Hilton Testing IBM Watson-Powered Robot Concierge

Staying at the Hilton hotel in McLean, Virginia, and need a restaurant recommendation? You might be in for a surprise at the concierge desk.

The hotel chain has partnered with IBM to pilot what the companies call "the first Watson-enabled robot concierge." Named "Connie" in honor of Hilton founder Conrad Hilton, the robot concierge can inform you about local tourist attractions, hotel features and amenities, and offer up dining recommendations.

Connie leverages a number of Watson speech and language APIs to greet guests upon arrival, answer questions about hotel amenities, services, and hours of operation. The robot also taps into the Watson-powered cognitive travel platform WayBlazer to suggest local attractions outside the hotel.

"Watson helps Connie understand and respond naturally to the needs and interests of Hilton's guests," Rob High, vice president and chief technology officer of IBM Watson, said in a statement.

During the pilot, Connie is learning to interact with guests and respond to their questions, and the technology will improve over time, Hilton and IBM said. The more guests interact with the robot, the more it learns.

"We're focused on reimagining the entire travel experience to make it smarter, easier, and more enjoyable for guests," Hilton's Vice President of Product Innovation and Brand Services, Jonathan Wilson, said in a statement. "By tapping into innovative partners like IBM Watson, we're wowing our guests in the most unpredictable ways."

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The Room Service Robots Have Arrived

Meanwhile, Connie isn't the only robot to score a customer service gig as of late. Japanese telecom giant SoftBank is planning to open a cell phone store in Tokyo this spring staffed primarily by Pepper robots. About five to six Pepper robots will run the store from March 28 through April 3, and be responsible for helping customers and making sales.

SoftBank also recently announced plans to offer an IBM Watson-powered version of Pepper for enterprises that can make sense of hidden meanings in data that traditional computers can't understand. For instance, Pepper may in the future be able to gain insights about people from sources like what they share on social media, to better assist them in a customer service capacity.