Beyond laying claim to being “The Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin, Texas, offers inspiring cuisines and stunning outdoor experiences to please the millions of people who travel there annually. Whether must-do experiences include a dip in the Barton Springs Pool swimming hole or a visit to an authentic honky-tonk, uniqueness is Austin’s specialty. 

But that very richness of unique offerings can bring with it … well, a lot of questions. Visit Austin has always been happy to answer them, but with the vigorous return to travel following pandemic-related slowdowns, the small but mighty team could barely keep up. 

While Visit Austin was busy with the increased traveler phone calls and emails, there were only so many staffed hours in a work day — yet people seek advice and information around the clock in this digital world. In fact, 43% of all queries come outside staffed hours. Anything that could handle routine questions and streamline the question-and-answering process would significantly help. 

That help came from an AI Chat designed by Satisfi Labs, a Simpleview partner. 

Visit Austin wanted to:

  • Be able to answer visitors’ questions 24/7 
  • Get a better understanding of website user habits and needs
  • Free up staff to work on other priorities 
  • Avoid any solution requiring significant DMO time and effort

AI Chat serves as a virtual concierge for DMO websites. Powered by Simpleview CRM, the conversational AI platform provides granular answers about listings, events, area transportation, and more. 

"We see a lot of value in using AI Chat to see what people are asking,” Felton said. “Our digital marketing team has spent years making assumptions and trying to understand our users as much as possible, but nothing beats having a conversation with a human to really understand what they want. It's almost like being a fly on the wall with that person, so I find it unique and helpful to use this technology."

What makes AI Chat so powerful and unique is it understands the context of questions and provides a relevant answer based on whether the question is asked via the web or mobile. 

Just a few months after adding AI Chat to its website, Visit Austin has:

  • Increased newsletter subscriptions
  • Increased visitor guide requests
  • Saved an estimated 10 staff hours per week
  • Learned what website visitors are most interested in

With AI Chat, you can:

✔️ Help visitors on-demand, 24/7

✔️ Understand how visitors use your website

✔️ Increase team productivity
 


“The implementation process has been great. Satisfi Labs took a lot of heavy lifting with Simpleview to understand how the events and listing feed worked. And that made it easier for us.”

— Christine Felton, Director of Content and Digital Marketing, Visit Austin

Learn more about how Visit Austin uses AI Chat to help visitors.

Read the full case study