As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves from assistive tools into systems capable of acting and deciding independently, the travel industry is entering a critical transition period. According to Sabre Corporation, the promise of agentic AI will only be realized if trust and security are embedded at the core of these systems.
In its newly released whitepaper, The Secure AI Advantage, Sabre argues that autonomy without trust is not only risky but ultimately unusable in a global ecosystem as complex and interconnected as travel.
The paper positions the industry at an inflection point. AI is beginning to act on behalf of travelers, airlines, hotels, and agencies, making real-time decisions that once required human oversight. While this autonomy can accelerate innovation and efficiency, it also introduces new layers of risk. Sabre’s central message is clear: traditional security models based on static checks and periodic audits are no longer sufficient when AI systems operate continuously and adapt dynamically.
At the heart of Sabre’s approach is a redefinition of trust. Rather than treating security as an add-on, the company frames it as foundational infrastructure. Data must be curated and protected at scale, identities must be continuously verified rather than authenticated once, and governance must be transparent and provable in real time. This philosophy reflects Sabre’s belief that trust is not a feature but a prerequisite for meaningful autonomy.
Sabre’s Chief Information Security Officer Scott Moser emphasizes that as AI agents begin acting independently across the travel value chain, every decision must be verifiable. The ability to trace actions back to trusted data, authenticated identities, and monitored systems is what separates responsible autonomy from unchecked risk. In this vision, observability becomes more important than compliance checklists, and resilience depends on constant visibility into how systems behave.
A significant part of the whitepaper is devoted to explaining how Sabre has applied these principles internally. Through a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud, the company has modernized its infrastructure, migrating tens of thousands of servers and more than 50 petabytes of data. This transformation was not simply about efficiency; it was designed to enable AI systems that are autonomous yet secure by design.
Platforms such as SabreMosaic and the Sabre IQ AI Layer illustrate how the company embeds guardrails, accountability, and lineage into AI-driven processes. According to Sabre’s Chief Information Officer Joe DiFonzo, this groundwork allows AI to operate at enterprise scale without sacrificing safety or transparency. Every action taken by an AI agent can be monitored, audited, and, if necessary, overridden.
Beyond its own systems, Sabre positions The Secure AI Advantage as a call to action for the broader travel industry. As AI adoption accelerates, suppliers and agencies will increasingly expect proof that autonomous systems are governed responsibly. Sabre concludes by offering guidance for organizations preparing for this shift, underscoring that trust will become a competitive differentiator, not just a regulatory requirement.
In an industry built on coordination, reliability, and confidence, Sabre’s vision suggests that the future of AI-driven travel will belong to those who treat trust as infrastructure, not an afterthought.