Avis Rent a Car has confirmed that it has begun integration into the voice-activated Amazon Alexa platform, allowing customers to book and manage reservations using Amazon Echo devices.
Avis demonstrated the new service at the recent Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) Convention in Boston, USA, which is already available to the public in North America.
The platform provides travellers with instant, voice-controlled access to the car rental booking process with such commands as, “I need a car at Cape Town Airport at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.”
The voice platform then manages the booking process through secure integration with Avis using travellers’ preferences stored in their Avis profile. These include car preference and additional options such as GPS devices.
Avis said that as it rolls out globally, its customers with Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices will be able to make car rental reservations, review current or past reservations and request e-receipts for rentals through their virtual assistants.
While, Amazon Echo devices and apps are not yet officially available to many customers globally, as soon as they are, customers will be able to make their reservations using the platform.