Verified
United Airlines
Experimenting- Airline
- 117,900 employees
- AWS preferred cloud
- Mars ML platform
- United GPT for 90%+ of managers
- Gen AI delay messages
United Airlines deploys AI mostly in its operation and customer messaging: ConnectionSaver decides when a flight can wait for tight connections, generative AI drafts delay messages that human storytellers review, and more than 90% of managers used the internal United GPT tool by Apr 2025. United Airlines builds on AWS, its preferred cloud since 2021, with models reached through Amazon Bedrock, under CIO Jason Birnbaum. United Airlines has reported no cost, revenue or headcount return that it credits to AI alone.
united.comTheir approach to AI
- The platform
- United Airlines builds AI on AWS, its preferred cloud since Nov 2021: CIO.com reported in Dec 2024 that United uses its own United Data Hub and a Bedrock-based ML platform called Mars, after United spent several hundred million dollars from about 2020 to leave legacy mainframes.
- The models
- United Airlines has not named the large language models it runs in production; Jason Birnbaum said in May 2024 that United used existing models through Amazon Bedrock instead of building its own, and consultant Slalom lists Amazon Titan, Anthropic's Claude and Meta's Llama in a Bedrock testbed it built with United.
- The reach
- United Airlines' internal United GPT tool was used by more than 90% of managers in Apr 2025, and ConnectionSaver had saved more than 3.3 million customer connections by Jun 2025. United has not said how many of its 117,900 employees use AI.
- The catch
- United Airlines has published no AI spending figure and no return it credits to AI alone: the 4% drop in management headcount that CFO Michael Leskinen reported in Oct 2025 was tied to process changes and AI together, and the delay-message figure from Apr 2025 counts messages, not cost or revenue.
Snapshot
- Employees
- 117,900
- Sep 30, 2026; about 83% represented by unions at Dec 31, 2025 (2025 Form 10-K)
- Technology budget
- Not disclosed
- Scott Kirby says United spent several hundred million dollars to leave legacy mainframes
- AI/ML headcount
- Not disclosedest.
- Technology team of about 1,500 employees and 2,000 contractors (Apr 2024); a GenAI and ML engineering group (2025)
- Who owns AI
- Jason Birnbaum, CIO
- CIO since Jul 2022; a Responsible AI Executive Board of senior leaders governs AI use (Apr 2026 proxy)
- Platform
- Mars ML platform on AWS
- Built on Amazon Bedrock with the United Data Hub (CIO.com, Dec 2024); AWS preferred cloud since 2021
- Models
- Through Amazon Bedrock
- Production LLMs not named; Slalom lists Titan, Claude and Llama in a United testbed
- Reach
- 90%+ of managers
- Use United GPT (Apr 2025); ConnectionSaver saved 3.3M+ connections by Jun 2025
- Use cases
- No production count
- About 90 generative AI use cases in the pipeline (Dec 2024)
Key findings
United Airlines has reported no cost, revenue or headcount return it credits to AI alone: CFO Michael Leskinen tied a 4% drop in management headcount to process changes and AI together in Oct 2025, and the delay-message figure CIO Jason Birnbaum gave in Apr 2025, 35% of messages through the full storyteller process instead of 5%, counts message volume.
More than 90% of United Airlines managers used the internal United GPT tool in Apr 2025, according to CIO Jason Birnbaum, but United has not said how many of its 117,900 employees use AI tools.
ConnectionSaver, an AI-powered tool United Airlines launched in 2019 to decide when a departing flight can wait for connecting customers without hurting its on-time arrival, had saved more than 3.3 million connections by Jun 2025.
United Airlines named AWS its preferred cloud in Nov 2021, runs generative AI on a Bedrock-based ML platform called Mars (CIO.com, Dec 2024), and spent several hundred million dollars from about 2020 to move off legacy mainframe systems such as SHARES, a Fortran-based system from the 1960s.
Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that an AI epiphany within the previous eight months, after he learned to build software with AI, led him to tell his team that United Airlines was all in, and that AI simulations could cut 50% to 75% of summer weather delays in Denver if the FAA helps.
United Airlines' Apr 2026 proxy statement says a Responsible AI Executive Board of senior leaders oversees AI governance, the Audit Committee oversees AI risk, and the CIO and CISO give the board regular updates on United's use of AI.
