"AI isn't here to replace the travel manager, but to free them from repetitive tasks."

Mario Mejías, CIO and CISO at Keldai Solutions, analyzes how artificial intelligence can transform corporate travel management by automating inquiries, controlling expenses, and enforcing travel policies. He advocates for a model in which the travel manager retains decision-making authority and travelers? sensitive information remains within the company?s infrastructure.

What corporate travel management issues can artificial intelligence currently solve?

Travel managers spend a good part of their day answering the same questions: ?Can I fly business class on this flight??, ?What hotel am I entitled to??, ?What should I do if I miss a connection??, ?Do I need a visa for this destination?? These are important questions for the traveler, but answering them does not add strategic value.

Meanwhile, other critical responsibilities?such as negotiating with suppliers, controlling expenses, or ensuring travelers? safety?are sidelined due to a lack of time.

An AI assistant can handle a large portion of these repetitive inquiries?at any time and in different languages?allowing the travel manager to focus on the tasks that truly require their expertise and decision-making skills.

How would an AI assistant function in a company?s day-to-day operations?

The traveler could submit a query via WhatsApp, email, or even by phone and receive an immediate response. The key is that the assistant doesn?t provide a generic response; instead, it consults the company?s travel policy, the destination?s documentation requirements, and the relevant travel information.

For example, if an employee asks whether they can stay at a four-star hotel in London, the response is based on the conditions established by their organization, not on general information found online.

When a situation arises that requires a specific assessment?such as an exception to the policy or a sensitive issue? the system forwards the inquiry to the travel manager with all relevant information already summarized. The decision still rests with a person, but much of the preliminary administrative work is eliminated.

Monitoring expense reports remains one of the biggest challenges for companies. What can AI contribute in this area?

Many companies review expense reports using sampling systems because manually verifying all receipts is unfeasible. This means that a significant portion of expenses goes unanalyzed.

With artificial intelligence, it is possible to review 100% of the receipts, extract the information from each receipt, and compare it with corporate policy, the details of the trip, and the travel dates.

The system can detect amounts that violate policy, duplicate expenses, or receipts that contain inconsistencies. The goal is not for the technology to make disciplinary decisions, but rather to identify transactions that require further review.

This way, the expense control manager no longer has to review transactions at random and can focus on those that truly require attention.

?Is there a risk that these tools will end up replacing the travel manager??

I believe the exact opposite is true. AI replaces tasks, not people. What may disappear is the most repetitive part of the job: copying data, answering the same question twenty times, or chasing down expense receipts.

Professionals who adopt these tools will have more time for the tasks that make a difference within an organization: negotiating better rates, analyzing expenses, improving the traveler?s experience, and anticipating potential issues.

My recommendation is that travel managers take the lead in this transformation, because they are the ones who best understand their companies? needs and can identify where technology adds the most value.

Travel management involves handling passports, credit cards, and itineraries. How can the privacy of this information be guaranteed?

This is one of the most important questions companies should ask themselves, although it does not always receive the necessary attention.

When using a generic AI tool hosted in the cloud, information may leave the organization?s infrastructure. That is why it is essential to know where the data is processed, who can access it, and what safeguards are in place regarding its handling.

At Keldai Solutions, we advocate a different approach: deploying artificial intelligence within the client?s own infrastructure, so that it can operate without the need to send sensitive information to external services.

For a travel department, which handles personal documentation, payment data, itineraries, and executive travel, this issue goes far beyond a mere technological decision. It is an essential aspect of information security and regulatory compliance.

Where should a company start if it wants to incorporate artificial intelligence into its travel program?

My advice is to start with a small, specific project whose results can be measured.

A good starting point is automating travelers? frequently asked questions using a chatbot linked to corporate policy. Within a few weeks, an initial solution can be up and running, and you can evaluate how many inquiries it resolves without human intervention.

Based on those results, you can incorporate other features, such as expense report review, document management, or incident handling.

It is not necessary to tackle a large-scale digital transformation project right from the start. The key is to identify a use case that solves a real problem, test its results, and move forward incrementally.