content into 10 languages, capturing both local-market nuances. The initiative builds on the success of a pilot program where Klook utilised Google Cloud’s PaLM 2 via Vertex AI Model Garden to translate merchant service information into Simplified Chinese and Korean.
The pilot demonstrated good results in terms of translation accuracy, as measured by industry-standard assessment models, and in capturing local-market nuances, as evaluated by Klook’s localisation team of linguists and brand marketers.
Bernie Xiong, CTO and co-founder of Klook, expressed the importance of delivering content in the language that best suits travellers’ preferences. He highlighted the successful pilot program as evidence that Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities enable Klook to scale its efforts without compromising on content quality or accuracy.
To ensure that translations captured local nuances, Klook trained Google Cloud’s generative AI on previously translated activity content from its platform, allowing it to generate translations in languages including Malay, Simplified Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia, that were increasingly tailored to the team’s desired outputs. This saw the accuracy, local nuance and efficiency of translations improve at every iteration, giving Klook the confidence to scale its efforts across all activity-related content.
Beyond translation, Klook plans to integrate Google Cloud’s generative AI into its K.AI (Klook AI) chatbot for customer service. This move aims to enhance data security and accuracy in customer interactions, spanning from travel recommendations to booking status and related transactions. Klook also intends to explore content generation using PaLM 2, automating the creation of short-form descriptions and details about activities, thereby streamlining the onboarding experience for vendors and positively impacting internal employee productivity.
To further strengthen its data and AI capabilities, Klook will expand its use of BigQuery and Google Kubernetes Engine, powering analytics and applications organization-wide. Future generative AI deployments across Google Cloud and Google Ads will enable Klook to identify new opportunities for customer engagement through personalised content and value-added services.
Kathy Lee, Managing Director of Google Cloud in North Asia, acknowledged Klook’s use of generative AI, noting its potential to boost internal productivity and customer engagement while enhancing the uniqueness of the brand and strengthening trust and security for customers.
