AI to manage 37% of corporate travel spend by 2028

Businesses expect AI to manage or authorise 37% of corporate travel spending by 2028, according to Conferma. It estimated that would amount to about USD $700 billion, or GBP £535 billion, globally.

The estimate is based on a survey of 600 corporate travel and finance decision-makers in the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand at organisations with more than 200 employees.

The research suggests growing acceptance of AI taking a direct role in booking and paying for business travel, while also highlighting unease about the controls around autonomous purchasing. Almost all respondents (97%) said they had concerns about AI making purchases on its own, with data security cited by 59% and errors by 43%.

Although 81% of organisations said they already have some form of policy, control or payment guardrail for AI purchasing, only 36% described those measures as comprehensive. That suggests many companies are preparing to give software more authority over spending before full oversight is in place.

Large budgets

Businesses with the largest travel budgets appear most ready to hand over more spending decisions to AI. Organisations spending USD $6.8 million, or GBP £5 million, or more a year on corporate travel said they expect AI to manage an average of 51% of that spend by 2028.

That compares with about 27% among organisations spending less than USD $136,000, or GBP £100,000, a year. More than half (53%) of respondents in the highest-spending group also said they already have comprehensive AI controls in place.

The survey also found a divide between senior executives and operational teams. While 86% of executive leaders and heads of department said they trust AI to manage travel bookings and spending, that figure fell to 62% among travel and procurement decision-makers.

Senior-level confidence did not remove concern. Among executive leaders and heads of department, 69% said data security was a concern, compared with 59% of finance respondents and 38% of those in procurement and travel management roles.

Mark Ledsham, Chief Executive Officer of Conferma, said the use of AI in payments was moving faster than the controls governing it.

"Agentic spending authority is developing faster than the controls around it. Corporate travel could be one of the first proving grounds for agentic payments because it combines high transaction volumes, clear policies and significant spend. Giving an AI agent authority over company money is very different from using AI to recommend a flight or hotel. Businesses need clear limits on what agents can spend, where they can spend it and when human intervention is required. The controls around those decisions must remain fixed, traceable and accountable," Ledsham said.

Payment controls

The results indicate that companies are increasingly looking to payment tools to embed restrictions directly into transactions. Virtual cards were ranked as the most secure payment option for AI-led travel purchasing by 30% of respondents, ahead of digital wallets on 21%, and corporate cards and bank transfers on 19% each.

Among organisations that already have AI purchasing safeguards in place, 55% said they require human approval before AI can complete a purchase. Real-time monitoring was used by 51%, spending limits by 49%, and 37% said they currently use virtual cards with single-use or controlled spending limits.

Use of those controlled virtual cards is expected to rise to 48% by 2028, which the research identified as the biggest projected increase among the safeguards listed. That points to a shift towards controls built into the payment process rather than relying only on policy or post-purchase review.

Conferma, based in Manchester and focused on virtual payments, said corporate travel may become an early testing ground for broader use of AI in company spending because of its transaction volumes and established policy frameworks.

"As agents become more capable of acting independently, businesses need a way to delegate spending without handing over unrestricted financial authority. Payments can become part of that control layer. A controlled virtual card allows businesses to capture the speed and efficiency of agentic purchasing without removing the financial guardrails around the transaction. Corporate travel has the potential to be the testbed for how businesses will manage a much broader transition towards agentic commerce: giving AI enough authority to act while ensuring control over corporate money remains visible, enforceable and accountable," Ledsham said.