American Express Global Business Travel (No. 3 on Travel Weekly's 2023 Power List) is increasing its focus on AI projects. A team has been assembled to spearhead the initiative.
Amex GBT said the first tasks will be adopting generative AI in the areas of traveler care, finance, engineering and "enabling a modern workplace."
While investigating how to best adopt generative AI, Amex GBT said the team will consult with its legal, privacy, compliance, procurement and cybersecurity teams regarding risks.
"You cannot apply AI casually in the B2B environment," said David Thompson, Amex GBT's chief innovation and technology officer. "We are building a secure environment, applying robust testing and partnering with the leaders of the AI revolution, so our employees and customers can feel confident that we are progressing responsibly."
Leading the AI team will be Michael Esquibel, senior vice president of technology strategy and engineering. He will be joined by Marilyn Markham, vice president of engineering and AI strategy; Erica Trevino, vice president of operations system strategy and optimization; Jake Hautly, vice president of finance systems strategy and optimization; and Neil Kirk, vice president of technology services.
"Artificial intelligence will supercharge our colleagues and bridge a path to automation previously limited by the language-data barrier," Markham said. "Scaling AI for Amex GBT will unlock efficiencies and inspire product innovation to elevate user experiences for our colleagues, our clients and their travelers."