Businesses Expect AI To Manage Over A Third Of Corporate Travel Spend By 2028, Worth An Estimated $700bn Globally
By 2028, 37% of corporate travel spend is expected to be managed or authorised by AI, potentially representing $700bn (£535bn) globally.
28% expect AI to manage more than half of their organisation’s travel spend
97% have concerns about autonomous purchasing, led by data security at 59%
Organisations spending $6.8 million (£5 million) or more a year on corporate travel expect AI to manage over half (51%) of their travel spend
London, 22.10.2026 - AI is expected to manage or authorise more than a third (37%) of corporate travel spend by 2028, equivalent to $700bn (£535bn) globally when applied to GBTA's 2025 business travel spending forecast. New research from Conferma, a global leader in virtual payment technology, reveals how businesses are preparing to give AI agents greater control over company money, extending their role from booking travel to managing payments.
Across the organisations surveyed, AI is expected to manage or authorise around 37% of corporate travel spend on average by 2028, while 28% expect agents to manage more than half of their travel budgets.
Controls surrounding agentic purchasing are developing more slowly. While 81% of organisations already have some form of policy, control or payment guardrail in place, only 36% describe those controls as comprehensive.
Mark Ledsham, CEO at Conferma, says, “Agentic spending authority is developing faster than the controls around it. Corporate travel could be one of the first proving grounds for agentic payments because it combines high transaction volumes, clear policies and significant spend.
Giving an AI agent authority over company money is very different from using AI to recommend a flight or hotel. Businesses need clear limits on what agents can spend, where they can spend it and when human intervention is required. The controls around those decisions must remain fixed, traceable and accountable.”
Larger travel programmes expect AI to take on more spend
The organisations managing the largest corporate travel budgets expect agents to take on the greatest share of spending. Those spending $6.8 million (£5 million) or more each year on corporate travel expect AI to manage around 51% of their travel spend by 2028, compared with around 27% among those spending less than $136,000 (£100,000).
More than half, 53%, of organisations spending $6.8 million (£5 million) or more say they already have comprehensive AI controls in place.
As agents gain authority over larger pools of corporate spend, limits, supplier controls, monitoring and auditability become increasingly important.
Senior leaders are more confident than operational teams
Senior leaders are also substantially more willing to give AI autonomy. 86% of executive leaders and heads of department say they trust AI to manage travel bookings and spend, compared with 62% of travel and procurement decision-makers.
However, greater confidence does not mean fewer concerns. 69% of executive leaders and heads of department identify data security as a concern, compared with 59% of finance respondents and 38% across procurement and travel management. Businesses need greater alignment between leadership ambition and the operational controls required to support autonomous purchasing at scale.
Businesses are looking to put controls into the payment itself
Virtual cards rank highest for perceived security in AI-led corporate travel purchasing, selected by 30% of respondents, ahead of digital wallets at 21% and corporate cards and bank transfers at 19% each.
Among organisations with AI purchasing safeguards already in place, 55% require human approval before AI can complete a purchase, 51% use real-time monitoring, 49% apply spending limits and 37% currently use virtual cards with single-use or controlled spending limits.
Use of controlled virtual cards in this group is expected to rise from 37% to 48% by 2028, the biggest expected increase of any safeguard. As businesses prepare for greater agent autonomy, the findings indicate that attention is turning to payment methods that can carry spending rules into individual transactions.
Ledsham added, “As agents become more capable of acting independently, businesses need a way to delegate spending without handing over unrestricted financial authority. Payments can become part of that control layer. A controlled virtual card allows businesses to capture the speed and efficiency of agentic purchasing without removing the financial guardrails around the transaction.
Corporate travel has the potential to be the testbed for how businesses will manage a much broader transition towards agentic commerce: giving AI enough authority to act while ensuring control over corporate money remains visible, enforceable and accountable.”
For more information, visit www.conferma.com
Methodology
The research was conducted by Sapio Research in September 2026 among 600 corporate travel and finance decision-makers from organisations employing more than 200 people.
The sample included 200 respondents in the UK, 200 in the US and 200 across Australia and New Zealand. Respondents selected their primary area of work from a broad range of business functions. Analysis by role compares executive leaders and heads of department with respondents working in finance, procurement and corporate travel. Interviews were conducted online. At an overall level, results are accurate to ±4.0% at 95% confidence limits, assuming a result of 50%.
About Conferma
Headquartered in Manchester, UK, Conferma is the global leader in virtual payments, connecting businesses, issuers, and suppliers to streamline and secure transactions. Its technology underpins virtual card issuance for banks, travel management companies, and enterprises worldwide. For more information, visit www.conferma.com.
