Santa Barbara Tourism Bureau Now Utilizing AI to Create Travel Plans for Visitors

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - "How do you spend a day in Santa Barbara without a car?" – that was was among the first questions people asked Visit Santa Barbara's new chatbot on its tourism website.

The tourism bureau partnered with Mindtrip to add the feature. The chatbot draws on the bureau’s travel information and other online sources. It can answer a question about getting around or suggest a day’s itinerary based on what a visitor wants to do.

Where those suggestions send people matters to local businesses. Visit Santa Barbara hopes the chatbot will steer some visitors beyond the places they already know and bring more customers to lesser-known stops around the South Coast.

The chatbot is available on SantaBarbaraCA.com.

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