Travel and Expense Predictions for 2025

AI was THE opportunity on travel managers’ minds in 2024. Breakthrough use cases such as predictive analytics for spend management and automatically populating expense reports with data from corporate cards have created new incentives for business travel.

It’s a safe bet to suggest AI will continue to impact, streamline, and encourage business travel in 2025. However, while we expect the technology to continue its upward trajectory, a new set of travel and expense (T&E) developments is on the horizon.

These are our five predictions for the developments that will define T&E in 2025.

1. Continued investment in digital systems and security infrastructure

Companies in 2025 will invest in innovative new solutions such as process automation and generative AI to support growth. However, as digital estates grow and businesses incorporate new systems to streamline T&E processes, the risks associated with data and system breaches rise.

Pressure to compete will leave businesses and customers vulnerable. Today, more organisations than ever experience cybersecurity breaches, putting personal information at risk.

It’s a delicate balancing act to respond quickly to the demands of internal and external stakeholders without disregarding security concerns. Investment in tech innovation and security infrastructure will be top priorities in 2025, as firms compete to provide greater customer value while minimising risk.

2. A return to the office puts pressure on budgets to go further

As employees return to the office in droves, we expect business travel volume to increase. And with inflation slowing, businesses have an opportunity to extract more value from travel investments.

But leaders are cautious. In 2025, pressure will mount for financial controllers to get more out of T&E budgets, ensuring minimal risk to the overall business posture.

The result is a bolstered mandate for compliance and visibility. For example, T&E may be increasingly managed by one platform, ensuring policies are consistently applied as more travellers book trips and submit expenses—protecting against costly mistakes, fraud, and policy breaches.

 

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3. Expense reports become exception reports

As the hype settles, individual job roles are defining their most valuable practical applications for AI. Repeatable tasks such as validating transactions for compliance will become increasingly automated in 2025, reducing the time managers spend reviewing individual expense reports.

Instead, ‘trusted’ transactions may never even land in an expense report. They will be replaced with exception reports, which only highlight deviations from the business’ standard T&E policies.

Automations will handle mundane tasks and help travel managers deliver in-depth audits with ease. In turn, this will give reviewers greater capacity to inspect expenses, identify fraud, and ensure no error goes unchecked.

4. Employees show a healthy scepticism in AI

While 2024 promised AI-literate businesses a host of transformative benefits, 2025 will see the tech treated with a sensible level of scepticism and thoughtfulness.

According to the 2024 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey, 95% of business travellers would consider using AI-powered automation to support their tasks.

For now, however, AI will be seen as an assistant helping to source recommendations and identify expense anomalies, rather than a one-stop solution for booking travel or submitting expense reports.

Use cases such as pre-trip approvals and itinerary building are bringing benefits. But rather than going all in on AI, business travellers and travel managers will be tentatively exploring the workflows with the largest returns in 2025.

5. Demand grows for improved user experiences

With business travel on the rise, traveller expectations will continue to increase.

In 2025, we anticipate greater demand for real-time updates on disruptions. This can help address the effects of extreme weather events and geopolitical conflicts, which are increasingly influencing business travel decisions. With employer duty of care under a magnifying lens, travellers expect greater levels of support through T&E systems.

Following years of buzz around AI and digital innovation, 2025 will be the year of practical implementation. Organisations will plan how to stay competitive with their new T&E investments, all while making provisions to protect data, security, and their bottom line. Perfecting this balancing act will be the key to a successful 2025.