Where United sits
- Stage
- Experimenting
United Airlines has reported no business return it credits to AI, for any use case or at the firm level: the one AI measure CIO Jason Birnbaum has given for delay messages, 35% of messages through the full storyteller process instead of 5% with the same staff (Apr 2025), counts message volume rather than cost or revenue; CFO Michael Leskinen tied a 4% drop in management headcount to process changes and AI together in Oct 2025 without separating AI's share; and AI did not come up on United's Oct 21, 2026 earnings call. United Airlines has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: Birnbaum's statement that more than 90% of managers used the internal United GPT tool (Apr 2025) covers managers only, and United has not said how many of its 117,900 employees use AI. United Airlines is therefore at Experimenting; one cost, revenue or headcount return it credits to AI, such as a saving from ConnectionSaver or the AI chat agent, or an official count of employees using United GPT under a named owner, would move it to Piloting.
How the stages are defined - Ownership
- Jason Birnbaum, CIO; a Responsible AI Executive Board sets AI governance
- Platform
- Hybrid: Mars ML platform and United Data Hub, built in-house on AWS
- Models
- Through Amazon Bedrock; production LLMs not named
- Hosting
- AWS, preferred cloud since 2021; 70-90% of workloads in the cloud (Apr 2024), the rest on premises
- Reach
- 90%+ of managers use United GPT (Apr 2025); customers through ConnectionSaver and delay messages
How they deploy
Rebuild the technology stack first
Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that United Airlines spent several hundred million dollars getting off legacy mainframe systems such as SHARES, a Fortran-based system written in the 1960s, and that the work had no ROI case. Kirby told analysts on Oct 21, 2026 that the technology program, begun six years earlier, lets United move faster than competitors, and said on Oct 27, 2026 that the cutover from one of its most critical mainframe systems went off without a hitch after United cancelled several hundred flights that day as a precaution.
AI where the data is large and the goal is clear
Scott Kirby told Stratechery in Jan 2026 that United Airlines uses AI to explain delays to customers and to model airspace during storms, and that AI could do almost everything in its network operations center better than people because the data sets are massive and the objective is easy to define. Kirby said in the same interview that he does not expect current models to reach artificial general intelligence and that consumer chatbots tend to tell users what they want to hear.
Tell every customer what operations knows
Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that his goal for 20 years has been to tell every customer what the network operations center knows about a delayed or canceled flight, and that AI is the right tool to do it now that United Airlines has the data architecture. Kirby told Bernstein's Strategic Decisions Conference in May 2026 that AI will be able to tell customers about every flight without human intervention and that United will start sending maintenance videos, and said in Oct 2026 that AI lets United institutionalize proactive delay messages.
Bring more of the stack in-house
Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that United Airlines runs more technology in-house than any airline, is the only airline that owns its reservation system, which partner Copa Airlines also uses, and is taking over the seatback map software from Panasonic. Kirby said AI makes it possible to know who a customer is and what they want, so that seatback screens can remember each customer's preferences.
Human review and caution in flight operations
Jason Birnbaum told Fortune in May 2024 that United Airlines keeps a human in the loop to check the accuracy and quality of generative AI output, and told TechCrunch in Apr 2024 that uses touching how pilots fly the plane are heavily structured and regulated, so United is extra careful there. Birnbaum told CIO.com in Apr 2025 that links between the technology, operations, cyber and legal teams set the compliance structure for deploying AI.
All in, from the chief executive
Scott Kirby said on Stripe's Cheeky Pint podcast on Oct 27, 2026 that he took three one-hour tutoring sessions and then used AI to build a sports betting web page on his own, after which he called his team and said United Airlines was all in. Kirby said he sees little value in using AI to summarize documents and more in using it to write software, and called himself an AI evangelist in a Sep 2026 interview, describing AI as a way to build prototypes that United's technology staff then make reliable for business use.
- Deployment model
- United Airlines runs AI through its central digital technology organization under CIO Jason Birnbaum, which TechCrunch put at more than 1,500 employees and about 2,000 contractors in Apr 2024 and which is responsible for all customer-facing technology (Future Travel Experience, Jul 2025). Consultant Slalom says a GenAI Center of Excellence sits in the group of Stacey Wronkowski, vice president of digital technology, and Future Travel Experience listed Kushal Pasari as United's Director of GenAI and ML Engineering in 2025. AI work is delivered with the teams that use it: customer service storytellers in the network operations center review AI-drafted delay messages, and ConnectionSaver recommends whether a flight should be held and informs pilots, gate agents and customers (Fortune, May 2024). A Responsible AI Executive Board of senior leaders across business and corporate functions sets AI governance practices (Apr 2026).
