McKinsey defined that 8 out of 10 companies use AI, and the travel industry is making great use of it. It’s caused by a growing demand, as 36% of US adults would delegate trip planning and reservation to an AI agent, as Forrester’s survey found. Travel agents respond with own solutions to this demand. For instance, Sabre’s Mosaic marketplace is running most of the travel retail workflows automatically with AI, and Expedia also created AI agents to enhance travel booking experience.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at AI travel agents, discover their main elements, grasp how they differ from the chatbots we are already used to, find out how they impact all the industry players, and help you build an efficient implementation plan to create your own agent.
AI and the tourism sector in numbers
AI adoption in the travel industry is only accelerating. According to Statista’s November 2024 survey, 40% of travelers globally stated they utilized an AI-based tool for travel planning. But last year’s achievements are just the beginning. After 5 years of research, researchers concluded that AI and machine learning accounted for nearly two-thirds of global tech investment deals made by travel and mobility corporations. How does it translate into the global market size?
According to GrandViewResearch, the worldwide cost of AI in the travel sector is growing at a rapid pace. Estimated at USD 3,373.0 million in 2024, it’s predicted to rise to as much as USD 13,868.8 million by 2030 - such growth is rarely seen in any other new technology these days.

This rapid acceleration is easy to explain: the benefits you get with investing in AI technology justify and greatly exceed the costs. For instance, companies using DerbySoft's AI Voice Agent experienced an approximate 70-90% reduction in call-related manual costs. Additionally, over 75% of bookings didn’t need human follow-ups at all in pilot programs.
What are the mechanisms that shape such a profitable synergy of AI and travel businesses? Let’s break them down.
Why does AI matter in tourism?
To find an answer to this question, we'll define specific advantages artificial intelligence brings to the travel industry, and define the place of travel agent AI solutions in this equation.
- Increased efficiency. AI radically restructures the planning of travel activities - it can immediately analyze multiple huge datasets to provide recommendations to travelers based on their preferences. They also automatically check responses for compliance with company travel policies. AI agents boost this efficiency by understanding and completing orders using natural language requests and can execute even complicated multi-step bookings (with several suppliers) through simple conversation interfaces.
- Lower costs. By automatically applying corporate discounts and keeping an eye on fare fluctuations, AI systems show excellent abilities to determine the best prices. A virtual travel agent goes further: it negotiates in real-time across suppliers for the best deals, bringing value both for businesses and tourists. For this reason, 90% of executives acknowledge AI's role in cutting costs, as stated by Boston Consulting Group.
- Tailored recommendations. Machine learning algorithms analyze data, such as travel history, loyalty memberships, and behavioral patterns, in order to make custom recommendations that boost engagement, according to Milton. AI agents can further engage users in a natural conversation to gain info about contextual needs, such as dietary restrictions or accessibility needs.
- Better expense management. Companies benefit from AI connecting to corporate expense platforms to assist in travel cost management from the time booking is approved through the automatic processing of receipts. AI agents are able to reduce friction through the automatic categorization of expenses, alerting users to policy violations in real-time, and creating master reports of expenses.
- Prediction at scale. According to Choi & Kim, AI watches flight schedules, weather, and local events and delivers proactive alerts and suggested alternative options. GPS tools facilitate more accurate travel forecasting, while AI-powered travel agents automatically follow the travel policy and understand suppliers’ routes and external factors.
- Improved eco-practices. AI generates optimized flight paths, while also reducing contrails that contribute to 35% of aviation warming for the planet. AI agents are also able to promote sustainable travel by making eco-friendly accommodation suggestions and calculating carbon footprints.
- Safety and security guaranteed. AI can also extend safety and security by delivering value-added risk management by predicting a range of threats from the weather to impacts from geopolitical disruptions, as Milton states, and enhancing airport security through biometric identification. AI agents maintain the ability to assess real-time conditions at potential destinations and offer alternative suggestions.
- Enhanced accessibility and inclusion. In the industry of travel planning around disability travel, customer satisfaction still ranked at 82.5%, but technology can bring it up. For instance, AI translators provide real-time translations of indicated languages and point to specialized resources to enhance assistance for any differently-abled travellers.
- Support without limits. Tourism is a global enterprise and must accommodate any last-minute changes or rebookings in any time zone of coverage, making full-time support critical. AI travel assistants do more than simply offer support; they complete complicated multi-step business transactions, and at the same time, offer proactive support to resolve disruptions.
Now that the critical role of artificial intelligence in tourism is clear, let’s focus on specialized AI solutions for this industry that have disrupted the market these days - AI travel agents.