PT World | January 2026
12 Dec 2025
Airports are moving from traditional to generative AI assistants as part of a broader shift toward agentic AI
The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 was a watershed moment in the development of artificial intelligence, according to Verena Dollberg, AI lead at Fraport, which operates several airports worldwide, including Frankfurt in Germany.
“We had been working with AI long before ChatGPT came along, but its arrival suddenly put AI on everyone’s agenda,” says Dollberg. “You finally had management awareness, and everyone wanting to do something with AI.”
One consequence of the emergence of so-called generative AI solutions – such as ChatGPT – has been an improvement in public-facing chatbots that convey information to passengers. Frankfurt Airport’s virtual assistants comprise off-the-shelf solutions from a range of software providers.
“The market is still rather new,” continues Dollberg. “So far we haven’t decided on a single solution but are trying out several solutions for different areas. In the end, it’s better to have one provider, but we’re still in the experimental phase, where you have to wait and see which product emerges as the best.”
