Lotte duty free brings AI to Brisbane airport with “Sarah”

Overview

Soulbotix, ResetData, and Lotte Duty Free partnered to transform the airport retail experience at Brisbane International Airport. Together, they created Sarah - a real-time, AI-powered avatar that enhances customer service around the clock, powered by sovereign Australian infrastructure.

The challenge

Airports are among the toughest retail environments. They operate 24/7, must comply with strict security and duty-free regulations, and cater to travellers who speak dozens of languages.

At Brisbane International Airport alone, more than 23 million travellers pass through each year. Lotte Duty Free wanted to stand out, with premium experiences such as Australia’s first in-store whiskey bar, but faced challenges:

• Delivering consistent service at 3am and 3pm alike

• Serving entire planeloads of customers quickly and accurately

• Overcoming language barriers to improve engagement

• Giving staff more time to focus on high-value customer interactions
  
  

As Rodney Tomes, Retail Innovation Project Manager, put it:

“We want to deliver an experience no other retailer can match. Traditional service models struggled to keep pace, so we turned to AI to make it possible.”

The solution: Meet Sarah

Soulbotix developed Sarah, a holographic 3D avatar assistant, powered by ResetData’s NVIDIA GPU-cluster supercomputing facilities.

Sarah is more than a virtual greeter. She has real-time access to:

• Stock levels

• Current specials

• Product details

• Duty-free regulations

With ResetData’s sovereign AI Factories and NVIDIA Marketplace solutions, Sarah delivers personalised, up-to-date service without sending sensitive customer data offshore.

In early trials, Sarah engaged in more than 23,000 customer conversations. Smaller in-store displays added another 40–100 conversations per day, ensuring travellers could get instant, accurate answers wherever they shopped.

Results

By deploying Sarah, Lotte Duty Free:

• Enhanced customer experience with 24/7 AI-powered service

• Reduced wait times and streamlined transactions across multiple departments

• Freed staff capacity to focus on high-value, personal service

• Created a destination experience that sets them apart in airport retail
  
  

Rodney concluded:

“Sarah isn’t the future, she’s our present, and she’s setting the standard for what’s next.”

Why ResetData

ResetData’s sovereign AI Factories were essential in bringing Sarah to life:

• NVIDIA-powered GPU clusters for real-time AI workloads

• Certified NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, including ACE and Magpie

• Sovereign, on-shore hosting ensuring compliance and local control

Together, ResetData and Soulbotix proved how sovereign AI can create real business advantage in one of the most competitive retail sectors.