Agency bosses dispute suggestion frontline staff are ‘weakest link’ in AI adoption

Agency chiefs have disputed a suggestion that frontline staff could become the “weakest link” in the sector’s adoption of artificial intelligence due to a lack of investment.

Speaking at Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference last week, Inspiretec chief executive Simon Powell said: “The weakest link in travel is the people on the frontline.”

Describing frontline staff as “the biggest asset of every travel business”, he added: “With new technology we need to empower agents to do the best job they can, and unless we give them the technology it’s really difficult. Otherwise, clients are better informed than they are.”

Powell said AI could not only save time, but also improve the quality of information, making agents more productive, efficient and profitable.

Dame Irene Hays, owner of Hays Travel, told the conference the industry was “not at the forefront” of AI usage compared with other sectors, but insisted the biggest barrier to progress was senior leaders not recognising the challenges and potential of the technology.

Hays Travel last week announced the appointment of Kingfisher Group chief AI officer Dr Mohsen Ghasempour to its board, with Dame Irene saying a full strategy would be in place “within six months”.

“AI is one of the single biggest challenges and opportunities facing travel,” she said, adding: “It is the leaders in organisations who are the weakest link if they don’t grasp the magnitude of this.”