SAP Concur adds AI agents, deeper card & travel links

SAP Concur has announced new artificial intelligence features, tighter links between travel and expense workflows, and expanded partnerships with card networks and travel providers.

The updates centre on SAP's Joule assistant and a set of AI agents aimed at expense reporting and compliance checks. SAP Concur also pointed to deeper integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot and new functionality connected to American Express, Visa, and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT).

AI agents

SAP Concur is adding two new Joule agents to automate expense report creation and move receipt checks earlier in the process. The Expense Automation Agent creates an expense report, adds transactions, and populates custom fields based on contextual details and user history. Employees then review and refine the report before submission.

The Expense Pre-Submit Audit Agent runs receipt checks before submission and flags discrepancies earlier. SAP Concur said this should reduce rejections and shorten reimbursement timelines.

Concur Expense is also set to add an option for submitting receipts by text message. SAP Concur said the texting feature and the two agents are in the SAP Early Adopter Care programme, with general availability expected later this year. The Expense Automation Agent will be included in Joule Premium for Travel and Expense.

Existing Joule agents already support receipt analysis and expense report validation, enriching expense data and detecting errors. SAP Concur said the expanded set is designed to reduce manual work while maintaining compliance.

Microsoft workflows

SAP Concur is extending how Joule works with Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling employees to manage travel and expenses within Microsoft applications rather than switching into Concur tools. Through these workflows, staff can create and submit expense reports, track status, ask policy questions, upload receipts, and book travel.

The change reflects a broader push by enterprise software suppliers to embed AI assistants in tools workers already use. SAP Concur said this approach is intended to reduce friction in routine tasks and improve policy adherence.

Another planned integration will connect SAP Sales Cloud with Booking Agent, allowing sales staff to use Joule in SAP Sales Cloud to book travel tied to planned client visits. General availability is planned for Q2 2026.

Policy rules

For travel and expense administrators, SAP Concur outlined new AI-based tools for building and managing policy rules. The tools use natural-language prompts or company policy documents as inputs, enabling administrators to upload a travel policy document and generate or modify travel rules.

The AI rule-creation tools will cover Complete by SAP Concur and Amex GBT, Concur Travel, and Concur Expense. SAP Concur said the travel policy document upload feature will enter the SAP Early Adopter Care programme in Q2 2026. It also said Concur Expense administrators will be able to create and manage audit rules using natural language starting in Q2 2026, while rule creation from uploaded policy documents for Concur Expense is planned for later in 2026.

Card partnerships

On payments, SAP Concur said it is deepening its partnership with American Express. Joint customers will be able to create and manage American Express Virtual Cards in Concur Expense. SAP Concur described a virtual card as a uniquely generated card number and security code linked to an employer's corporate card account.

The virtual card function is available now for select US-based American Express Corporate and Business customers using Concur Expense, with broader availability planned for Q3 2026. SAP Concur also said virtual cards can be used as a payment method within Concur Travel.

SAP Concur also highlighted an American Express real-time notification feature launched last year. The function automatically generates and categorises eligible business expenses from corporate card purchases in Concur Expense, and enrolled cardholders receive mobile notifications at the time of purchase.

Separately, SAP Concur said it is working with Visa through the Visa Commercial Integrated Partner programme. An initial milestone will add real-time notifications that automatically create expenses from Visa card use. SAP Concur said the feature will enter the SAP Early Adopter Care programme in Q3 2026, and that it will support real-time notifications from all major credit card networks.

Travel features

SAP Concur said it is updating the corporate travel experience with new features and broader availability. For customers using the new Concur Travel experience, it now fully supports guest bookings, with a faster workflow for creating guest profiles and support for recurring visitors.

SAP Concur also said India will join more than 150 countries with access to the new Concur Travel experience in Q2. It highlighted expanded content from Cleartrip and said travellers will be able to shop IndiGo and SpiceJet, along with added suppliers including Akasa Air and Air India Express.

In parallel, SAP Concur said it is working with Amex GBT on new features for Complete, a co-developed booking, servicing, payments, and expensing offering. New functions include AI-enabled travel support with hand-off to a live travel counsellor and a dedicated home page for travel managers. SAP Concur also said Concur Expense integrates with Amex GBT Egencia worldwide.

TripIt, which SAP Concur owns, is also adding features. TripIt Pro Image to Plan with Apple Intelligence turns photos or PDFs into TripIt plans. SAP Concur said it uses on-device models to extract dates, times, locations, confirmation numbers, and costs without leaving the device. TripIt Pro is also expanding risk alerts beyond flights and airports to include other itinerary elements such as lodging, car rental, rail, and activities. SAP Concur said the TripIt Pro updates are generally available now.