Air India deploys AI to cut costs and reduce contact center staffing
Air India is using artificial intelligence across operations to reduce expenses, improve customer service, and boost revenue. The airline's Chief Digital & Technology Officer Satya Ramaswamy said the company has implemented three types of AI-predictive, generative, and agentic-across multiple departments.
The most visible application is a generative AI-based virtual agent handling about 50 percent of contact center volume. The system has cut significant contact center costs while letting customers choose their interaction method.
Validating pilot regulations with AI
Air India used generative AI to validate its implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms for pilots last year. The airline needed to ensure that rules from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation were correctly translated into internal specifications and then into software.
Ramaswamy said generative AI checked the mapping between DGCA rules, internal specifications, and software code to verify both correctness and completeness. "This was never possible before, but generative AI gave us the ability to do that," he said.
The system also generated extensive test cases, including edge cases that could cause violations. This prevented errors that might have derailed the rollout.
Reducing manual work across departments
AI is automating tasks in employee support, engineering, and operations. The airline worked with executives across departments to identify high-priority AI programs focused on cost reduction specific to each function.
Cabin supervisors now have tools to interact with customers affected by past disruptions in consistent, empathetic ways. Commercial teams use capabilities that reduce manual work managing routes.
Ramaswamy said agentic coding-a newer AI approach-lets the airline understand business requirements precisely and support departments in more cost-effective ways.
What this means for staff
When asked whether increased AI use would reduce hiring, Ramaswamy said it's too early to say. What is certain, he added, is that the nature of most roles will change.
"Every employee will be empowered by AI tools," he said. Rather than eliminating positions, AI will shift what workers do.
Air India has been under transformation since Tata Group took it over from the government in January 2022. The airline was loss-making at privatization and had minimal technology infrastructure, which gave it freedom to build systems without maintaining legacy systems.
For operations professionals, understanding how AI validates complex regulatory requirements and automates testing has direct applications. Learn more about AI for Operations and Generative AI and LLM applications in your field.
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