With its ‘Apply AI’ strategy, the European Commission has set out a clear mandate: artificial intelligence is to be integrated more rapidly into strategic economic sectors. TUI is already putting this into practice in the tourism sector – not as a pilot project, but as an integral part of its corporate strategy.

As a European tourism group, TUI has clearly defined its goal: to become an AI-first company. The concrete implementation of the strategy is underway. AI prototyping teams from the technology division are working with internal experts to develop products, automate processes and integrate the technology into global platforms. For example, on 6 October 2025 Open AI announced plans to integrate apps into Chat GPT. Nine days later, the first TUI prototype was ready and a solution has been live since the end of April this year. Anyone using the TUI app in ChatGPT is offered suitable hotels, experiences and soon trips directly within the chat, complete with a booking link. Search queries from the UK, Germany and Scandinavian countries came in as early as the first week. This opens up an unprecedented channel for TUI with a potential 900 million weekly active users.

AI potential in the EU

AI-powered travel companion

At the same time, TUI is working on an AI-powered travel companion for the post-booking phase. A new digital assistant links customers’ travel data with up-to-date local information, from restaurants to route planning between two destinations. Travel plans thus become dynamic, with personalised recommendations. Particularly valuable: the AI does not rely on static knowledge, but is fed with continuously updated real-time geodata. In this way, TUI provides reliable information and prevents the problematic ‘hallucinations’ of AI. The service launched in May and was developed in partnership with Google. It demonstrates how TUI is consistently integrating generative AI into its products.

Framework conditions must keep pace

TUI is also rolling out the AI approach internally on a broad scale: more than 8,000 employees have completed specific training on copilot applications in the workplace in the first four months of this year. Nevertheless, policymakers must support the rapidly growing range of AI applications. With the Apply AI strategy, Europe has taken an important step towards accelerating the application of AI in key economic sectors. What is now crucial is an innovation policy that strengthens European companies in the practical use of AI, enables opportunity-driven development and interprets regulatory requirements in such a way that they do not stifle innovation. Only in this way can Europe keep pace with the leading players from the US and China and establish its own European solutions in the market.

Pioneer

TUI was one of the first companies to integrate an app with ChatGPT