Buoyed by the advent of ChatGPTthe standard-bearer for artificial intelligence and its vast range of possibilities, theIA is the focus of all attention and investment. Navan promised at the beginning of the year that it would be at the forefront of innovation. To mark its new identity, and the launch of a new virtual assistant called Ava, l'ex-TripActions conspicuously ticked the box IA on a roadmap that is now becoming clearer. As Ilan Twig, co-founder and CTO of Navan, explained: " Since its inception, our company has positioned itself as an industry leader in business travel and expense reporting, using AI to boost automation, predictability and optimisation and deliver a high-quality support service to all travellers. We already had the necessary infrastructure in place - so integrating the OpenAI API with our code and Ava was the next logical step in our evolution. ".
The development of the Navan tool is therefore taking on even more concrete form today, with the announcement on 5 May new functionalities linked to the travel expense managementthanks to OpenAI technology. " While [Ava] previously helped travellers organise their trips, its capabilities have now been extended to support finance teams, financial directors and business travel managers in optimising business travel programmes and managing expenses. ". Navan users can now turn to the virtual assistant to analyse the company's travel expenditure and identify areas for savings. According to Navan management, Ava is also capable of producing reports on expenditure by month and by category. It can compare these expenses with the company's travel policy, or suggest alternative accommodation options. The tool also aims to predict future spending by business travellers.
"Becoming the superhero of finance directors
Switching from plane to train, identifying the departments that are least compliant with travel policy, reducing the impact of travel on the environment : Ava aims to make suggestions, and can summarise all its recommendations in an email, like a tool like... ChatGPT, of course. " Becoming the superhero of finance directors "This is Ava's promise with its new resources. Navan's managers assure us that Ava " constantly learns and examines spending patterns to provide tailored advice, helping businesses to make savings ".
While the prospects offered by these new functions are tempting, they remain reserved for a small number of the platform's customers. Navan's management explains: " Currently in the test phase with a restricted group of Navan usersAva will continue to expand internationally over the coming months. ".
