AI Sakura-san Begins Demonstration Project with Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association

Tifana.com Inc. (Headquarters: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hiroya Mori) announced that its "AI Sakura-san" service has been introduced to the Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association (hereinafter, SenTIA) for tourist information services. Test operations will commence on April 29, 2026, followed by the start of a demonstration project on May 1.

At the Sendai City Tourist Information Center, the service will significantly enhance responsiveness to tourists by utilizing 4-language support (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean) and remote customer service functions. This initiative aims to promote tourism DX, improve operational efficiency, and elevate service quality.

Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association_Avatar Customer Service Sakura-san

■ Background of AI Sakura-san's Introduction

SenTIA, as a core organization responsible for promoting tourism and international exchange in Sendai City and Miyagi Prefecture, undertakes a wide range of initiatives, including attracting tourists, inviting MICE (international conferences and exhibitions) to expand the exchange population, and promoting multicultural coexistence.

Given the recent evolution of AI, which enables the provision of information with a certain level of quality for various tourist inquiries, it was decided to verify the feasibility and accuracy of unmanned tourist information. Concurrently, with the increase in foreign visitors, there arose a need to concentrate human resources, previously working in two shifts, during core hours, which formed the background for this introduction.

■ Overview and Features of the Demonstration Project: Digitalizing Information Services with "AI x Remote Customer Service"

This demonstration project will utilize "AI Sakura-san" at the Sendai City Tourist Information Center to verify the advancement of tourist information services.

AI Sakura-san will immediately respond to basic inquiries such as directions to tourist spots and general information, including multilingual support. For complex consultations that AI Sakura-san alone cannot resolve, it will seamlessly connect to specialized staff located remotely via the remote customer service function.

Users can transition to human assistance without interrupting their conversation, achieving both operational efficiency and hospitality.

The main verification items are as follows:

・Improvement of avatar customer service accuracy and convenience

・Operational efficiency through automation of inquiry responses

・Effectiveness of collaboration between remote customer service and human assistance

・Improvement of user satisfaction

Based on these verification results, full-scale implementation is planned from July 2026.

■ Role of AI Sakura-san: Automating Routine Tasks, Enabling Staff for "Advanced Customer Service"

AI Sakura-san will play the following roles in both tourism and daily life support:

・Providing information on tourist spots, local products, specialties, events, and access

・Multilingual inquiry support (4 languages)

AI Sakura-san's guidance will be available during the Sendai City Tourist Information Center's operating hours from 8:30 to 19:00.

Remote customer service will be available on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00.

This new information provision system will contribute to improving convenience for tourists visiting Sendai.

■ Future Outlook: A Model for "Tourism DX" to Enhance Sendai/Tohoku's Tourism Competitiveness

Moving forward, based on the knowledge gained from this demonstration experiment and full-scale implementation, tourism data such as multilingual inquiry content and usage status will be accumulated and analyzed. This will strengthen personalized tourism proposals and recommendation functions tailored to user needs.

By promoting advanced tourism marketing based on data and enhancing the tourism competitiveness of Sendai and Tohoku, we will contribute to realizing "Sendai: A Sustainable International Tourism City and a City of Multicultural Coexistence."

＜About AI Sakura-san＞

AI Sakura-san is an AI agent that can be used by customers without registration or tuning. With the concept "AI Sakura-san by your side. Work and happiness, together," it supports the promotion of DX for companies and local governments.

【Reasons why AI Sakura-san is chosen】
・Equipped with the latest AI technologies such as ChatGPT and image generation AI
・Acquired AI-related patents and various ISO certifications including quality assurance and cloud security
・Delivered with unique customization in a short period according to client's business content
・Operation and maintenance tasks are fully automated

Many companies aiming for DX promotion have adopted AI Sakura-san. It realizes AI customer service and avatar customer service at stations, commercial facilities, websites, and over the phone, and is widely used in various industries and scenarios by major companies, local governments, and public transportation.

＜Company Introduction＞

Tifana.com Inc. (Headquarters: Meguro-ku, Tokyo)

Operating with the corporate philosophy "Making the world smile with the power of AI," it supports the DX promotion of companies and local governments.
Since its establishment in 2000, it has primarily engaged in web production, handling website creation for various industries and business types. Leveraging this experience, it embarked on artificial intelligence (AI) development and released "AI Sakura-san" in October 2016.
Currently, "AI Sakura-san" is used by many companies across Japan.