AI governance for business travel has moved from future consideration to immediate need as AI reshapes booking, servicing, reporting, program management and more.

For many organizations, AI is advancing faster than policies and processes can keep pace, leaving guidelines unclear or outdated.

Some AI capabilities also introduce complexity that is hard to track, especially when they influence recommendations or access sensitive Traveler and company data. That is where clear governance matters.

AI governance simply means setting clear rules for how your organization may use AI, what data it may access, when human review applies and who is accountable for the outcomes.

In this article, we’ll cover what AI governance for business travel can look like so you can evaluate your organization’s approved uses, data access, accountability and human oversight.

Key Takeaways

• AI governance for business travel should define approved uses, data access and accountability.
• Level of human review should reflect the risk and complexity of each task.
• Travelers and program leaders need transparency into AI-supported actions.
• Governance should evolve as AI capabilities and business travel applications change.

Why AI Governance Belongs in the Travel Program

Whether or not your organization has formal guidance in place, AI is here and it’s influencing your travel program. This can lead to issues.

AI now influences Travelers’ search, recommendations, servicing and reporting, with many Travelers choosing how and when to use AI tools based purely on their personal wants and needs. Meanwhile, travel vendors are incorporating AI tools into their capabilities, and those vendor features may appear faster than your company’s internal review process can address them. Then, of course, there’s the worry that the use of public AI tools may introduce privacy, security and policy concerns. 

Still, all of these areas of concern haven’t stopped the industry from embracing AI broadly.

According to data from the Global Business Travel Association, “the industry is embracing agentic AI, with nearly half of suppliers and TMC professionals (49%) and one-third of buyers (33%) reporting their companies are already experimenting with autonomous AI.”

The GBTA findings went on to explain that “top applications for both travel buyers and suppliers and TMCs are customer service, Traveler personalization and automated itinerary planning. Additionally, half of buyer respondents (51%) are planning to use agentic AI for expense reconciliation.” 

A separate GBTA poll found that protecting Business Travelers from AI scams is a top challenge for some, as well as that “figuring out AI” is a travel buyer priority. 

Given all of the above and just how much AI is trending within the business travel world, AI data governance is crucial to protecting your Travelers, your organization’s data and your program as a whole. 

What an AI Travel Policy Should Define

AI travel policies should address approved uses, data access, decision authority, human review, accountability, transparency, escalation and performance monitoring. Recommend clear internal guidance to your Travelers on which AI tools Travelers and employees may use for planning, servicing and expense-related tasks. pol

Make sure that your AI travel policy defines and explains:

• Approved tools and travel-related uses
• Permitted access to Traveler, company and itinerary data
• The difference between AI assistance and autonomous action
• When human review is required
• Who is accountable for reviewing and correcting outcomes
• How actions are documented and explained
• When a task must be escalated to a person
• How accuracy, errors and Traveler outcomes will be monitored

Where Human Review is Essential

The ins and outs of travel management and booking can’t be left to AI overall, without oversight. AI may struggle with tasks that require historic knowledge or human instinct, as well as complex travel changes.

Consider requiring human review—or avoiding AI completely—for tasks involving: 

• Traveler safety and Duty of Care
• Accessibility or individual support needs
• Complex itinerary changes
• Policy exceptions
• Unusual refunds, credits or charges
• Sensitive personal or company information

How to Evaluate AI Offered by Travel Providers

It’s very likely that you’ll soon encounter travel providers incorporating AI capabilities into their offerings if you haven’t yet—and those AI capabilities are evolving rapidly. As one example of how capabilities are changing, potentially impacting your AI governance, Spotnana’s multi-agent AI capabilities show how travel technology is moving beyond mere analysis and assistance and into task-specific servicing. 

Before partnering with any travel provider that incorporates AI capabilities into their tools, make sure that you’re properly vetting them and asking the right questions. 

For example, ask: 

• What tasks the AI is authorized to perform
• What data it uses and whether that data trains an external model
• How actions are tested, recorded and reviewed
• How company policy and approval rules are applied
• When a task is escalated to a person
• How inaccurate outcomes are corrected
• How results and Traveler outcomes are measured

AI Governance for Business Travel Requires Attention and Accountability 

Responsible AI adoption in business travel requires clear accountability, transparency and access to personal support. Your program’s AI governance should make this useful technology easier to trust and manage, while not slowing progress unnecessarily.

Connect responsible AI adoption with a Business Travel program that balances modern technology, clear governance and personal support. Contact JTB Business Travel to find out how we can assist you and your travelers.  

Northstar Travel Group is a JTB Corp company. JTB Business Travel may reference reporting or research published by Northstar; however, all commentary and recommendations in this article are independently developed.