Integrating GenAI into our customer chat interface significantly enhanced CX: redBus CTO

Today, nearly every company is tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) in some way, and redBus, an online bus ticketing platform in India, is making sure it keeps up with the trends. Established in 2006 to tackle issues in bus ticketing, the Bengaluru-based firm is using AI and analytics to gain real-time insights from data, which helps improve operations, boost decision-making, and ultimately enhance the experience for customers. In an interview with TechCircle, Anoop Menon, chief technology officer (CTO) of redBus, discusses the company's implementation of AI and GenAI strategies, as well as its focus on cybersecurity, containerization, and other advanced technologies. Edited excerpts: 

Which areas in technology would you be focusing currently and why?

At redBus this year there's going to be a focus on AI - specifically on Gen AI besides prioritising cybersecurity and scalability. We aim to integrate AI into various aspects of development and testing.  We also intend to introduce GenAI across various customer touch points to enhance experience, ease of use and accessibility. Additionally security and compliance continues to be a critical organisation wide focus.

What kind of innovation are you bringing with technologies such as AI, data analytics and metaverse?

We are leveraging AI, data analytics, and the metaverse to drive innovation across multiple areas. Our AI-powered customer chat interface has significantly improved engagement, reducing chat drops and increasing customer satisfaction from 65% to over 92%. In data analytics, we are focusing on predictive insights to optimise business decisions, enhance personalisation, and improve operational efficiency. We have also developed an internal metaverse-based onboarding product that provides new employees with an immersive virtual office tour and an interactive introduction to our tech systems and platforms. These innovations collectively improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, and employee experience, which reinforces our commitment to cutting-edge technology.

Please tell us about the microservices-based architecture and its benefits in terms of business growth.

At redBus we have been leveraging a microservices-based architecture, which has been instrumental in driving scalability, agility, and operational efficiency. By breaking down our system into independent, modular services, we have been able to scale specific components seamlessly based on demand, ensuring high availability and performance. This architecture has also enabled faster development and deployment cycles, reducing time-to-market for new features while maintaining system stability. Additionally, microservices enhance fault isolation, minimizing the impact of failures and improving resilience. From an ROI perspective too, it has  allowed for better technology choices per service, ultimately driving business growth  

Considering advanced cyber-attacks in the industry, what kind of measures has the company taken?

We prioritise proactive threat detection with AI-driven monitoring,  real-time intrusion detection systems and BotManager to prevent cyber threats and abuse. Our data protection measures include end-to-end encryption for sensitive information. Employees undergo regular cybersecurity training to recognise threats like phishing and social engineering. A robust incident response plan ensures quick mitigation, supported by penetration testing and security audits. We adhere to compliance standards such as ISO 27001:2022, PCI, and GDPR/DPDP. We also collaborate with cybersecurity firms to conduct third party audits and risk assessments to identify and address any issues upfront.

Any recent technology initiative that has led to an increase in customer experience or any other success?

One of our recent technology initiatives has been the integration of Gen AI into our customer chat interface. This has significantly improved customer experience and operational efficiency. Previously, chat drops due to limited agent bandwidth were a challenge, but with AI-powered chat assistance, we have ensured seamless query responses round the clock especially for standard queries. As a result, customer satisfaction has surged from 65% to over 92%, reflecting improved response quality and faster issue resolution. Additionally, this has optimised agent workload, allowing them to focus on more complex queries.

On a scale of 1-10 how much would you rank the company's digital transformation efforts and why?

I would rank our company’s digital transformation efforts at a solid 8 out of 10. We have been a very early adopter of cloud with redBus adopting cloud as early as 2007. This has helped us build a highly scalable, resilient, and cost-efficient infrastructure that has enabled rapid innovation. Our shift to a microservices-based architecture in 2014 further strengthened our agility, making it easier to scale and manage complex systems. We continue to stay ahead by embracing AI-driven automation, advanced data analytics, and metaverse-based experiences to enhance both customer and employee engagement. In my view this ability of ours to adopt and integrate emerging technologies early has helped us to be ahead in the curve of digital transformation. While we have made significant progress, we see this as an ongoing journey, continuously exploring new advancements to drive further innovation and efficiency.

What are your tech roadmaps for the next 2-3 years?

Over the next 2-3 years, our roadmap will focus on performance and scalability, AI-driven automation, feature enhancements, security, and emerging technologies. We will continue to enhance customer support, personalization, and predictive analytics to drive better user experiences. While our containerisation journey is well underway, we will further innovate and optimize for improved scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency. On the security front, we remain committed to leveraging advanced tools to protect our data and infrastructure while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations. Additionally, we will explore tools to enhance developer productivity, streamline automation testing, and strengthen overall engineering efficiency.