Almosafer (Seera Group) · Travel Tech · AI · 2023
Conceived and shipped the first LLM-powered travel booking experience in the Middle East, natural language search embedded in the Almosafer mobile app and scaled to WhatsApp, driving a 41% lift in search-to-booking conversion.
The Approach
I initiated and led this end-to-end, from concept through production launch and WhatsApp scale-up. What started as a side project became Almosafer's most significant innovation bet.
Design sprint facilitation, Ran a focused sprint with senior members of my 25-person design org. Led context, framing, and solution direction. Within 5 days: validated concept, interaction model, and visual prototype.
Conversational UX architecture, Designed the complete natural language search experience: conversation initiation, AI clarification of ambiguous requests, results presentation within conversational flow, refinement ("show me something cheaper"), and booking handoff.
LLM-to-inventory integration design, Worked with engineering to connect the LLM to live flight and hotel APIs so every response contained real availability, real pricing, and real booking capability.
WhatsApp scale-up, Recognising WhatsApp handled 70%+ of customer interactions, designed the extension of AI search to WhatsApp. Customers could have the same natural language conversation, receive options with images and pricing, and trigger bookings via deep link to the app.
150-participant cross-market validation, Tested across Saudi Arabia and UAE. 87% of participants preferred natural language over form-based search for initial trip exploration. Customers explored 3.2x more destinations with AI search.
"We proved that LLMs could drive real commercial outcomes in travel, not just engagement metrics. Customers discovered places they'd never have considered if forced to type a destination into a dropdown."
The Outcomes
Almosafer became the first travel platform in MENA to ship a production LLM-powered booking experience, establishing regional innovation leadership and proving the commercial viability of AI search.
41% increase in search-to-booking conversion for AI-assisted sessions vs. traditional search. Across all channels, omnichannel conversion improved by +110% over the same period.
Customers explored 3.2x more destinations per session when using natural language search.
28,000+ AI-assisted bookings processed via WhatsApp within the first 3 months.
62% reduction in time-to-booking, from 12 minutes average to 4.5 minutes for AI-assisted sessions.
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