The boom of AI: Insights & advice for managed travel
Artificial intelligence (AI) has boomed. It's the buzzword of the year. And, largely thanks to Chat GPT, has become a mainstream part of not just our everyday lives, but how we work too.
While the pace of change is overwhelming, are we actually seeing AI used relevantly, and does it pose a short and longer-term threat to managed travel? We asked Daniel Senyard, SVP of Commercial Platforms and Innovation for some level-setting advice and thoughts.
On the pace of change
AI has been advancing at a dizzying pace, are we really seeing a huge amount of ground-breaking change?
“There's certainly a fair amount of "AI for AI's sake" going on, but we haven’t yet seen a flood of brand-new releases showcasing capabilities that were truly impossible without AI. Right now, many existing processes are being optimised and enhanced by AI functionality for better outcomes and efficiency.
“However, we haven't encountered much that's wholly groundbreaking. Technological innovations need time to discover their "killer app"—a transformative application that fully harnesses the new paradigm and expands what's possible.
“Initially, people often use new technologies for familiar tasks before uncovering the novel use cases that never existed before. It's only natural for everyone to dive headfirst—whether out of excitement or anxiety—into new trends. In doing so, they explore and understand the new capabilities and opportunities at their disposal, paving the way to the next big breakthroughs.”
Do you have any tips to help travel buyers avoid 'bright and shiny syndrome' and identify applications that are relevant?
“The first step in evaluating new technology or processes is to focus on the "what" and ignore the "how." Understand deeply WHAT the problem is that needs solving and WHAT the desired outcome should be, without considering HOW it gets done.
“As long as the solution provides the desired outcome, it shouldn't matter how it's accomplished. Once you've verified that your problem can be solved, you can delve into how it's done, ensuring your data and usage remain secure and safe.”
On use cases in travel management today
What are the common AI use cases for travel managers that you’re currently seeing?
“Travel managers, like any employee, should leverage AI for various tasks such as summarising meetings, planning and brainstorming new ideas, improving communications, and adapting content for different audiences—say, translating a technical document for a non-technical audience.
“Specifically, travel managers can run their travel policies through AI to identify updates, review vendor contracts for better understanding, and enhance policy documents for easy access. They could also build a simple chatbot to provide quick answers to travellers' inquiries about reimbursements, travel class, and car rental policies.”
Why is human involvement in AI so important?
“Humans bring valuable judgement, intuition, creativity, and empathy to interactions, making them ideal for handling complex situations and providing support.
“Conversely, AI excels in efficiently extracting standardised information from data sources and delivering it swiftly at scale. By adopting a “human-in-the-loop” approach, we empower our people to eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on where their strengths lie. AI and human agents can seamlessly share tasks, depending on the requirement.
“Relying solely on AI-powered interactions limits us to basic, repetitive support tasks, and risks failure when customers are in urgent need. When stakes are high, agents must be equipped with AI tools to offer the most effective support.”
On the threat to managed travel programmes
Does AI pose a threat to managed travel?
“It’s challenging to speak in absolute terms because the impact of AI on our society over the coming decades remains uncertain.
“However, in the next few years, AI will undoubtedly transform managed travel. Travellers will benefit from advances in personalisation, risk mitigation, and efficiency gains.
“While AI shouldn't be a threat to the corporate travel industry, it will alter the roles and interaction points among all intermediaries. Vendors within the value chain between a traveller and their travel destination need to rethink parts of their business and redefine their value proposition in a world where travel planning, booking, and processing is no longer linear. The focus must shift to workflows (book, change, cancel) rather than work surfaces (OBT, dashboards, mobile apps).
“Consumer tools will teach travellers to expect functionality (workflows) wherever they are, whether on a desktop, chat interface, voice call, or any other touchpoint. Therefore, managed travel intermediaries need to shift their value from being tied exclusively to their “owned” tech stack to services or workflows that can be accessed across many/any customer touchpoints.”
How might this shift the role of humans in travel management?
“The role will need to shift from repetitive processes to strategic oversight and intuitive decisions. Automation and conversational AI will be implemented to handle common issues and respond to frequently asked questions.
“No one is satisfied when a traveller waits ten minutes to find out if they can get a refund for a cancelled flight or if their flight includes a checked bag. AI can accurately retrieve this information in split seconds because it excels at intelligence (IQ).
“Humans, on the other hand, excel at emotional intelligence (EQ) and judgement. AI can help travellers quickly resolve knowledge-based queries (IQ), freeing up humans to provide support and make decisions when a consoling, decisive, or empathetic touch (EQ) is required.”