Context

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), as first-of-its-kind initiative, recently launched AI chatbot-- Ask Disha (Digital Interaction to Seek Help Anytime) to help its users with various queries.

About

• The chatbot is special computer programme designed to simulate conversation with users, especially over the internet.
• Users can ask questions to the AI chatbot by visiting the IRCTC website. As soon as the users start typing their queries, the AI chatbot automatically starts showing some options based on the typed phrases. Users can then either pick one of the queries from the displayed options or type in the complete question if their query is not being displayed on the screen.
• The AskDisha is live now and will be voice enabled, supporting several regional languages.
• The essential features of AskDisha include ability to quickly answer to customer queries, provide round-the-clock customer support, multitask, and zero waiting time for query to get answered.
  
  
  
  
• It has been jointly developed by IRCTC and CoRover Private Limited, which is a Bengaluru-based startup that develops AI and machine learning based chatbots pertaining to travel and tourism.
  
  
  

Significance

With AskDisha, IRCTC becomes the first and only government corporation in India to launch a chat-enabled helpdesk service program.AskDisha chatbot will provide seamless service to website and Android app users. It willfacilitate accessibility by answering users' queries pertaining to various services offered by IRCTC. Thus, it will ensure that customers have a stress-free experience and provide overall satisfaction.

Learning Aid