MIAMI – Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of the daily work of travel agents worldwide, with more than three out of four agents now using AI tools in their commercial activities, according to a new international travel industry study.
The biennial survey, conducted by Takedown Research for major travel distribution providers Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport, questioned more than 750 travel agents worldwide about technology, booking behavior and their priorities when selling travel products.
The findings show that AI is increasingly being used to search for travel options, compare content, develop recommendations and improve productivity.
There are, however, significant differences between regions.
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 62% of travel agents use conversational AI, including platforms such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini, making it the most widely adopted form of AI technology among agents in the region.
Asia-Pacific is showing some of the more advanced applications. According to the survey, 36% of agencies in the region use AI for itinerary suggestions, while 32% use recommendations connected to customer relationship management systems. Another 21% use the technology for fraud prevention and quality control.
Adoption has been slower in the Americas. The study found that 35% of agents in the region still do not use AI to assist in their sales processes.
However, the researchers see considerable room for growth as AI becomes more directly integrated into the systems agents already use.
Worldwide, 29% of agents use automated fare-search tools and AI-powered itinerary suggestion platforms.
Travel agents identified several areas where they believe AI could make their work more productive, including pricing suggestions, opportunities to upsell products, hotel recommendations, destination inspiration and content comparison.
Despite the rapid adoption of AI, traditional Global Distribution Systems, or GDSs, remain at the center of the travel agency business.
The study found that GDS use has actually increased across all regions compared with 2024. Worldwide, 43% of agencies said they have been using these systems for more than two years. Agents access the platforms more than six times per day on average and remain connected for approximately eight hours.
The largest increase was recorded in Asia-Pacific, where 47% of agencies reported using GDS platforms more than in 2024. This was followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa at 44%, and the Americas at 42%.
The findings suggest that AI may not necessarily replace established travel distribution systems. Instead, the industry appears to be moving toward combining traditional distribution infrastructure with AI tools that help agents search, compare and recommend products more efficiently.