Both Navan and travel booking technology Vibe have separately announced launches of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that enable functionality through users' preferred artificial intelligence (AI) environments.
Navan initially is deploying its MCP—a standard that lets AI models connect to external data sources and software—as a "read-only experience" for travel data, letting travel and finance administrators use conversational prompts in Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP-compatible systems to query about their data. For example, they could ask for a summary of each department's spend by category for a certain period or could ask to identify which global team has the highest out-of-policy spending level, according to Navan.
Eventually, Navan will broaden capabilities to allow expense approvals and travel policy updates through the systems as well as travel-booking capabilities, the company said.
"Navan’s MCP is an important step in bringing our entire ecosystem directly into employees' everyday workflows," Navan Travel Marketplace SVP Dane Molter said in a statement. "We’ve built this using over a decade of Navan’s data, making it one of the most context-aware MCPs for travel and setting the stage for even more functionality in the future."
Navan is also partnering with Hilton Worldwide to create a direct integration between the travel management company (TMC) and Hilton's central reservation system (CRS) and content services, BTN reported in a separate story.
The integration comes through Hilton's APIs for booking and content, the companies said. The booking API will provide Navan with real-time access to Hilton's rates and availability, and the content API will deliver property and room content directly from Hilton. The companies said Navan will be the first TMC to integrate directly with Hilton's CRS and content services.
A Navan spokesperson said the integration would be rolling out across its customer base in phases, starting this week.
Vibe, which provides online booking technology to travel management companies and other travel sellers and resellers, also has launched an MCP server, enabling corporate travelers to book and manage travel through their preferred AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot, the company announced. Travelers can use the tools to search flights, hotels and rail options, book and pay for travel, manage itineraries and connect with corporate travel policy information while staying connected to TMCs' approved content and processes.
The MCP layer lets TMCs offer clients AI travel search without having to build their own AI infrastructure, the company said.
"This is not about replacing the TMC," Vibe co-founder, CTO and CIO Matthew Chapman said in a statement. "It is about giving TMCs the tools to remain central, relevant and competitive as booking behavior changes."
U.K.-based TMC ITG Business Travel is Vibe's first client live with the technology, and the TMC currently is testing it with corporate clients, according to Vibe. In a statement, ITG Business Travel managing director Mat Cook said the MCP server "gives us the ability to compete in a rapidly evolving AI landscape without the significant investment and technical resource usually required to build this type of capability in-house."
The story originally appeared on BTN.