Customer Success: TravelPerk's Enterprise-Wide Empowerment Through AI Integration

Company Profile

Name: TravelPerk

Industry: Travel management

Size: 1000+ employees

Challenge: Managing high volumes of both routine and complex queries from multiple departments

Implementation: May 2023

Overview

TravelPerk faced the challenge of managing high volumes of both routine and complex queries from multiple departments, which slowed down decision-making and extended the duration of negotiations. The company needed a solution that could provide quick, reliable answers and reduce the dependency on direct legal and operational team involvement.

Solution

TravelPerk adopted Flank shortly after the launch of the ChatGPT API. The solution was initially envisioned as a tool to automate low-complexity legal tasks but quickly evolved into a comprehensive expert agent available through a Slack channel. This platform, initially dubbed the #ask-legal bot, grew to include inputs from Privacy, Security, Revenue, Bids, and more, effectively serving as a central knowledge hub. Initially envisioned as a privacy tool, the #ask-legal bot was quickly adapted to serve broader needs due to user feedback. This adaptation was part of TravelPerk’s agile response to reduce friction and enhance user experience. By consolidating multiple bots into a single, comprehensive tool, TravelPerk streamlined user interaction, making the AI more accessible and reducing complexity for end-users.

Implementation

TravelPerk dedicated a quarterly sprint to the rollout of Flank agents, including the Virtual Deal Coach, demonstrating the company's commitment to leveraging AI for business transformation. The entire team's involvement in this sprint was crucial for the swift and effective integration of the new technology. The deployment strategy included a robust internal marketing campaign to ensure high user engagement and adoption from the outset.

Results and Expansion

Flank agents quickly became integral to TravelPerk’s operations, contributing to a significant reduction in time-to-close from initial query to deal completion. This was achieved by enabling self-service access to critical information, thereby collapsing traditional communication hierarchies and speeding up internal processes. Flank agents at TravelPerk now handle about 3,000 queries per month, peaking at 5,000, demonstrating their scalability and robustness.

In the Privacy team, Flank AI agents successfully and automatically service ~1200 privacy queries each month, reducing the time it takes for privacy questionnaires to be completed from weeks on end to hours. As a result, at TravelPerk, RFPs, privacy queries and vendor forms are no longer a time consuming blocker in the sales process. Sales and deal desk teams are able to answer forms and queries accurately and independently in record time, ultimately ensuring a smooth customer experience for TravelPerk prospects.

TravelPerk also rolled out our Virtual Deal Coach which has been pivotal in handling a high volume of sales related enquiries inquiries, with super users processing approximately 300 to 400 queries per month. These users, typically early adopters within the company, have reported substantial improvements in handling complex negotiations and inquiries efficiently.

The Virtual Deal Coach has become a cornerstone of TravelPerk’s strategy to empower employees and streamline operations. Its success in improving deal velocity and negotiation outcomes exemplifies the potential of AI to transform business practices, making complex tasks manageable and routine processes efficient.

Strategic Impact

The technology not only streamlined operations but also redefined the roles within the company. The legal team, under the leadership of General Counsel Andrew Cooke, transitioned from gatekeepers of information to strategic enablers, focusing on higher-value activities while routine queries were automated. This shift not only increased operational efficiency but also improved the internal perception of the legal team, aligning it with TravelPerk’s ethos of innovation and customer satisfaction.

Testimonial

"We got to a place where we were serving on-demand, but in a way that is also really intuitive, requires nothing of the user. I’m just asking questions as I did before, in the place where I like to work, in Slack, or Chrome, or whatever. No training required. I don’t have to go out and teach people how to use this tool, because a child could use it. The work is taking place in the background, where we continually improve and iterate on the experience. And it’s been a long and spectacular ramp up from there. We’re currently averaging about 3000 queries a month, so one every five minutes, more or less. Our peak is 5000 queries a month." Andrew Cooke, General Counsel at TravelPerk

TravelPerk’s adoption of Flank illustrates the transformative potential of AI within enterprise settings. By automating the delivery of expertise on-demand, TravelPerk has not only optimized its internal processes but also set a new standard for operational excellence in the travel management industry. The success story of TravelPerk is a testament to the power of AI in enhancing business agility and empowering employees across all levels of an organisation.

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