What McKinsey Gets Right about Agentic AI and How Samyag Is Actually Building It
What McKinsey Gets Right About Agentic AI — and How Samyag Is Actually Building It
The recent McKinsey | Skift report, “Remapping Travel with Agentic AI” nails a crucial truth: The real AI revolution in travel won’t come from generic copilots or chatbots. It will come from domain-specific, agentic systems: AI that can act, learn, and personalize deeply within the travel ecosystem.
The Problem with “Horizontal AI”
McKinsey highlights that most current travel AI projects such as chatbots, copilots or automations deliver incremental, hard-to-measure gains. They rarely solve travel’s uniquely messy problems, and many never break out of pilot mode.
Samyag’s View: Travel Isn’t a Generic Industry
If you’ve followed our posts, one theme is constant: travel needs vertical, agentic AI. Our focus isn’t on generic chat or automation. It’s on AI built to decode travel’s chaos, orchestrate supplier workflows and handle personalization at scale.
Here’s how McKinsey’s analysis aligns with (and validates) our approach
AI That Understands the Domain and Not Just the Request
McKinsey’s Point: Travel’s siloed data and incompatible systems demand vertical AI, not horizontal copilots.
Samyag’s Approach: Every Samyag tool is built to navigate travel’s data fragmentation. Our agents parse WhatsApp, email , booking references, PNRs and many other data points and connect it all in real time to supplier systems integrating real-time intelligence as a core capability, not an afterthought. We go beyond chatbots into full-stack operational agents that transform how work gets done.
From Automation to Amplification
McKinsey’s Point: Agentic AI should amplify human capabilities and free teams for “meaningful service”
Samyag’s Approach: Amplification, not automation, is our mantra. Our AI copilots don’t replace agents but make them superhuman: handling quotations, bookings, changes and personalization all in real time. We fight “AI fatigue” by building focused, high-value tools for both front-line and back-office teams.
Bridging B2B and B2C Transformation
McKinsey’s Point: Cross-functional AI must serve both guests and providers through purpose-driven solutions. Samyag’s Approach: We operate at the intersection. From hyper-personalized B2C journeys (“Your phone is now your agent”) to leaner B2B workflows (“Instant ticketing, omnichannel support, smarter prioritization”), we design for every stakeholder from the traveler, agency, supplier each as a distinct, solvable use case.
Product-Led, Practical Innovation
McKinsey’s Point: The industry needs practical roadmaps and upskilling, not endless pilots. Samyag’s Approach: We started with deep conversations with agencies and TMCs, not abstract tech. Our evolution from decoding the “unstructured chaos of travel requests” to turning email inboxes into orchestration engines shows how we turn theory into working systems. We have moved from pilots to real deployments integrated into the core CRM systems of our customers to ensure that value is clearly measured.
The Big Alignment
McKinsey argues that agentic AI isn’t about replacing humans but that it’s about letting people shine while AI works behind the scenes. That’s the core of Samyag’s philosophy: freeing time, boosting creativity, and letting agents deliver real value.
The Big Differentiator
McKinsey provides the vision and blueprint. Samyag is already executing it. We’re already solving live quoting, dynamic pricing, GDPR-compliant automation, and true conversational booking not just through generic forms, but through AI that acts and adapts.
Final Thoughts
McKinsey’s roadmap is right and Samyag is proof it works. The next wave of travel AI will be defined by vertical intelligence, adaptive agents, and technology that amplifies the travel expert. The true disruption isn’t happening in labs but in the daily realities of travel sellers, suppliers, and travelers empowered by intelligent, deeply integrated AI.
If you’re rethinking how AI can transform your travel business and not just automate it: let’s connect. We’re building the agentic future, one workflow at a time.
