Perk, a travel and spend platform, has launched Perk Events, which the company calls a new AI-driven module designed to automate the planning of internal company meetings, from venue sourcing and budgeting to group travel and attendee management.

The product targets a common operational gap, according to the company. Perk research found that 76% of UK employees have helped organize an offsite or internal event, with 52% doing so outside their core role. Venue sourcing and budget approvals (both 43%) and hotel booking (37%) were cited as the biggest challenges. Separate research by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Perk, shows that 53% of UK companies run events with little or no automation.

Perk says this creates “shadow work,” administrative tasks that drain time from core roles,  contributing to an estimated $127.3 billion in lost productivity each year in the UK.

Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, president and COO, said, “Events are a major source of shadow work, stealing hours teams should be spending being there, not getting there.”

Perk Events supports events from nine to 5,000 people and combines AI-powered venue matching with upfront pricing, automated group travel coordination, attendee pages with RSVP and dietary tracking, and reporting tools. Human support is available for more complex needs.

The launch, said an announcement, extends Perk’s platform beyond travel and spend management into meetings and events, as companies look to automate workflows that have traditionally been handled manually.