Navan: Harnessing AI to Hyper-Personalise Business Travel

Business trips can quickly descend into chaos without efficient planning. 

Enter Navan Edge, the hyper-personalised AI assistant from business travel and expense platform Navan, which is designed to solve a host of murky travel headaches and level up the travel experience for everyone. 

Marking a significant shift in how corporate trips are planned and managed, Navan Edge is designed to deliver a level of service traditionally reserved for senior executives and VIPs.

For many professionals, business travel has become increasingly frustrating, characterised by delays, cramped seats, outdated technology and long waits for customer support.

Booking trips often involves juggling consumer tools not built for corporate requirements or emailing a travel agent simply to secure a flight - but Navan Edge seeks to change this dynamic. 

“Travel is a top use case for LLMs,” says Ariel Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of Navan. “The people have spoken: they want to say the word and let the AI handle the rest. They want a solution that works for them and not the other way around.”

Executive-level personalisation for the masses

With Navan Edge, users can speak to their assistant to book hyper-personalised trips, manage complex itineraries, secure last-minute restaurant reservations and resolve disruptions while on the move – all through a simple, conversational interface.

Ariel continues: "That conversational interface needs to operate on top of unbelievably complex infrastructure connecting hundreds of suppliers – global travel infrastructure that Navan spent a decade to perfect to an enterprise scale.

"Navan Edge is built to deliver what business travellers value most: the confidence that their trip will match their standards and specific needs, the ability to be productive on the go and the freedom to enjoy the journey."

By combining conversational AI with enterprise-grade travel infrastructure, Navan is bidding to redefine the business travel experience and set a new benchmark for personalisation in corporate travel management.

Agentic AI built for business travel

Navan Edge is powered by a decade of travel data from millions of bookings made by more than 10,000 companies. This foundation enables the assistant to understand and act on the nuances of business travel, from preferred airlines and loyalty schemes to specific hotel room requirements.

“We’ve always been obsessed with what matters to the business traveller,” adds Ilan Twig, CTO and Co-Founder of Navan. “Today, we’ve finally reached the point where technology can match that obsession.

"With Navan Edge, we’re showcasing the power of an agentic AI solution built for business travel from the ground up. It’s the breakthrough that will definitively leave the rest of the travel industry behind."

Every search result within Navan Edge is personalised. Be it recommendations for hotels, flights and restaurants, all are tailored based on individual preferences, loyalty programmes and real-time itinerary needs. 

The assistant remembers the personal must-haves of each user – from blackout shades to high-powered hairdryers – and automatically applies them to searches.

If a flight is cancelled, the system is able to rebook seats, notify hotels of late arrivals and rearrange dinner reservations with user approval. 

Human support agents remain available whenever required, blending AI efficiency with real-world expertise.

Enterprise momentum with Darktrace partnership

Navan’s latest innovation comes as the company continues to strengthen its position in the enterprise market, having recently been selected by Darktrace – a global leader in AI for cybersecurity – to upgrade its global travel programme.

Through the partnership, Darktrace aims to consolidate fragmented travel processes, increase adoption rates and target annual savings of more than £1m (US$1.34m). 

Navan’s unified AI-powered platform will automate flight and hotel payments using built-in virtual cards, streamline reconciliation and provide finance teams with greater visibility into travel spending.

“Navan is proud to help Darktrace modernise its global travel programme,” says Michael Riegel, Chief Customer Officer at Navan. 

“By removing the friction from inventory access and payments, we expect that Darktrace will achieve the high adoption rates needed for total visibility into its travel program. We are ready to help their team scale efficiently.”

Together, the launch of Navan Edge and high-profile enterprise partnerships underline Navan’s ambition to lead the next phase of AI-driven business travel, where hyper-personalisation and operational control go hand in hand.