You, Amadeus, and AI: Navigating the future of travel at Phocuswright 2023

November 17, 2023

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For the last 25 years, industry leaders and visionaries in travel and technology have met at the annual Phocuswright Conference, and this year was no different. Over the last few days, as I mingled with a mix of new and familiar faces in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I found myself in a melting pot of ideas and collaboration.

For the last 25 years, industry leaders and visionaries in travel and technology have met at the annualPhocuswright Conference ,and this year was no different. Over the last few days, as I mingled with a mix of new and familiar faces in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I found myself in a melting pot of ideas and collaboration.

This year was particularly exciting because the theme of the event – You, Me and the Machine – revolved around artificial intelligence and how it is reshaping the travel industry. Over the last few months alone, AI has evolved byleaps and bounds and the air was buzzing with curiosity.Everyone was focused on how forward-thinking companies could embrace this technology to redefine success in travel. The atmosphere was charged with optimism and innovation, and Amadeus, a proud sponsor of Phocuswright, was at the forefront.

In particular, Gilles Trantoul,VP of Product Marketing and Portfolio Strategy at Amadeus, participated on a main stage panel with customers Microsoft and Priceline and shed light on how Amadeus is leveraging AI to enhance the traveler's journey. One highlight was the promise of conversational search.

How conversational search will help corporate travelers

Microsoft and Amadeus are collaborating to enhance Cytric Easy – the Amadeus online booking and expense management tool embedded in Microsoft 365 – with conversational searchto help corporate travelers. Unlike traditional keyword search that we’re all familiar with, aconversational search system can transform complex sentences and context from a user’s previous interactions into more specific search results that are more aligned with a user’s intent.

Imagine for example, an email invitation to a future Phocuswright conference. This could trigger Cytric Easy to search for flights, a hotel booking, and car transfers that match the event details. All the booking details would be sent to you via email with a simple prompt to review and approve the bookings – which of course, would always match corporate policy. Everything can be done in a Microsoft environment, and without interrupting the natural flow of a workday. This will allow corporate travelers to reduce app switching, increase productivity, and make business travel planning easier and more collaborative.

This partnership with Microsoft on conversational search is just the beginning. Applications for leisure and online travel agencies are also exciting to me as the power of our Search associated with Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) will transform how people are inspired and shop for travel.

How AI can make travel more inclusive

Amadeus is also pioneering other solutions that promise fairer and more inclusive travel experiences. For example, Amadeus is training airport biometric solutions using a vast number of AI-generated faces to ensure that facial recognition is more inclusive and fairer. Amadeus specifically chose AI-generated faces to avoid privacy concerns, and to overcome limitations in real-world training data. At Amadeus, we understand the importance and excitement around GAI, but know it’s critical toestablish guardrails for safe use of GAI.

Web content in the snap of a finger

Amadeus is also working with airlines to rapidly create multilingual AI-generated websites with destination content optimized for SEO. This can reduce time-to-market and traffic acquisition costs, allowing airlines to launch multilingual pages in minutes.

Keeping travelers at the center – especially in the age of AI

Even though AI is exciting, we can’t lose touch with what matters most. Travel brings people together. No matter how the industry evolves, we must ensure that all innovations are centered around the traveler.

Innovations and technology in travel will only be accepted if they give travelers more power to do what they want: game-changing services at their fingertips; inspiring better choices, journeys without stress, and experiences without fuss. Simplicity.

The best way for the industry to achieve this vision is to maintain the spirit of collaboration that I saw at Phocuswright. The travel industry involves so many different players across the world. Our success depends on our ability to create and innovate together to address pain points, seize opportunities, and keep travelers connected.

This week of learning from leaders and innovators has opened doors to countless opportunities. As we look ahead, there's a palpable sense of enthusiasm for how AI will continue to redefine and elevate the traveler's journey in the years to come. I look forward to seeing you next year! Maybe we’ll book flights via email?

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