Design an agentic flow in ixigo's TARA assistant that rebooks travellers when their flight is cancelled

Introduction

In May 2026, at its ixigo NEXT event, ixigo relaunched its app as "AI-native". At the centre is TARA, a multimodal assistant that understands voice, text and taps in English, Hindi and Hinglish. ixigo also introduced Trip Mode for the journey itself and "agentic travel flows": background agents that send boarding passes on WhatsApp, share documents with Digi Yatra, monitor flight schedules, notify users of delays and help with cancellation refunds.

The prompt asks me to design an agentic flow in TARA that rebooks travellers when their flight is cancelled. This is one of the highest-stakes moments in travel, and an AI agent acting on someone's behalf with their money raises questions about trust, consent and error handling. I'll clarify the problem, explain why it matters, choose a segment, map pain points, then design and measure the solution.

Step 1

Clarify Questions (3 minutes)

• Does "cancelled" include long delays and missed connections?

• Why it matters: Each has different airline obligations and rebooking options.
• Hypothetical answer: Start with airline-initiated cancellations on domestic flights; delays over three hours come later.
• Impact: The scope is clear, and airline rules on rebooking and refunds apply.

• Can TARA book without asking each time?

• Why it matters: Full autonomy is fast but risky; asking every time defeats the purpose.
• Hypothetical answer: Users can choose a level of autonomy, within limits.
• Impact: We'll design tiers of consent.

• Who pays for the new ticket?

• Why it matters: If the airline rebooks for free, the agent's job is choosing the best option. If not, it's spending the user's money.
• Hypothetical answer: Airlines usually offer a free change or a full refund after a cancellation; a different airline costs extra.
• Impact: The agent must clearly separate free airline options from paid alternatives.

• Are tickets booked outside ixigo in scope?

• Why it matters: ixigo can only change bookings it controls.
• Hypothetical answer: Only ixigo bookings for rebooking; others get alerts and guidance.
• Impact: The agent works on ixigo-booked flights first.

Propose the Goal

When a flight booked on ixigo is cancelled, TARA should get the traveller to their destination as quickly as possible, at the lowest extra cost, with the traveller always in control of money and choices.

Define the Scope

Domestic flights booked on ixigo, airline-initiated cancellations, rebooking on the same airline or alternatives (other airlines, trains, buses), and refunds.