Research from CTM shows concerns as well

Millennial and Gen Z business travelers are confident in AI’s potential to improve the corporate travel experience, according to a survey from Corporate Travel Management (CTM) of 700 Millennial and Gen Z employees. Both Millennial and Gen Z respondents expect AI to have a positive impact on travel booking and in-trip experiences.

Among the findings:

• 41% are excited about the use of AI in travel; 31% are concerned.
• Millennial and Gen Z respondents expect AI to have a positive impact on booking speed (65%), choice of travel products (61%), and cost of travel products and services (60%).
• For a generation raised on tech, Gen Z surprisingly expressed equal excitement and concern relating to the use of AI in business travel (41% each), compared with a more positive outlook among the slightly older Millennials, where two-thirds (66%) are excited about its potential and just 25% are concerned.
• Respondents were asked about their current and preferred business travel booking tools. The research highlighted website/online booking tools (71%) and mobile app (52%) as the top two most popular booking channel choices among Millennial and Gen Z travelers today, reflecting preferences for user-friendly, accessible booking solutions.

With 59% of global respondents indicating they book all their own travel, according to the research, the demand for intuitive, self-service technology that enables anytime, anywhere access is accelerating.

CTM’s proprietary virtual travel assistant, Scout, said the company is meeting this need by allowing travelers to search, book and manage their travel within policy across devices, while supporting organizations’ duty of care and program objectives.

Joel Bailey, CTM’s global chief technology officer, said Millennial and Gen Z travelers “are going to be our future business decision-makers, so they are not just influencing the future of business travel, they are defining it.”