MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Four AI-powered, holographic chatbots are now up and running at Miami International Airport.
The chatbots ― developed in collaboration with tech companies including Hypervsn ― are geared to enhance the passenger journey by providing information about travel times and airport amenities.
The robots speak 40 languages and can answer questions a traveler asks into a microphone at an adjacent display.
On Monday, most travelers bypassed the bot in the departures area between Terminals D and E and approached the human MIA worker at the information desk instead.
Jim Kummer, who was looking for the Margaritaville restaurant, said he was more used to the nuance of speaking to a real person.
“You know ― he’s more friendly, kind,” he said.
Traveler Giovanni Cortez, a frequent cruiser, said he was willing to try the chatbot after getting directions from information desk about catching a shuttle to PortMiami.
After having to ask his question twice, he said he was surprised by the accuracy and detail of the answer.
“It precisely told me what he just told me,” Cortez said, referring to the human worker.
In a statement to Local 10, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said: “We’re not just keeping pace with innovation. We’re leading it, harnessing artificial intelligence to transform how we serve our visitors and our community every day.”
The chatbots cost the county $50,000 each, from MIA’s regular operating budget.
Some comments on social media included criticism that the chatbots were a “waste” of money and that more effort should be focused on fixing conveyances and bathrooms.
MIA officials said repairs on aging infrastructure ― part of a $9 billion modernization plan ― is at an even more rapid pace than nearly two years ago.
Nearly 50 bathrooms have been completely refurbished and the number of elevators and escalators out of service has been reduced to 5%, a spokesperson said. Forty conveyances are on track to be modernized this year.
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