UPS will allow its customers to obtain package information without a tracking number by integrating its customer-facing chatbot with UPS My Choice.

According to UPS, authenticated users will be able to log in to their UPS My Choice accounts with the chatbot and gain access to customized information such as package location and delivery detail.

“The integration of our chatbot with UPS My Choice is a big leap forward for the customer service UPS offers,” said Stuart Marcus, vice president of customer technology marketing. “It also marks an important step as UPS continues to deploy leading-edge technologies to bring better, easier and simpler experiences to our consumer and business customers.”

The chatbot is an artificial-intelligence-enabled platform which mimics human conversation, launched by UPS in 2016 on Facebook Messenger, Skype and Amazon Alexa. It was initially able to find UPS locations, get shipping rates and track packages.

The UPS My Choice service provides more control over how and where packages are delivered. Users can now interact with it in a conversational manner by asking questions to the chatbot.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning, along with big data and the internet of things, underpin many of the technologies that support UPS’s global logistics network,” said Bob Myrick, principal architect of customer engagement technology at UPS. “They also enable important customer-facing technologies like UPS My Choice.”

More sophisticated functionality is being planned for the chatbot, including managing delivery time and location of incoming packages and signing up for notifications via Facebook Messenger and Skype, according to UPS.