Insurance company Travelers has announced a significant surge in AI adoption, with 10,000 engineers and data scientists now empowered with AI assistants. However, the company’s leadership emphasizes that expertise, not AI alone, is the key to long-term profit growth.

According to CEO Alan Schnitzer, over 20,000 professionals at Travelers use AI tools regularly, leading to increased efficiency in claims call centers and resulting in staff reductions. The company’s net profit has increased, driven by its intensive technology and innovation strategy, with a 7% average annual growth in insurance policy sales between 2016 and 2025.

Schnitzer highlighted the importance of innovation, stating that the company’s competitive advantage lies in its innovation skill set, which has been developed over the past decade. Travelers is now moving into a more advanced stage, dubbed Innovation 2.0, with AI as the central driver.

The increased use of automation has directly reduced staffing needs and improved claims efficiency, with the claim call center population down by a third. As Travelers continues to invest in technology, including AI and quantum computing, it is poised for further growth and innovation.