Artificial intelligence is already reshaping the corporate travel industry, but perhaps not in the way many people expected. At Take2Eton, we see AI as a powerful enabler – one that enhances productivity, responsiveness, and insight – while strengthening the high-touch, personalized service our clients value most.
The real opportunity for AI within travel management companies (TMCs) lies in improving operational efficiency and empowering agents to focus on what matters most: supporting travelers and delivering exceptional client service.
Today, AI is helping remove many of the low-value administrative tasks that traditionally consume agent time. Functions such as trip look-ups, disruption monitoring, and policy checks can now be automated or significantly accelerated. The result is that agents are able to respond more quickly, support more travelers simultaneously, and deliver a more consistent and higher-quality service experience.
Disruption management
This another area where AI is already proving highly effective. Real-time trip monitoring enables earlier alerts and faster re-accommodation when delays or cancelations occur. This allows travel teams to act proactively rather than reactively, reducing traveler stress and minimizing operational disruption for businesses.
Duty of Care
AI is also playing an increasingly important role in strengthening duty of care. By identifying risks and impacted travelers in real time, organizations can provide safer, more proactive support during incidents or global events. At the same time, AI can improve policy compliance and cost control by flagging issues earlier in the booking journey, helping businesses reduce unnecessary exceptions without creating additional friction for travelers.
Data and reporting
One of the most transformative applications of AI is in data and reporting. AI can analyse travel and spend patterns at far greater speed and scale than traditional methods, generating smarter insights that support program optimization and better-informed decision-making. At Take2Eton, we are already leveraging AI within our reporting and analytics platform, Lens, enabling users to query travel data through a natural-language conversational interface.
Looking ahead
The use of AI within corporate travel will continue to evolve rapidly. The next phase will be driven by agentic AI systems capable of taking more autonomous actions. These systems could recommend and execute rebookings during disruption, dynamically adjust policy rules based on traveler behaviour and cost outcomes, trigger supplier escalations, identify savings opportunities, or even draft communications for travelers and stakeholders automatically.
Naturally, this evolution has prompted debate across the industry. Questions are often raised about whether AI – particularly agentic AI – will eventually replace travel managers or even TMCs themselves. Our view is unequivocal: it will not.
AI will enhance what we do, but it will not replace the expertise, judgement, and personal service that experienced travel professionals provide. Every client program is different, with its own priorities, nuances, and operational complexities. Those nuances become even more critical during periods of disruption or crisis. When conflict escalated in the Middle East, for example, clients needed travelers repatriated quickly and safely. Situations like these require calm decision-making, human empathy, supplier relationships, and the practical experience of skilled agents working under pressure. Technology can support that process, but it cannot replicate it.
Ultimately, AI works best in high-volume, data-heavy, and time-critical environments – monitoring, analysis, and automation behind the scenes. Human expertise remains essential for managing complex itineraries, supporting VIP travelers, handling high-stress situations, escalating supplier issues, and maintaining strong client relationships.
