AI Policies lets you upload your company's written travel policy so Perk can give travelers, bookers, and approvers helpful, plain-language guidance based on it. This article explains what AI Policies is, how it works alongside your existing policy setup, and where the guidance shows up. Use it to understand what to expect before you upload your policy.
In short: you upload your policy document, and Perk uses it to surface relevant guidance in context—it doesn't change what's in or out of policy, and it doesn't approve or block anything.
What AI Policies does
AI Policies reads the travel policy you upload—a PDF—and turns the human-written detail into contextual guidance for the people making travel decisions. Your travel policy settings already capture structured rules, like a maximum nightly hotel rate. AI Policies works alongside them to communicate the nuance your written policy expresses, like "prefer remote meetings to reduce emissions."
AI Policies reads your uploaded policy and surfaces the guidance that matters at the moment of booking, so travelers see not just what’s allowed but what your company prefers.
How AI Policies works with your existing policies
AI Policies sits on top of your current setup—it doesn't replace it. Your structured travel policy rules keep working exactly as before, and they remain the source of truth for what counts as in or out of policy.
AI Policies adds a layer of guidance on top of those rules. It's informative only: it surfaces advice and context, but it does not decide whether something is in or out of policy, and it does not interact with approvals.
Note: AI Policies never blocks a booking, marks it as out of policy, or sends anything for approval. Those outcomes are still driven entirely by your structured travel rules. AI Policies only adds contextual guidance alongside them.
For example, suppose your policy encourages travelers to prioritize remote meetings when travel isn’t essential, and to choose lower-emission options where possible. These are preferences rather than hard limits, so they aren’t set as structured rules. AI Policies surfaces that context right when someone is booking—so they can factor it in—without changing what your rules allow.
Who sees AI Policies guidance
AI Policies guidance appears for the people involved in booking and reviewing travel. Depending on where they are in Perk, that includes:
- Bookers and travelers searching for flights, hotels, trains, or cars.
- Approvers reviewing a trip.
Bookers and approvers see the same underlying policy, surfaced where it's relevant to what they're doing.
Where you see AI Policies guidance
AI Policies guidance appears in the places travelers and approvers already work. Travelers and bookers see it on the home page, in search results for flights, hotels, trains, and cars, and on the trip itinerary—it can show up even before a search is started. As a booker looks at options, AI Policies surfaces relevant context from your policy: which travel type to consider first, which options are company preferences even when they aren't strict rules, and any conditions or exceptions worth knowing before booking.
Approvers see the guidance in the approval request, so they have the same policy context when they review a trip.
What AI Policies can and can't do today
AI Policies is designed to give reliable, contextual guidance, but it works within some limits. Understanding these helps set the right expectations for your travelers and approvers.
What it does well:
- Interprets a selected travel search or selection against your policy and gives contextual guidance.
- Summarizes your policy document to provide context alongside travel search details. For example:
- Explains the reasoning behind your policy in plain language—like a preference to prioritize greener, lower-emission travel.
- Surfaces company preferences that aren't strict rules, so travelers see the intent behind a choice, not just the limit.
- Flags conditions and exceptions worth knowing before booking—for example when a higher cabin class needs written approval.
Current limitations:
- Guidance only. AI Policies doesn't enforce anything. It won't mark a booking as out of policy or route it for approval—your structured rules do that.
- Not built for exact numbers. AI Policies isn't reliable with math. If you depend on specific amounts or hard limits, set those as structured travel rules instead.
- Non-deterministic. Because of the AI technology behind the feature, the guidance can change slightly over time, even for the same input.
- Best with clear policies. The clearer and more specific your uploaded policy, the more useful the guidance. Vague or contradictory policy text produces vaguer guidance.
Caution: Because AI Policies is guidance rather than enforcement, don't rely on it to stop out-of-policy travel. Keep your structured travel rules in place for anything you need to control automatically.
Getting started
Admins set up AI Policies by uploading the company travel policy PDF in the Settings > Travel management > Travel policies. Right after the upload, admins choose who sees the guidance: the whole account or specific people. Starting with a small group is a good way to test the guidance before rolling it out more widely.
Once the policy is uploaded and admins have chosen who sees the guidance, AI Policies guidance shows up in the relevant travel and approval flows. Bookers, travelers, and approvers don't need to turn anything on.
Frequently asked questions
- Does AI Policies decide what's in or out of policy? No. AI Policies is informative only. It surfaces guidance based on your policy, but your structured travel rules remain the source of truth for what's in or out of policy.
- Does it block bookings or send them for approval? No. AI Policies never blocks a booking or routes it for approval. Those outcomes are driven entirely by your structured travel rules and approval settings.
- Who sees the guidance, and where? Travelers and bookers see it on the home page, in search results for flights, hotels, trains, and cars, and on the trip itinerary. Approvers see it in the approval request when they review a trip.
- Can I turn it on for just a few travelers first? Yes. Right after you upload your policy, you can show AI Policies guidance to specific people or to your whole account. Starting with a small group is a good way to test the guidance first.
- What kinds of policy can it interpret? AI Policies works best with the nuanced, real-world guidance that structured rules can't easily capture—for example fare-type preferences, when to choose train over flight, sustainability preferences, or conditions and exceptions worth flagging before booking.
- Is my uploaded policy used to train AI models? No, your policy is not used to train the AI model.
- Can I upload multiple PDFs, each applying to a different set of travelers (e.g. executives vs. others)? Not at the moment.