- Model providers
- United Airlines has not named the large language models behind its delay messages, chat agent, app or United GPT. Jason Birnbaum told TechCrunch in Apr 2024 that United already had a mature AI practice, with capabilities to manage and tune models, before generative AI arrived, and told Fortune in May 2024 that United was experimenting with generative AI through Amazon Bedrock, using existing large language models instead of building its own. CIO.com reported in Dec 2024 that United runs generative AI on Mars, a Bedrock-based ML platform, and had built models for delay messages, procurement and manager-employee communications. Slalom, a consulting partner, says the generative AI testbed it built with United gives teams Amazon Titan, Anthropic's Claude and Meta's Llama through Amazon Bedrock; United Airlines has not confirmed which of them run in production.
- Data and infrastructure
- United Airlines named AWS its preferred cloud provider in Nov 2021, when Amazon said United used Amazon SageMaker to predict irregular operations and machine learning to review travel documents. CFO Michael Leskinen estimated in Apr 2024 that 70% to 90% of United's workloads had moved to the cloud, with the rest on premises, and said cloud savings come only once the mainframe is shut down. CIO.com reported in Dec 2024 that United builds AI on its homegrown United Data Hub and the Mars ML platform. Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that United now runs on cloud systems it owns and that the last mainframe cutover was still to come. United also rebuilt how it records delays: after Kirby scrapped delay codes, United began using cameras and AI to analyze what causes delays, and it holds decades of Denver storm data that it uses to model routes (Jan 2026).
Platforms and internal tools
ConnectionSaver2019
ConnectionSaver is United Airlines' AI-powered tool that scans flights for customers with tight connections and holds a departing flight when it can wait without delaying the on-time arrival of customers already on board. Since Jun 2025 the United app shows customers a countdown, turn-by-turn directions to the connecting gate and a notification when ConnectionSaver holds their flight.
- Users
- More than 3.3 million connections saved since 2019 (Jun 2025)
Mars ML platformBy Dec 2024
Mars is United Airlines' machine learning platform, built on Amazon Bedrock, which United uses with its homegrown United Data Hub to develop generative AI applications, according to CIO.com in Dec 2024.
- Models
- Bedrock-hosted models; United has not named them
Every Flight Has a StoryGenerative AI added by Apr 2024
Every Flight Has a Story is United Airlines' program of texts and emails that explain why a flight is delayed, written by customer service storytellers in the network operations center who use generative AI to review flight data and draft the messages before they approve them. United added live radar maps for weather delays in Jul 2024, and TechCrunch reported in Apr 2024 that AI wrote the vast majority of the messages.
- Users
- More than 100,000 notifications sent by Dec 2024 (CIO.com)
AI chat agent on united.comBy Apr 2024
United Airlines moved the chat system on united.com fully to an AI agent that draws on its knowledge base, according to TechCrunch in Apr 2024; Fortune gave the rules for unaccompanied minors as an example of the policy questions it answers.
United GPTBy Dec 2024
United GPT is United Airlines' internal chat tool, which CIO.com and Future Travel Experience also called United ChatGPT and described as built for secure experimental use by employees. Jason Birnbaum said in Apr 2025 that managers use it to draft employee evaluations from their notes and then review the drafts, and that United shared the link without promotion.
- Users
- More than 90% of managers (Apr 2025)
AI-supported navigation in the United appDec 2025
The United app uses AI-supported navigation that predicts which features would help each traveler at each stage of the trip, from check-in and boarding to tight connections and arrival, and personalizes what it shows.
Storm airspace modeling in DenverBy Jan 2026
United Airlines applies AI to decades of Denver storm data to find which routes stay open and how to sequence aircraft during thunderstorms. Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that the FAA cannot yet ingest the data, and said in Oct 2026 that United had started running AI simulations for Denver that summer.
Vendors and partners
Amazon Web ServicesNov 2021
Preferred cloud provider; Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker for AI and machine learning · Amazon announced in Nov 2021 that United Airlines had named AWS its preferred cloud provider, and Jason Birnbaum told Fortune in May 2024 that United was testing generative AI through Amazon Bedrock.
