Four Ways to Boost Business Travelers’ AI Adoption

In 2023, we asked almost 4,000 business travelers around the world what they considered the most stressful stage of business travel. At the top of the list was the planning, booking, and organizing stage (43%), followed by the actual travel (33%), and then catching up on work and filing expense reports after the trip (24%).

One would expect that generative AI—which also coincidentally took off beginning in 2023—would be rapidly adopted by those who saw booking a business trip or filing an expense report as stressful endeavors. There are some employees who are already embracing this, but there’s also room to grow.

In our 2025 survey, responses are reserved yet optimistic. Nearly nine in 10 business travelers (88%) say that they would be open to using AI-powered automation to support some element of business travel—booking, making changes, or completing an expense report. Although just shy of two in 10 (17%) say they would prefer booking via an AI-curated list of options based on their preferences and needs, two thirds (67%) say would prefer to receive a recommendation or curated list from some resource.

Business leaders also support using generative AI for travel and expense (T&E). Nearly all travel managers surveyed (99%) are on board with employees using AI-powered automation to support some part of business travel, whether booking, making changes, or submitting expenses. When it comes to their own use, three quarters of them (75%) would like to see AI-enabled components incorporated into their travel booking tools to handle at least some tasks.

The use case for AI-powered T&E and its productivity benefits exists. So, what can leaders do to boost employees’ confidence in using generative AI to enhance the business travel experience?

Below are four things to consider based on what business travelers say would make them feel more comfortable and take advantage of the benefits AI can bring to their booking and travel experience. Since business travelers can fall into different “profiles” (e.g., executives who may use assistants to book their travel, high-frequency business travelers, low-frequency business travelers), these should be tailored according to each group’s needs.

Reassurance

Of the top five things that business travelers want their company to do to make them feel comfortable using AI-enabled options to book business travel, three of them center around providing assurances:

• Forty-five percent of business travelers want their company to assure that their personal data will be protected.
• Thirty-six percent want to know that the tools do not create any potential bias.
• Twenty-nine percent want their company to confirm that they won’t face repercussions if AI-suggested bookings don’t comply with company policy.

As businesses roll out generative AI for T&E, anticipating these questions will be important. Ensure that measures are in place to proactively address these concerns and communicate clearly with employees, so they understand what to expect. Doing so can go a long way toward helping them feel more comfortable with the technology.

Catch more HRTech Insights: HRTech Interview with Sandra Moran, Chief Marketing Officer of Schoox

Training

Many people are just starting to dip their toes into using these tools, both personally and professionally. Using generative AI effectively will require people to acquire some new skills. Business traveler perspectives back this up: 39% of them say that company-provided training on how to use AI-enabled options for business travel would help them feel more comfortable doing so.

Business leaders should work in partnership with IT and HR colleagues to establish straightforward resources for employees. Focus on providing succinct descriptions of how generative AI works and practical upskilling, like how to develop strong prompts for T&E and tips to help optimize results.

Also, remember that AI technology is advancing quickly. While organizations should ensure that business travelers have what they need to be comfortable and successful, the move toward agentic AI—intelligent systems that can autonomously execute tasks—will drastically reduce the learning curve, if not eliminate it altogether. Booking travel or filing an expense report will soon feel like having a conversation with a colleague.

Flexibility

While the goal is to get employees using AI-enabled tools for T&E, sometimes a little flexibility may be warranted. In fact, 33% of business travelers say that still having the option to use tools without AI would make them feel more comfortable adopting solutions powered by it.

For these employees, it’s all about getting them warmed up to using generative AI. Adoption may be slower at first, but once they know that they have the skills needed to be successful and they begin to experience the benefits—or they hear about the benefits from colleagues—their use of AI-enabled tools is likely to increase over time.

Role-Modeling

Colleagues can be very influential. Identify employees who both share excitement in generative AI and have strong relationships throughout the organization to help model the change. Consider AI adoption in other business functions—are there employees who have embraced it more readily or proven particularly adept at using it?

Our survey of business travelers found that certain groups within organizations are more amenable to using AI-powered automation for booking, making changes to business trips, or completing expense reports. These include younger generations in the workforce (i.e., Gen Z and millennial employees), remote and hybrid workers, and executives. Those who regularly travel internationally and those in roles where business travel is essential or even helpful to their success may also bring some clout to encouraging AI adoption and use.

Conclusion

Generative AI has potential to improve T&E processes, create efficiencies and cost savings, strengthen the employee experience, and ultimately help companies better compete. Apply the learnings above to help your company’s business travelers hit the ground running—and hit the road—with generative AI.