AI has quickly become one of the most discussed topics in corporate travel. As new capabilities emerge, travel managers are increasingly considering how AI can create the most value for their programs and what needs to be in place for that value to materialize.
During our recent Business Travel News webinar, Beyond the Hype: What It Really Takes for AI to Improve Managed Travel, Direct Travel’s Ken Pfaffmann, Vice President of Product Marketing, and Toni Lo Sasso, Senior Director of User Experience, explored the role AI can play across a managed travel program.
Below are some of the key themes that emerged from their conversation. You can also watch the full webinar here:
Start With the Problem You Want AI to Solve
Many of the challenges travel managers face are familiar: Information is spread across systems, reporting requires time-consuming analysis, and routine tasks compete with more strategic responsibilities. During disruptions or other high-pressure situations, that manual work becomes an even greater burden.
AI can help reduce some of this friction by making information easier to access and automating repetitive work. The most useful applications will depend on where that friction exists within your own program, making the challenge itself a natural place to start.
Begin by clearly defining a problem your program is facing. Then consider how technology could improve the process. Could AI:
- Reduce the time spent compiling reports?
- Make policy information easier to find?
- Identify trends that would otherwise require manual analysis?
- Provide faster access to information during a disruption?
Questions such as these keep the focus on outcomes and provide a clearer way to evaluate whether an AI capability is actually delivering value.
Trusted AI Requires a Strong Foundation
AI is only as useful as the information and context it can draw from. In a managed travel program, that can include booking and spend data, policy, traveler behavior, supplier performance, service interactions, and more. When that information sits across disconnected systems, AI may be able to answer a question, but it might not have enough context to provide an answer a travel manager can confidently act on.
That is where a strong, connected data foundation changes the equation. Instead of simply telling a travel manager what happened, AI can help explain why it happened, what it means, and where attention may be needed. A spike in hotel spend, for example, becomes more useful when it can be understood alongside booking behavior, policy compliance, negotiated rates, and market conditions.
This is the direction we are taking with Avenir. By bringing travel content, program data, and management capabilities into a connected environment, Avenir creates a richer foundation for intelligence. Ask Avenir builds on that foundation by allowing travel managers to ask questions in natural language and get answers informed by the context of their program.
Beyond easier access to data, the payoff is it reduces the work required to turn that data into insight, helping travel managers identify patterns, investigate issues, and make better-informed decisions faster.
Focus on Where AI Can Deliver Value Today 
“Travel managers are looking for what AI can actually do for them today. They want confidence that AI works, and proof that it’s helping them. They’re looking for real impact, not novelty and hype.”
– Toni Lo Sasso, Senior Director of User Experience, Direct Travel
A natural approach to integrating AI starts with use cases where the technology is already well suited for the task. Policy lookups, spend analysis, reporting, compliance monitoring, traveler location queries, and repetitive background tasks are among the workflows where AI can help today. These applications can reduce manual effort while giving travel managers faster access to information.
From there, you can work toward building more advanced capabilities. A strong progression might begin with reliable reporting and visibility, followed by AI-generated insights and recommendations, workflow automation, traveler assistance, and eventually more predictive or agentic applications.
This approach can also simplify how travel managers measure ROI. Time savings, more informed decisions, and smoother traveler experiences provide useful starting points, with measures such as compliance, supplier optimization, and traveler satisfaction helping quantify AI’s impact.
Automation Creates More Room for Human Expertise
AI can assist with predictable tasks and analyze large amounts of information. Applying it to routine work gives travel managers and advisors more time to focus on situations requiring judgment, creative problem-solving, relationships, and empathy.
That becomes particularly valuable when travel does not go according to plan. Disruptions, booking exceptions, and specialized VIP needs can require an understanding of the traveler, the organization, and the options available to resolve a complex situation. Reducing the manual work happening in the background and providing a complete, trusted view of traveler activity gives experienced people greater capacity to respond.
This balance also creates more room for travel managers to focus on program strategy. Travelers can benefit from faster answers for straightforward requests while maintaining access to knowledgeable support if circumstances become more complicated.
Building an AI Strategy Around Better Outcomes
Travel managers do not need to adopt every emerging AI capability at once. A more sustainable approach begins with the outcomes they want to achieve and the foundation required to support them.
Trusted data, connected systems, and clear governance can help organizations build confidence before progressing toward more advanced automation. As AI continues to evolve, giving it the right information and context will be essential to turning new capabilities into better decisions and program outcomes.
For more insights from Ken and Toni, including an Avenir demonstration and attendee Q&A covering security, legacy technology, benchmarking, and other AI considerations, watch the full webinar on demand.
