Judges named data analytics provider PredictX, which presented its newly launched AI workspace Cogent, as the winner of this year's Business Travel Innovation Faceoff at Business Travel Show Europe in London.
In his presentation to the judging panel, PredictX CEO Keesup Choe highlighted several use cases of early adopters of Cogent, which the company announced earlier this month, to show its data management capabilities.
AI agents from the platform can manage complex questions about travel and expense programmes and operate as "virtual full-time equivalents" in a travel programme so that travel managers can become more efficient in their role, according to the company.
"It's not a chatbot; it's not an app," Choe said in his presentation. "It's an entire platform, a framework from which all of our apps are built."
Among the use cases built from that framework include a performance and savings agent that can monitor key performance indicators and, knowing a programme’s goals, look for savings opportunities, he said. Another use was vendor performance management that "gives you a complete, comprehensive study" about a supplier relationship to ensure buyers are prepared when meeting and negotiating with suppliers. Choe also highlighted a contract management tool, which can analyse a contract and make comparisons with a proposed new contract.
"This is not a 'track changes,'" Choe said. "It knows that travellers never got J Class or that a discount was never achieved."
In addition, Choe demonstrated how one of PredictX's clients uses an RFP tool from the platform, which event judge Carine Morin, Service Now's regional travel manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said was "really good" and "showed efficiency for that process."
In a separate panel discussion on AI, Choe noted the true potential for AI was not in taking over the jobs and tasks that people already do but in doing "the work that is not being done by humans, that is too expensive or requires too much manpower" – what could be done "if we had an infinite number of people with expertise."
Overall, Morin said judges were impressed that PredictX provides "a single data source, and once that data is in, it becomes a single source of truth."
High commendation for SkyLink
The judging panel also gave a "highly commended" distinction to AI corporate travel assistant SkyLink, which won the BTN Group's Innovation Faceoff at its 2024 Innovate conference in New York.
Faceoff judge Karen Hutchings, founder of Cobb & Hutch consulting and former EY global head of travel, meetings and events, noted the scoring between the two was close and the decision difficult.
She said SkyLink was "phenomenal" in that it "takes away the pain of the reservation process" and “uses AI in a positive way." She also praised CEO and cofounder Atyab Bhatti for demonstrating a feature in its early stages which allows users to book and manage reservations by voice in a conversational style.
"They're innovative, but there's so much more coming on product and in the development phase," Hutchings said. "They're most definitely one to watch in the industry for disruption."
Besides Morin and Hutchings, judges for the Faceoff included Deloitte Germany travel and technology manager Lenny Hornsby and Bala Chandran, co-founder and CEO of last year's BTS Europe Faceoff winner Lumo.
Other participants in this year's Faceoff included travel management company customer service platform Front, corporate travel platform Zenmer, global mobility platform The Cozm, alternative accommodation platform Roamr, blockchain-based travel, payment and expense management provider Blockskye, corporate travel audit firm Fare Audit, corporate events planning technology Planned and global TMC Altour.