Amadeus works with Microsoft and Accenture on new GenAI-powered integrations for corporate travel

Digital assistant to streamline tasks for corporate travelers within Cytric Easy

As part of its ongoing partnerships strategy, Amadeus announced today it is working with Microsoft and Accenture to develop new AI-powered integrations between its travel and expense platform Cytric Easy and Microsoft 365.

The new plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot will allow people to orchestrate “complex” travel-related tasks using only natural language.

Amadeus is working with Accenture, together with Avanade, to develop and pilot the travel assistant. 

Integrated with Amadeus’ Cytric Easy platform, the assistant will align travellers’ preferences with employers’ policies for a “more efficient and cost-effective experience”. 

The Generative AI-powered interactive assistant will leverage Microsoft technologies, including GPT models from Azure Open AI Service, Microsoft 365 and Teams, to assist corporate travellers with their journey from planning and booking through to the trip and post-trip. 

The chatbot will ask for clarifications and make suggestions to propose the most appropriate travel or travel itinerary options, in a conversational style.

Rudy Daniello, executive vice president of Amadeus Cytric Solutions, said: “The new Generative AI-powered chatbot will offer an enhanced way to book business travel, moving from a standard sequential display with predetermined filters to a dynamic, interactive conversational interface powered by ChatGPT. 

“When fully realized, business travelers will be able to book trips with even greater ease, saving time.”

Miguel Flecha, account lead for Amadeus and managing director of Accenture, said: “Accenture’s collaboration with Amadeus and Microsoft accelerates the integration of generative AI-powered solutions in the travel industry, driving innovation and reinvention. 

“Cytric Easy offers the corporate travel world new levels of efficiency, personalization and control whilst transforming the entire experience for the traveller.”

In addition, Amadeus is working with Microsoft on a new plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot, which brings the power of next-generation AI to Microsoft's workplace productivity tool. 

Currently in development, the Cytric Easy plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot aims to make it easy for colleagues to quickly match and book travel itineraries in a single, sophisticated workflow within Microsoft 365 using natural language prompts. 

This integration aims to “further streamline the travel journey to deliver an intelligent, and contextually aware end-user experience”.

Feliz Montpellier, general manager, global partners of Microsoft said: "We are at an extraordinary moment in the technology landscape, where AI is reshaping industries like travel and transforming how we work. 

“Through expanded integrations between Microsoft and Amadeus, we will create more value for corporations and much more personalized and productive experiences for travellers.”

The collaboration is part of a wider vision to “transform” business travel, as well as ensuring that the generative AI solutions can be responsibly built and scaled globally. 

The three giants are coming together to create “hyper-personalised and hyper-contextualised journeys, designed to drive maximum value from each trip, within Microsoft 365 and Teams”.

These new AI-powered tools aim to make the business travel booking experience more “intuitive”, for both business efficiency and employee satisfaction.