Air India Express has been recognised with the ‘Best Use of AI in Customer Experience’ award at the UBS Forums 25th CX Strategy Summit & Awards 2026 for its AI-powered guest support capabilities led by Tia, its digital guest assistance platform.
The recognition comes after the airline recently received a 4-Star World Airline Rating from Skytrax, which recognises product standards and service delivery across the travel journey.
While the Skytrax rating covers areas including onboard, airport and service delivery, Tia represents the airline’s focus on using artificial intelligence to enhance its digital customer experience.
Tia handles 75% of interactions
Designed to combine artificial intelligence with human support, Tia provides 24×7 assistance through the Air India Express website, mobile app, WhatsApp and contact centre.
More than 75% of guest interactions are now resolved through Tia’s chat and voice automation capabilities, reducing the need for passengers to wait for call-centre assistance or email responses.
The platform currently offers more than 100 self-service options, covering bookings, cancellations, refunds, flight status, baggage queries and other travel-related information.
Tia handles around 15,000 guest queries daily across Air India Express’s digital channels.
Support during West Asia disruptions
Tia also played a role during the disruptions related to the West Asia situation in April, when it handled nearly four-fifths of all guest queries received by the airline.
The platform facilitated booking changes, rescheduling and cancellations, including changes to origin and destination stations, subject to seat availability. This enabled affected passengers to modify their travel arrangements during the disruption.
Human support remains available
Passengers can connect with Customer Happiness Specialists whenever required. Air India Express said interaction history and context can be transferred across channels, enabling specialists to continue conversations without requiring passengers to repeat information.
The airline is continuing to develop Tia with additional AI capabilities aimed at improving personalisation and responsiveness.
Future enhancements are expected to include multilingual assistance, deeper personalisation and expanded self-service options.
From chatbot to AI-enabled platform
Introduced in 2021, Tia was the first chatbot-based assistance platform deployed by an airline in India, according to Air India Express.
It initially provided real-time support through the airline’s website and mobile application. The platform has since evolved into an AI-enabled customer support system spanning digital and voice channels.
The airline said the evolution of Tia forms part of its broader effort to simplify the travel experience while combining automated assistance with access to human support when required.