61% of travel companies surveyed are experimenting with or scaling agent AI | News
All indications are that 2026 will be the year of agentic AI, succinctly defined as gen AI that can perform real-world tasks instead of simply executing content. Agentic AI is already playing a key role in the next generation of enterprise automation, increasing productivity and reducing costs. This is evident from Phocuswright’s latest research report Budgets, barriers and the race to Agentic AIMore than 60% of travel companies surveyed are experimenting with or scaling up artificial AI, with 6% already actively scaling up and 22% starting to scale up.
At the same time, agentic commerce, defined as AI agents that find, compare, and potentially make online purchases for customers, is gaining popularity among consumers.
Many developments in 2025 are paving the way for agentic AI to come to the forefront for businesses and travelers alike in 2026, perhaps the most impactful being the launch and exceptionally rapid adoption of a model context protocol (MCP), a universal, open standard for connecting AI applications to external systems. More than half of companies surveyed are already exploring or implementing emerging AI interoperability standards such as MCP and A2A.
2025 also witnessed the launch and maturation of a plethora of agentic tools for business automation and the announcement of regular consumer offers from agents Googling, Open AI, Stripe, Visa and others.
After a year of hype, generative AI has firmly entered execution mode for the travel industry, reshaping the way companies think about technology investments, product development and competitive advantage.
Phocuswright brings his insights-based expertise Phocuswright Europe this June 15-17, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. This event will attract travel industry executives and leaders to explore where generational AI and agentic AI are already delivering value, how budgets are shifting to support them, and what’s holding organizations back from scaling.
As agentic AI continues to gain traction, it’s important to network with and learn from the industry’s brightest executives at Phocuswright Europe. The program, speaker list and participant list represent the biggest names in the travel world. We expect nearly half to be C-level executives, presidents, or partners—the decision makers who actually call the shots.
85% will be at director level or higher: those with the budgets, influence and vision. Deals take root. Strategies are stirring. The right conversation at the right time can change everything. If you seriously want to stay, you need to be in this room.
Register before April 30 and save €300 on your ticket.
