Skift Take
Someday a computer-generated avatar may explain why you can't fly business class to Dubai. In the meantime, travel management and travel tech companies are testing how to apply Gen AI to various parts of business travel.
While the travel agent on the screen looked and sounded like a video game character, it asked and answered travel booking questions with a near-human speed. With the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the Zeno computer travel agent from tech company Serko talked me through relevant hotel suggestions for an upcoming trip.
I witnessed this demonstration of a live tool Wednesday at the Global Business Travel Association conference in Atlanta. It was one of many examples I saw of how innovations in generative AI are impacting corporate travel. The whole travel tech stack is getting the AI treatment — messaging, policy compliance, expense reports, and even rebooking during disruptions.
Below are some of the many AI applications to business travel processes I heard about from key companies on the convention floor.
1. Messaging"Using Gen AI to answer traveler questions is really important because messaging can be an asynchronous channel where sometimes the traveler may put in a request but then look at the answer 20 minutes later and then ask a follow-up question," said John Pelant, EVP, chief experience and technology