Slalom
Consulting partner on generative AI and MLOps · Slalom says it extended an MLOps platform it had built with United Airlines into a generative AI testbed, and supported a GenAI Innovation Day that evaluated more than 30 use cases; the case study is undated.
Panasonic
Seatback entertainment software supplier · Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that United Airlines is taking over the seatback map software from Panasonic so it can personalize the screens, which he tied to AI.
Leadership
AI, data and platform leaders
Executives
Board
AI org map
Central digital technology organization under the CIO builds AI tools; a cross-functional Responsible AI Executive Board governs their use
United Airlines runs AI through its digital technology organization under CIO Jason Birnbaum, who is not one of the six executive officers listed in the 2025 Form 10-K. United Airlines' Apr 2026 proxy statement says the CIO and the CISO give the board regular updates on United's use of AI, the Audit Committee oversees AI risk, and a Responsible AI Executive Board of senior leaders across business and corporate functions meets regularly to set AI governance practices.
United Airlines has not published how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs. Jason Birnbaum managed more than 1,500 technology employees and about 2,000 contractors in Apr 2024 and told CIO.com in Apr 2025 that United had built data engineering and data science teams over several years. Slalom says a GenAI Center of Excellence sits in Stacey Wronkowski's digital technology group, Future Travel Experience listed Kushal Pasari as Director of GenAI and ML Engineering in 2025, and customer service storytellers in the network operations center review AI-drafted delay messages.
Reporting lines
Chief Executive Officer
Technology
Jason Birnbaum, CIO
About 1,500 employees and 2,000 contractors (Apr 2024); the CIO's reporting line is not published
GenAI Center of Excellence
Stacey Wronkowski, VP Digital Technology
Placement from an undated Slalom case study; United has not published its size
GenAI and ML Engineering
Kushal Pasari, Director of GenAI and ML Engineering
Title from Future Travel Experience (2025); placement inferred from the title
Responsible AI Executive Board
Senior leaders across business and corporate functions; members and chair not published (Apr 2026 proxy)
Finance and United Airlines Ventures
Michael Leskinen, CFO
Reporting line inferred; not published
Cybersecurity and Digital Risk
Chief Information Security Officer
The CISO is not named in United's filings; the reporting line is not published
Board Audit Committee
Michele Hooper, Chair
Oversees AI risk and the steps management takes to monitor it (Apr 2026 proxy)
United Airlines' 2025 Form 10-K lists six executive officers (the CEO, the President and the heads of operations, finance, commercial, and human resources and labor relations) and no technology or AI officer. Scott Kirby named Jason Birnbaum on the Jan 2026 earnings call as the person who runs technology, and the Apr 2026 proxy refers to the Chief Information Officer without naming a reporting line.
Where the AI workforce sits
Digital technology, including GenAI and ML engineering
United Airlines has not published how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs; the technology team under Jason Birnbaum built ConnectionSaver and the Mars ML platform and is responsible for all customer-facing technology.
Not disclosedNetwork operations center and customer service
Customer service storytellers in the network operations center review AI-drafted delay messages, and Scott Kirby expects AI to handle most network operations center decisions.
Not disclosedManagers across the company
More than 90% of United Airlines managers used United GPT in Apr 2025, for example to draft employee evaluations.
Not disclosed
Named people
Use cases
United Airlines has not published a count of its AI use cases in production; Jason Birnbaum said in Dec 2024 that about 90 more generative AI use cases were in the pipeline. The ones United Airlines has described sit mostly in operations and customer messaging: ConnectionSaver, generative AI delay messages, an AI chat agent, AI app navigation, contact center support, delay analysis, storm routing in Denver and the internal United GPT tool. United Airlines has reported no cost, revenue or headcount return it credits to AI for any of them: the delay-message figure Jason Birnbaum gave in Apr 2025, 35% of messages through the full storyteller process instead of 5%, counts message volume, CFO Michael Leskinen tied a 4% drop in management headcount to process changes and AI together in Oct 2025 without separating AI's share, and United Airlines has given no dollar figure for AI's savings or revenue.
