New Delhi, April 2025 — In a significant move to enhance customer experience and streamline service operations, Air India has deepened its partnership with global CRM leader Salesforce by implementing Salesforce Agentforce, a cutting-edge AI-driven platform designed to elevate customer service through automation.
This milestone marks Air India as one of the first airlines globally to integrate Agentforce into its customer service framework. The move is part of the airline’s broader digital transformation strategy, aimed at boosting operational efficiency and delivering a more seamless, personalized travel experience to its passengers.
Automating Refunds with Agentic AI
The initial rollout of Agentforce will focus on one of the most time-sensitive customer service processes—refund requests. Traditionally, handling refund claims required multiple steps between contact center agents and backend teams, often leading to processing delays and customer frustration.
With Agentforce, Air India plans to automate this workflow using agentic AI capabilities, which simulate human-like decision-making. The AI system will provide instant acknowledgment of claims, automate status tracking, and offer real-time updates to customers. This means passengers can expect faster resolutions with minimal manual intervention, thereby improving satisfaction and reinforcing customer trust.
“Our collaboration with Salesforce on Agentforce is a forward leap in transforming how we handle specific types of refund requests,” said Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Air India. “This innovation is not just about automation—it’s about giving our guests more transparency, quicker responses, and a superior experience overall.”
Expanding AI Across Customer Touchpoints
Air India is no stranger to artificial intelligence. In 2023, the airline launched ‘Maharaja’, a generative AI virtual agent powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. The success of Maharaja laid the groundwork for more ambitious AI applications, including the current Agentforce deployment.
Encouraged by the anticipated success in the refunds domain, Air India plans to scale Agentforce integration across additional customer service operations in the coming months. This includes the automation of voice-based customer interactions, promising even broader improvements in responsiveness and service personalization.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, President & CEO of Salesforce – South Asia, praised the partnership, saying, “Agentforce represents the next frontier of customer service, where AI works alongside humans to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalized experiences at scale. With its adoption of Agentforce, Air India is setting a new benchmark for AI-powered customer engagement in the aviation sector worldwide.”
A Strategic Alliance for the Future
Air India has been a long-time user of Salesforce products—including Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Data Cloud, and Einstein AI. The adoption of Agentforce is a natural extension of this relationship and signals the airline’s commitment to becoming a digitally agile, customer-centric organization.
As the aviation industry continues to recover and evolve in the post-pandemic era, innovations like Agentforce underscore the critical role of AI in driving operational agility and enhancing the traveler experience. With its proactive investment in technology and strategic partnerships, Air India is positioning itself at the forefront of the global airline digital revolution.
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