NEW YORK — American Express Global Business Travel has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) initiative that the company says will increase focus on existing AI projects, and drive purposeful innovation and greater efficiencies for clients and the corporate travel management ecosystem.
Amex GBT says it will harness AI technologies across four key areas – traveller care, finance, engineering and enabling a modern workplace. A new task force will be conducting assessments with legal, privacy, compliance, procurement and cybersecurity in order to advise on any new risks introduced by AI.
“Artificial intelligence will supercharge our colleagues and bridge a path to automation previously limited by the language-data barrier. Scaling AI for Amex GBT will unlock efficiencies and inspire product innovation to elevate user experiences for our colleagues, our clients and their travellers,” says Marilyn Markham, Amex GBT’s VP of engineering and AI strategy.
The company actively uses proprietary AI across its portfolio of services. In 2020, Amex GBT acquired AI start-up 30SecondsToFly, which has been used to develop natural language processing in the company’s chat and email channels, while the company’s 2021 acquisition of Egencia from Expedia Group brought additional AI and data science expertise and enterprise capabilities.
“We are building a secure environment, applying robust testing, and partnering with the leaders of the AI revolution, so our employees and customers can feel confident that we are progressing responsibly,” said Amex GBT’s Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, David Thompson.
