Business travellers largely believe AI will make their travel experience more effective, but they are skeptical of the technology when it comes to tasks around some of the more personal aspects of travel, according to a study of 2,260 business travellers published by American Express Global Business Travel on Tuesday (12 November).
In the survey, conducted in August by Censuswide, 95 per cent of respondents said AI could enhance their travel experience.
The biggest areas of enhancement included adding convenience, cited by 44 per cent of respondents, cost efficiencies, cited by 43 per cent, and streamlined expense management, cited by 41 per cent.
Respondents also said AI had "great potential" to handle basic tasks, including simplifying flight choices, cited by 37 per cent of respondents, and hotel selection, cited by 35 per cent, according to Amex GBT.
Travellers were less gung-ho about AI personalising their onboard flight services such as seats and meal preferences and choosing a hotel room, only cited by 29 per cent and 23 per cent of respondents, respectively.
The biggest concerns around AI cited by respondents were data security (46 per cent) and accuracy (44 per cent).
"AI can be a powerful tool in creating efficiencies and automating time-intensive tasks before and during business trips," Amex GBT chief technology officer David Thompson said in a statement. "To harness the full power of AI, businesses must address travellers' concerns and consider privacy and accuracy every step of the way."
Respondents in the survey travel on business at least three times per year and were divided evenly between the UK and the US.