Sustainability specialist Thrust Carbon and meetings platform Groupize have announced a new initiative bringing together their AI-enabled agents.
The two companies are linking Thrust Carbon’s EngageAI and Groupize’s Aime platforms so that users can benefit from each other’s specialist areas.
In a statement, they explained that the connection would allow Groupize’s AI agents to answer sustainability questions using Thrust Carbon’s industry data and provide emissions figures for different transport and accommodation options.
Meanwhile, those using Thrust Carbon’s EngageAI will benefit from a more personalised service through its access to Groupize's live event, itinerary and attendee data.
The two firms stressed that they were already “deeply embedded” within many leading travel and expense platforms, including SAP Concur’s products.
Kit Aspen, CEO of Thrust Carbon, said: “We're excited to be the first sustainability platform Aime can talk to directly, and we're even more excited about what EngageAl can do when it has Groupize's event intelligence feeding it in real time.
“This is what agent-to-agent is supposed to look like: two Al-native companies making each other better, instantly, at enterprise scale.”
Thrust Carbon said linking the two AI systems would allow it to offer options such as a “pre-trip nudge” to switch a short-haul flight to a high-speed rail service if the venue is located within walkable distance of a mainline train station.
The companies insisted that humans “stay in the loop” for decisions, with travellers, travel managers and event planners “still making the calls”. The AI agents “do the fetching, synthesising and nudging around them", according to their statement.
Charles de Gaspe Beaubien, Groupize’s founder and chief commercial officer, added: “When Aime is asked a sustainability question, we want the answer to come from the most credible source in the industry. This partnership delivers that, and it sets us both up to lead the conversation on what agent-to-agent really means for business travel.”