Seeking Value: The hard part of AI travel starts after the search

Travelport and Cognizant are testing AI for the complex “engineering behind bookings,” including refunds and travel disruptions, using Anthropic’s Claude. In an interview for Cognizant’s “Seeking Value” series, Travelport CTO Andrew Jordan said a vague request still must yield an itinerary precise enough to book—adding that it can’t reroute someone to nearby cities and claim equivalence. The collaboration initially targets TripServices, Travelport’s booking and servicing platform launched in June, combining Claude with Travelport’s software “system of record.” Cognizant VP Nambi Palanivelu said the AI can reason and recommend, but the system must commit. He highlighted disruptions like delayed rerouted flights and refund handling as hardest, with risks of regulatory penalties.