FCM Travel announced its new AI-powered conversational booking feature which will allow travelers to simply describe what they need and receive options shaped by their policy, profile, past trips, loyalty status and preferred routes, dramatically cutting the time it takes to book.
Conversational booking is made possible by FCM’s existing intelligence layer, Sam. By synthesizing intelligence at every traveler interaction, said the announcement, Sam builds a richer profile in real time. Every recommendation will come with its reasoning attached, showing why it fits policy, matches a traveler’s usual routing, reflects their loyalty program, or follows how their team travels. That visibility will help travelers book with confidence, without second-guessing.
“Conversational booking only works if travelers trust what they’re being shown, and that trust comes from context, not just convenience”, said Jessica Dunderdale, global head of product, FCM Travel. “That’s the experience we’re building toward – every recommendation explains itself, so travelers can act on it with confidence, and travel managers see adoption follow as a result.”
That same booking experience also travels with the user. Available first in Microsoft Teams and Slack, Model Context Protocol (MCP) technology will extend booking capabilities to the AI tools travelers use every day, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, without opening a separate app. For travel buyers, said the announcement, that means higher in-program booking rates and better data capture, without asking travelers to change behavior.
The intelligence that shapes conversational booking also feeds FCM’s reporting and proactive analytics, surfacing spend, compliance, and disruption risk as it emerges rather than after the fact, according to the announcement. This sharpens the role of the travel manager – allowing them to translate what the technology surfaces into decisions that fit their business.
John Morhous, chief experience officer, FCM Travel, said: “We didn’t build FCM’s tech ecosystem to replace our consultants’ judgment. We built it to take the routine work off their plate, so they can focus on the moments that actually need a person.” Travelers, he said, “get speed from tech and expertise from our consultants – they shouldn’t have to choose between the two.”
