StubHub Introduces a Skill for Microsoft Cortana

StubHub, an online event ticket marketplace, has launched a "Skill" for Cortana, Microsoft's voice assistant. The StubHub Skill for Cortana is the latest innovation in StubHub's artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio, which also includes chatbots for Skype and Facebook Messenger.

To use the StubHub Skill, consumers with the Cortana assistant simply ask for live event ideas by voice. The StubHub Skill then takes them through a discovery process based on where they are, what they like, and when they are available, to connect them with ideas for live events.

"Think of the StubHub Skill for Cortana like a concierge that suggests what people can do based on their interests and what their friends are doing, in a natural, conversational, one-to-one experience," said Mats Nilsson, head of product, UX and PMO at StubHub, in a statement. "We believe the StubHub Skill for Cortana can help consumers get ideas for live events at the moment they're inspired to go out, with minimal friction in the experience, as easily as talking with their friends."

In building the StubHub Skill for Cortana, StubHub leveraged the Microsoft Bot Framework and LUIS, Microsoft's proprietary natural language processing (NLP) AI, and added a layer of inputs from a variety of StubHub sources.

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