| Use case | Area | Status | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| ConnectionSaver ConnectionSaver scans flights for customers with tight connections and recommends holding a departing flight when it can wait without delaying the on-time arrival of customers already on board, then notifies the customers in the app. | Airport operations | In production | |
| Generative AI delay messages Customer service storytellers in the network operations center use generative AI to review flight data, crew and operations notes and draft texts and emails that explain each delay, and approve each message before it goes out; live radar maps go out during weather events. Jason Birnbaum said in Dec 2024 that the messages had raised customer satisfaction by 6%, and said in Apr 2025 that after United launched the model, 35% of messages went through the full storyteller process instead of 5%, which he called a 700% increase in volume with the same number of storytellers. Scott Kirby said in May 2026 that AI will be able to explain every flight without human intervention. | Customer messaging | In production | |
| AI chat agent on united.com An AI agent handles the chat on united.com, drawing on United's knowledge base to answer policy questions such as the rules for unaccompanied minors. | Customer service | In production | |
| Contact center agent support Jason Birnbaum said in Apr 2025 that United used AI in its contact centers to help agents give more personalized service before generative AI arrived, and Slalom says it built a customer care copilot with United that helps agents answer customer emails. | Customer service | In production | |
| AI-supported app navigation The United app predicts which features would help each traveler at each stage of the trip and personalizes what it shows, from check-in and boarding to tight connections and arrival. | Digital | In production | |
| Delay cause analysis After Scott Kirby scrapped delay codes, United began using cameras and AI to analyze what causes delays, and uses the data to explain delays to customers. | Network operations | In production | |
| Storm routing in Denver United applies AI to decades of Denver storm data to keep routes open and sequence arrivals during thunderstorms. Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that the approach could remove 50% to 75% of summer weather delays in Denver but needs the FAA's help. | Network operations | Pilot | |
| AI in the network operations center Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that United is experimenting with AI across its network operations center, where he expects AI to outperform people on most decisions. CIO.com reported in Dec 2024 that a shift-change app summarizing operational data was in beta. | Network operations | Pilot | |
| Headquarters management work CFO Michael Leskinen said on the Oct 16, 2025 earnings call that United was making process changes and using AI to make the work of its headquarters management team more efficient, that management headcount was 4% lower than a year earlier, and that United planned to shrink it another 4% in 2026. United did not say how much of the drop came from AI. | Corporate | In production | |
| United GPT for employees United GPT is an internal generative AI chat tool; Jason Birnbaum said in Apr 2025 that more than 90% of managers use it, for example to turn their notes into draft employee evaluations that they then review. | Corporate | In production | |
| Weather risk forecasts before travel Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that United has started sending some customers the estimated chance that weather affects their flight, with alternative flights and their odds, and that he wants the full service live for 2026 Christmas travel. | Customer messaging | Pilot | |
| AI phone agent and trip planner Scott Kirby told reporters in Mar 2026 that United plans to use AI to answer basic customer service requests on its phone line and is building an AI trip-planning tool for united.com, according to From the Tray Table; neither had a launch date. | Customer service | Announced | |
| Personalized seatback screens Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that once United takes over its seatback map software from Panasonic, screens will remember each customer's preferences, and that AI makes it possible to know who a customer is and what they want. | Inflight | Announced |
Adoption
United Airlines spread AI first through operations and customer channels: ConnectionSaver from 2019, generative AI in delay messages and an AI chat agent on united.com by Apr 2024, and AI-personalized app navigation in Dec 2025. ConnectionSaver had saved more than 3.3 million connections by Jun 2025, and the delay messages had gone out more than 100,000 times by Dec 2024. Inside the company, Jason Birnbaum said in Apr 2025 that more than 90% of United Airlines managers used the internal United GPT tool, which spread after United shared the link without promotion. The United GPT figure covers managers only: United Airlines has not said how many of its 117,900 employees, about 83% of them represented by unions, use AI. Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that he had told his team to go all in on AI.
By the numbers
Rollout, first pilot to today
Jul 2019
United Airlines named Jason Birnbaum senior vice president of digital technology, citing his work on the new ConnectionSaver tool and the rollout of mobile devices to about 60,000 front-line employees.
Nov 2021
Amazon announced that United Airlines had named AWS its preferred cloud provider, with Amazon SageMaker used to predict irregular operations.
Nov 2023
United Airlines said ConnectionSaver had helped more than 600,000 customers make connections in 2023 and saved more than 2 million connections since 2019.
