A new tool lets captains and crew get instant, 24-hour information on anything from berth suitability to service provider contact information, all via WhatsApp.
AcqueraPro AI uses AI technology to provide information about anything from marina specifications and port procedures to customs requirements, sample guest itineraries and curated experiences. But while AI technology makes the information instantly and constantly available, the information comes from Acquera Yachting's own sources, including its more than 140 agents around the world.
“It’s taking all the information and data from the existing database," says Stefano Tositti, CEO and founder of ACQ Group. "It is tested, and not taken from Google. The human factor in yachting is essential. AcqueraPro is not going to change this element, but we need to also innovate this sector."
The new tool will improve efficiency while offering the same information transparency, he says. Yachts have developed into technological marvels. “But the service industry around it is not the same,” he says.
Fabrizio Ottoni Limena recently joined ACQ Group as chief technology officer; he had been working on AI projects in yachting and luxury real estate. “I looked at the whole market and figured out where we could first choose low-hanging fruits, because we could do so much with tech,” he says.
With yachting, Fabrizio first thought about chefs and leveraging information that the AI already knows about menus and provisioning lists. He then looked at how it could be applied to onboard solutions for other positions. That led to the all-encompassing scope of the new tool. The move to WhatsApp, he believes, adds another element of practicality.
“It was an exercise to go to where users are already communicating rather than present them with something they are not currently using,” he says.
Fabrizio has years of experience in both tech and yachting, and he sees this as part of something larger: “Our project is very ambitious,” he says. “This is the most important technological moment we are going through together as a society.”
But like any good innovation, it aims to solve straightforward problems and make specific tasks easier.
“It is very safe, it is very intuitive, it is conversation-based, it is yachting-based,” he says. “It will free up your yachting agent to be available when you need him.”