The protocol MCP The (Model Context Protocol) is gradually establishing itself as the gateway between business travel tools and AI assistants. Perk had crossed that threshold mid-July for its travel & expense and MICE bricks, after CDS and BCD Travel a few weeks earlierAmerican Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is joining this movement in turn, with an Egencia AI connector integrated into Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant. A further step according to the TMC, as it claims to be able to fully book flights and hotels, not just consult data.
This connector relies on a proprietary architecture known as "agent-to-agent" (A2A): a reasoning layer that breaks down a travel request into tasks (flight search, hotel search, booking) and distributes them to specialised agents. It respects the policies, traveller profiles, and fare agreements configured by each company, right through to reporting. An employee can thus ask Claude to consult their calendar, suggest an itinerary, and then finalise the booking on their behalf. The connector will be available for Egencia customers in the third quarter.
Amex GBT is simultaneously expanding its chatbots to other channels: Egencia AI will be available on Google Chat for early adopters from August, with a wider roll-out planned by the end of the year, whilst a similar pilot for Neo is launching on Microsoft Teams. A major technology company is reportedly already working with Amex GBT to develop a travel concierge service that combines these booking capabilities with its employees’ calendar and communication data.
This announcement is based on a Forrester study commissioned by Amex GBT and conducted amongst more than 500 IT decision-makers and 2,000 business travellers. Whilst 90 % of decision-makers say they are satisfied with their travel technology ecosystem, only 3 % consider it to be fully integrated into the company’s workflows, and 24 % of travellers describe their experience as seamless. In terms of adoption, 92 % of decision-makers anticipate AI transforming the sector, but 78 % cite governance and auditability as barriers.
The launch is part of the "agentic transformation of B2B travel" ambition announced by Amex GBT following the integration of CWT. For Evan Konwiser, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Amex GBT, this connector is just one step: " This is a foundational capability, and it's only the beginning "he warns.
