ixigo is betting heavily on artificial intelligence to change the way people plan and manage travel. Instead of relying on traditional flight searches, multiple browser tabs and manual comparisons, the company wants users to interact with travel services through natural conversations powered by AI.
At its technology event, ixigo NEXT, the travel platform unveiled a redesigned version of its app built around AI driven experiences from the ground up. Rather than adding isolated AI tools later, the company said it rebuilt the app to focus on voice interaction, conversational planning and automated assistance throughout the travel journey.
AI assistant becomes the centre of the app
At the core of the new experience is TARA, ixigo’s multimodal AI assistant that supports voice, text and touch interactions. The assistant currently works in English, Hindi and Hinglish, with support for more languages expected in the future.
According to the company, TARA is designed to reduce the need for users to navigate through multiple booking pages or use traditional keyword searches. Instead, travellers can simply describe what they want in natural language.
For instance, users can ask for hotel suggestions in a particular area along with specific preferences such as rooms facing landmarks or properties with certain amenities. The assistant can also create detailed multi city itineraries through regular conversation.
Unlike a standalone chatbot, TARA has been integrated directly into the app’s core infrastructure. This allows it to access a user’s travel history, booking behaviour and personal preferences to deliver more personalised recommendations.
Travel planning expands beyond booking
ixigo also demonstrated how the assistant can respond to broader travel related situations rather than just direct booking queries.
The company said prompts such as forgetting an anniversary could trigger suggestions for quick getaways, staycations or hotel packages tailored to the user’s past preferences and activity.
The platform is extending AI support across the entire travel process. TARA can track flights in real time, monitor delays, handle cancellations, process refunds and provide updates about weather, boarding gates, terminals and lounge access.
Another new feature called Trip Mode aims to simplify post booking management by bringing together travel details into a single dashboard. This includes boarding passes, baggage belt information, boarding alerts and other live travel updates.
AI agents to automate travel tasks
ixigo is also introducing what it describes as “agentic” travel services, where AI systems can independently manage certain tasks without requiring constant user interaction.
For airline passengers, the platform can send boarding passes directly through WhatsApp and support storage through Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Digi Yatra compatible systems.
If flight timings or gate numbers change, the boarding pass updates automatically.
The company also said its AI tools will assist hotel stays by coordinating with hotels before check in to confirm room readiness and reduce waiting times for travellers.
Rajnish Kumar said the company believes travel platforms are moving toward AI led systems capable of understanding intent and assisting users before, during and after their journeys.
