ATG Teams With IBM To Build Voice-Enabled Booking

Ohio-based ATG Business Travel Management plans by mid-2020 to release a voice-powered booking application thanks to a strategic partnership with IBM. Backed by historical travel and expense data, business traveler profiles and company policies, the new booking function will be "more than a chatbot," according to Tammy Krings, CEO at ATG Worldwide. Krings claimed that essentially "nothing has changed" for online booking tools since their introduction 25 years ago. "They have outlived their usefulness," she said. "They're no longer helping employees be productive. "Instead of having travelers walk through menus, we can offer them the most likely, policy-compliant option," Krings said during a Monday interview. "People are used to doing work on their phones, and they're used to talking to Siri.