[SCEWC2024] Visit Madrid GPT: The AI tool bringing personalization to city tourism

At the Smart City Expo World Congress on Nov. 6 in Barcelona, leaders from Madrid and Microsoft detailed how they are leveraging generative AI to reshape tourism in the Spanish capital, driving personalized travel experiences, promoting sustainability, and enhancing marketing strategies.

Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry marketing at Microsoft, highlighted how generative AI is central to the company’s mission of improving productivity and operational efficiency for governments. “Generative AI helps us create personalized experiences, whether it’s making a government service like obtaining a driver’s license easier or predicting cybersecurity threats,” Mitford said.

Mitford noted that Microsoft’s success in this space is partly due to its recognition of customers’ varied stages in their digital journeys. “We were fortunate to work with Abigail and the City of Madrid because they already had their data in order—AI needs data to function effectively,” she added. “Best practices for AI adoption include securing buy-in from top executives, aligning AI initiatives with business goals, and recognizing that generative AI, while fast-moving, is still a new technology.”

Visit Madrid GPT./City of Madrid

Building on these principles, Madrid is applying Microsoft’s framework in its AI-driven tourism project, Visit Madrid GPT. Abigail Sigüenza Perez, director of strategic marketing at Madrid Destino, described how the city is using AI to create a personalized experience for travelers. “AI allows us to provide tailored itineraries based on real-time preferences and interests, creating a more sustainable and impactful tourism experience,” Sigüenza said. This project aims not only to engage visitors but also to gather insights into their behaviors, helping the city optimize its marketing strategies.

The development of Visit Madrid GPT was inspired by the growing need for personalization in tourism marketing. With AI’s ability to dynamically adapt to user preferences, the city created a system that offers custom itineraries and provides insights into tourist interests, such as gastronomy and navigation. “We found that food and getting around the city were the top questions visitors asked. By analyzing this data, we can adjust our messaging to better cater to specific needs, such as offering vegetarian options for U.S. tourists,” Sigüenza explained.

The AI-driven tool also aligns with Madrid’s sustainability goals. By analyzing visitor behavior, the system recommends lesser-known, environmentally friendly areas of the city, encouraging tourists to explore sustainable options. Additionally, it helps identify peak travel times, enabling the city to fine-tune campaigns and improve engagement.

Abigail Sigüenza Perez, director of strategic marketing at Madrid Destino, and Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry marketing at Microsoft, discuss how generative AI is transforming Madrid's tourism, with Zoe Eather, CEO of My Smart Community, moderating at the Smart City Expo World Congress on Nov. 6, 2024, at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue./Park Su-hyeon

Microsoft’s collaboration with the City of Madrid was crucial to the development of Visit Madrid GPT, which relies on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure and generative AI tools. Mitford emphasized that the project exemplifies how technology, in partnership with industry experts, can help cities address citizen and visitor needs responsibly. “Generative AI empowers cities to meet the needs of their citizens and visitors while ensuring security, trust, and responsible use of data,” she said.

Sigüenza also outlined some challenges the city encountered during development. One of the initial hurdles was ensuring the AI considered not only travel distances but also the time needed for visitors to fully experience each attraction. “We had to train the model to adjust the recommendations based on a visitor’s schedule,” she explained. The city also aimed to make the AI interaction more conversational, avoiding the rigidity of a questionnaire in favor of a natural, engaging dialogue with users. The result was an AI model so interactive that 20% of users thanked it after their interactions.

Looking ahead, Sigüenza shared plans to expand Visit Madrid GPT’s reach. “We want to integrate it with popular apps like WhatsApp so tourists can continue the conversation even after leaving our website,” she said. The city also plans to incorporate multimodal functionality, including voice recognition, aligning with trends in voice-assisted communication. Sustainability remains a priority, and Madrid is committed to using emerging technologies that will reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, further contributing to sustainable tourism.

Mitford concluded by underscoring that the potential of generative AI is still unfolding. With Microsoft’s focus on delivering industry-specific AI solutions, the company aims to accelerate adoption across sectors. “The future of generative AI is about providing tailored, impactful solutions for businesses and governments alike, and we’re just at the beginning,” she said.