One of the best performers on the Australian share market on Thursday has been the LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT) share price.
In afternoon trade the intelligent workplace software provider's shares are up 12% to 42 cents.
Why is the LiveTiles share price on fire today?
Investors have been fighting to get hold of LiveTiles shares after it announced the launch of an Airline AI Bot Solution in conjunction with global tech behemoth Microsoft.
According to the release, LiveTiles' Gate Agent Assistant Bot uses artificial intelligence to provide automated responses and retrieve the information required to allow airline staff to more quickly respond to customer demands at the gate.
Its customisable chatbot provides staff with an easy to use, conversational interface that sources information from an airline's existing systems.
In addition to this, it will automate key processes such as issue escalation and the pre-filling of customer data and immediately provides gate agents with the information needed to deliver a faster service in line with airline policies and procedures.
Overall, the release explains that the solution has been designed to improve customer service by increasing staff efficiency and reducing wait times in the high volume, high stress environment at the airport gate.
The company has already signed its first customer to implement the bot technology throughout the USA.
Management advised that this customer is a major US airline and one of the world's largest by revenue. The technology will be rolled out and generate recurring revenues under a software-as-a-service licensing model.
The Global Managing Director of Travel and Transportation Industry at Microsoft, Julie Shainock, believes there is a big need for the offering.
She said: "LiveTiles' Gate Agent Assistant Bots will have the ability to streamline and drastically improve customer experiences by improving efficiency and decreasing delays at busy airport gates. LiveTiles' innovative approach to this problem is filling a genuine gap and is set to greatly improve the way we all experience airline travel."
Should you invest?
I've been very impressed at the progress that LiveTiles has made over the last 18 months and believe it has enormous potential.
It is a high risk investment, though, but worth considering along with fellow small cap tech shares ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO) and Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT) if your risk profile allows it.
