FCM Travel has launched an AI-powered conversational booking feature which will allow travellers to simply describe what they need and receive options shaped by their policy, profile, past trips, loyalty status and preferred routes, dramatically cutting the time it takes to book.
Conversational booking is made possible by FCM’s existing intelligence layer, Sam. By synthesising intelligence at every traveller interaction, Sam builds a richer profile in real time.
Every recommendation will come with its reasoning attached, showing why it fits policy, matches a traveller’s usual routing, reflects their loyalty programme, or follows how their team travels. That visibility will help travellers book with confidence, without second-guessing.
“Conversational booking only works if travellers trust what they’re being shown, and that trust comes from context, not just convenience,” says Jessica Dunderdale, global head of product at FCM Travel. “That’s the experience we’re building toward – every recommendation explains itself, so travellers can act on it with confidence, and travel managers see adoption follow as a result.”
The same booking experience also travels with the user. Available first in Microsoft Teams and Slack, Model Context Protocol (MCP) technology will extend booking capabilities to the AI tools travellers use every day, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, without opening a separate app.
For travel buyers, that means higher in-programme booking rates and better data capture, without asking travellers to change behaviour.
The intelligence that shapes conversational booking also feeds FCM’s reporting and proactive analytics, surfacing spend, compliance, and disruption risk as it emerges rather than after the fact. This sharpens the role of the travel manager – allowing them to translate what the technology surfaces into decisions that fit their business.
“We didn’t build FCM’s tech ecosystem to replace our consultants’ judgment,” says John Morhous, chief experience officer at FCM Travel. “We built it to take the routine work off their plate, so they can focus on the moments that actually need a person. Travellers get speed from tech and expertise from our consultants – they shouldn’t have to choose between the two.”