- Hays Travel has signed a five-year partnership with Google Cloud
- Every agent will be equipped with the SMILE Personal Assistant
- The tool uses Google’s Gemini AI and BigQuery
- The assistant will generate itineraries and summarise sales
- The rollout will be complete ahead of the January peak trading period
Hays Travel has signed a five-year partnership with Google Cloud to equip every agent with the SMILE Personal Assistant. Announced on 12 November 2026 during the company’s annual conference in Antalya, Turkey the tool uses Google’s Gemini AI and BigQuery to cut down on repetitive administrative tasks. The tool forms part of Hays Travel’s £4.6m investment in technology over the past 12 months.
Selected Smile Champions will receive early access and training first, followed by a full rollout to branch staff, homeworkers and independence network members ahead of the January peak trading period. The assistant helps agents organise their daily routines, build itineraries, prompt welcome-home calls, curate tailored holiday offers, suggest wildcard trip ideas and generate on-brand social media posts and videos.
Hays Travel Chief Operating Officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston emphasised that the assistant is designed to replace time-consuming admin rather than jobs, allowing agents to focus on personal customer care.