Apr 2024
TechCrunch reported that United Airlines had moved its united.com chat fully to an AI agent, that AI wrote most delay messages, and that United was betting on AWS as its one cloud provider.
May 2024
Jason Birnbaum told Fortune that United Airlines was experimenting with generative AI through Amazon Bedrock and keeping a human in the loop.
Jul 2024
United Airlines said its network operations center teams use generative AI to write delay messages and began texting live radar maps during weather delays.
Dec 2024
CIO.com reported that United Airlines runs generative AI on its Bedrock-based Mars ML platform, had launched United ChatGPT for employees, and had about 90 more generative AI use cases in the pipeline.
Apr 2025
Jason Birnbaum told CIO.com that more than 90% of United Airlines managers used United GPT and that 35% of delay messages went through the full storyteller process after the generative AI model launched, up from 5%.
Jun 2025
United Airlines added connection features to its app built on ConnectionSaver, which it called AI-powered and credited with more than 3.3 million saved connections since 2019.
Oct 2025
CFO Michael Leskinen said United Airlines' management headcount was 4% lower than a year earlier after process changes and AI, with another 4% reduction planned for 2026.
Dec 2025
United Airlines added AI-supported navigation to its app that predicts which features each traveler needs at each stage of a trip.
Apr 2026
United Airlines' proxy statement disclosed its Responsible AI Executive Board and the Audit Committee's oversight of AI risk.
Oct 2026
Scott Kirby said he had told his team United Airlines was all in on AI and that United had started AI simulations for Denver weather that summer.
Economics & controls
Spend and ROI
Technology budget
United Airlines does not disclose a technology or AI budget. Scott Kirby said in Jan 2026 that United spent several hundred million dollars getting off legacy mainframe systems, with no ROI case, and said on the Oct 21, 2026 earnings call that the technology program began six years earlier and included hundreds of millions of dollars to move off legacy platforms. TechCrunch put United's technology team at more than 1,500 employees and about 2,000 contractors in Apr 2024.
What AI itself costs
United Airlines has not published what it spends on AI models, cloud inference or AI staff. Skift reported in Feb 2026 that United executives did not use the words AI or artificial intelligence on the Jan 2026 earnings call, describing the work as sophisticated technology instead.
Reported ROI
United Airlines has reported no return it credits to AI alone. Jason Birnbaum told CIO.com in Apr 2025 that after United launched its generative AI model for delay messages, 35% of messages went through the full storyteller process instead of 5% with the same number of storytellers, a measure of message volume with no cost or revenue figure attached. CFO Michael Leskinen said on the Oct 16, 2025 earnings call that United was making process changes and using AI to make headquarters management work more efficient and that management headcount was 4% lower than a year earlier, with another 4% reduction planned for 2026; United did not say how much of the drop came from AI. United Airlines has given no dollar value for either.
Productivity markers
Michael Leskinen said on the Jan 21, 2026 earnings call that United Airlines delivered $150 million in run-rate procurement savings in 2025, uses sophisticated technology to model demand for its tech ops organization so technicians are more productive and fewer aircraft are grounded, and sees multi-hundred-million-dollar opportunities with the technology team led by Jason Birnbaum. United did not attribute these figures to AI. Scott Kirby said in Oct 2026 that AI simulations could remove 50% to 75% of summer weather delays in Denver, an estimate that depends on the FAA.
Headcount
United Airlines had about 113,200 employees at Dec 31, 2025, about 83% of them represented by unions, and 117,900 at Sep 30, 2026, up 5.4% in a year as flying grew. The 4% drop in management headcount that Michael Leskinen reported in Oct 2025 applied to management roles while total headcount kept rising; Skift described United as the first U.S. airline to say publicly that AI would lead to fewer jobs.
Governance and risk
Board oversight
United Airlines' Audit Committee, chaired by Michele Hooper, oversees risks from artificial intelligence and the steps management takes to monitor and manage them, and the CIO and the CISO give the board regular updates on United's use of AI, including its digital technology strategy, governance framework and risk profile (Apr 2026 proxy). United Airlines listed oversight of AI among the topics it discussed with stockholders in 2025, and the board discussed technology, data privacy and AI that year.
