Gant Travel's "Email Buddy" AI Innovation Reduces Email Handle Times as Customers and Agents Praise Improved Experience

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA / ACCESS Newswire / February 17, 2026 / Gant Travel, an innovative, award-winning travel management company, today announced the results of its full deployment of Email Buddy, an AI-powered tool designed to help agents respond to traveler requests faster while improving coordination and overall service quality.

Fully implemented in July 2025, Email Buddy streamlines the creation of traveler emails by automating drafting and response construction, reducing the time required to write emails by 90%. In addition to speed, Gant reports a meaningful improvement in message quality, which has reduced unnecessary back-and-forth between travelers and agents and helped lower overall email volume.

Real Proof in Peak Disruption

Gant Travel saw a significant surge in travel support requests during recent winter storms, with phone volume reaching approximately 126% of forecast. Despite the spike in demand, Gant's average email handle times in January 2026 remained more than 30% lower than the prior January, demonstrating sustained operational performance even under disruption.

"This tool is a home run. We're getting feedback from customers and agents - they love Email Buddy," said Vic Pynn, Chief Operating Officer of Gant Travel. "And the data backs it up: it's removing up to 90% of the time from writing an email. That plus some organizational changes we made have created a 60% reduction in case time. But the bigger story is quality, customers are more confident in our replies, which reduces low-value, unnecessary follow-up messages. As a result, we've seen email volume drop significantly."

The success of Email Buddy reinforces Gant Travel's commitment to applying practical AI in ways that improve agent productivity and create a smoother communications experience for travelers, especially when disruptions drive sudden increases in service demand.

About Gant Travel

Gant Travel is an award-winning travel management company headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, focused on delivering a high-quality traveler experience through innovative service and technology. In October of 2024, Gant bought the AI company Aimendo, and they've been using Aimendo technology to power Gant's AI projects.

Media Contact

Ellie Seybold
Gant Travel - Promotions Dept
[e-mail]
812.803.2630

Vic Pynn
Gant Travel - COO
[e-mail]
[phone]

SOURCE: Gant Travel

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/travel/gant-travels-%22email-buddy%22-ai-innovation-reduces-email-handle-times-as-customers-and-agents-1137879