Alma, your Virtual Companion

The Slovenian Tourist Organization (STO) decided to enhance the user experience on the slovenia.info portal by introducing Alma, an AI-driven chatbot. Alma’s mission is to invite users to visit Slovenia by providing them with personalized information, tips, and offerings.

They assigned Creatim to design Alma.

Alma step by step

1. User experience design
2. AI model development
3. Data model development
4. Personal data protection strategy
5. Continuous optimization

1. User experience: giving the destination a face

In a tourism destination setting, an AI chatbot can sport a unique personality that reflects the destination's distinct character to spur imagination and foster emotional connections with users. Alma was named after the renowned Slovenian traveler Alma M. Karlin, a courageous woman and avid explorer who undertook to travel the world alone in the early 20th century.

Unlike her infamous namesake, the virtual Alma does not aim to explore the world; she is an expert on Slovenia. However, her role is not just to inspire but to promote. Her suggestions are accompanied by personalized website content recommendations, activity suggestions, and service promotions based on the user’s unique inquiry.

2. AI Model Development

Alma was developed using a professional version of OpenAI LLM technology to ensure ongoing updates, seamless integration, and rapid context recognition. The objective was to enable Alma to quickly grasp the context, ascertain the user's intent, and establish personalized communication by providing tips, recommendations, and expert information that may be difficult to find through a simple Google search.

Proficient in seven languages, Alma can converse with hundreds of visitors simultaneously, 24/7. A robust web server enables her to manage the workload equivalent to a comprehensive team of tourism professionals.

3. Designing the Data Model

The web is rife with chatbots that usually operate with outdated and non-specific information. Hence, a well-thought-of data model may be a vital differentiator for destination chatbots. The STO was fully aware that users expect more than general search engine results, and the site’s Chatbot must meet this promise.

Alma’s unique data model draws on the STO database and over 50 carefully selected Slovenian tourist sites as the primary source of information. With updates happening hourly, this data model ensures that Alma's responses will likely meet user queries, maintaining the high standards of the Slovenia.info portal.

4. Personal Data Protection

Maintaining privacy and data security is crucial when integrating a virtual assistant into a website. With that said, because of the nature of AI algorithms, 100% data protection cannot be guaranteed. So it is vital to comply with regulators and have some of the best industry practices in place, such as

1.  Data minimization 
   In Alma's case, no personal data collection is required. Nevertheless, users are instructed to avoid disclosing their personal data. The anonymized interaction and feedback data is used for chatbot service optimization, and behavioral patterns tracking is performed for marketing purposes, as set out in the privacy policy.    
2. Data security policies
   Creatim is certified under ISO/IEC 27001:2013, an international information security standard. Following best practices and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines, we store data on a dedicated server with strong encryption and access controls for a limited time. Data is encrypted both in transit and at rest when transferred to OpenAI servers.

5. Optimization and Further Development

Unlike applications, AI assistants require constant optimization. Due to the nature of the technology, it is impossible to keep them entirely under control, so regular monitoring and filtering of outgoing communication are necessary. Creatim, together with the Slovenian Tourist Board, ensures the supervision, filtering of unwanted responses, and updating of context, which is essential for maintaining the objectivity and reliability of outgoing information.

In Conclusion

Virtual assistants can significantly improve the user experience through natural communication. Moreover, with their constant presence and ability to provide advice, they can attract potential customers and influence their purchasing decisions. However, much must be done to ensure users will perceive the value the assistant provides.

Virtual advisor Alma is yet another project by the Slovenian Tourist Board, through which it fulfills its commitment to build the image of the slovenia.info portal as the most reliable source of information for foreign visitors deciding to visit Slovenia, by providing high-quality, relevant, and up-to-date information.

With this project, the Slovenian Tourist Organization has increased its productivity level and elevated the online experience of the slovenia.info portal to a new dimension.

If you have similar ambitions in your company, we are happy to help. Let us know what challenges you are facing.. Together, we will look at where a virtual assistant could improve the situation.