Responsible AI Executive Board
United Airlines has a Responsible AI Executive Board of senior leaders across business and corporate functions that meets regularly to define and oversee AI governance practices, guide responsible use and reduce the risks of deploying AI, in line with its enterprise risk management and compliance frameworks (Apr 2026 proxy). United Airlines has not published who sits on it.
Human review
Jason Birnbaum told Fortune in May 2024 that United Airlines keeps a human in the loop to check the accuracy and quality of generative AI output, and told TechCrunch in Apr 2024 that United is extra careful because uses touching flight operations are heavily structured and regulated. Storytellers approve AI-drafted delay messages before they go out, and managers review the evaluations United GPT drafts (Apr 2025).
Disclosed risks
United Airlines' 2025 Form 10-K says its use of AI applications has resulted in certain immaterial cybersecurity incidents and may cause more, and lists risks from deficient, inaccurate or biased AI output, ethical controversy, changing AI regulation, and competitors adopting AI faster.
Pricing scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission issued Section 6(b) study orders on Oct 28, 2026 to United Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and six companies outside aviation, asking whether prices differ from person to person based on loyalty program participation or personal data analyzed by algorithms, with 45 days to respond. The FTC said such studies have no specific law enforcement purpose, and United Airlines has not said publicly whether it uses AI to set individual fares.
Leadership view of AI limits
Scott Kirby told Stratechery in Jan 2026 that AI is a good tool for many classes of problems but that people still need to think independently, citing ChatGPT calling both a slow recovery and a sudden improvement normal in an exchange about his mother's injury, because, he said, it is designed to tell users what they want to hear.
Recent signals
Oct 28, 2026
The FTC ordered United Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and six other companies to explain whether and how they use personal data and algorithms to set individual prices, under a Section 6(b) study with 45 days to respond.
Oct 27, 2026
Scott Kirby said on the Cheeky Pint podcast that an AI epiphany led him to tell his team United Airlines was all in, that AI simulations for Denver could cut summer weather delays by 50% to 75%, and that he wants weather risk odds sent to customers by Christmas.
Oct 21, 2026
Scott Kirby told analysts that United Airlines' technology lead rests on a program begun six years earlier, including hundreds of millions of dollars to move off legacy platforms, and named ConnectionSaver and the app among the reasons new customers stay.
Sep 10, 2026
View from the Wing reported that Scott Kirby called himself an AI evangelist in an interview with The CEO Signal and said AI lets him build prototypes that United Airlines' technology staff then make reliable for business use.
May 27, 2026
Scott Kirby told Bernstein's Strategic Decisions Conference that United Airlines' AI will be able to explain every flight to customers without human intervention and that United will start sending maintenance videos during delays.
Apr 7, 2026
United Airlines' proxy statement disclosed a Responsible AI Executive Board and said the CIO and CISO give the board regular updates on United's use of AI.
Mar 2026
Scott Kirby told reporters that United Airlines plans AI agents for basic requests on its customer service phone line and an AI trip-planning tool on united.com.
Feb 12, 2026
United Airlines' 2025 Form 10-K said its use of AI applications had resulted in certain immaterial cybersecurity incidents and reported about 113,200 employees at year end.
Feb 2, 2026
Skift reported that United Airlines executives did not use the words AI or artificial intelligence on the Jan 2026 earnings call and that Scott Kirby warned AI tells users what they want to hear.
Jan 21, 2026
Michael Leskinen said United Airlines sees multi-hundred-million-dollar opportunities with the technology team led by Jason Birnbaum, and Scott Kirby credited technology for United's core cost efficiency.
Jan 15, 2026
Scott Kirby told Stratechery that United Airlines uses AI to explain delays and to model Denver airspace in storms, is experimenting with AI in its network operations center, and still has a last mainframe cutover to finish.
Dec 16, 2025
United Airlines added AI-supported navigation to its app that predicts which features each traveler needs, along with a virtual gate, a club finder and real-time bag tracking.
Quick answers
- How does United Airlines deploy AI?
- United Airlines deploys AI mostly in its operation and customer messaging: ConnectionSaver decides when a flight can wait for tight connections, generative AI drafts delay messages that human storytellers review, and more than 90% of managers used the internal United GPT tool by Apr 2025. United Airlines builds on AWS, its preferred cloud since 2021, with models reached through Amazon Bedrock, under CIO Jason Birnbaum. United Airlines has reported no cost, revenue or headcount return that it credits to AI alone.
- What does United Airlines use AI for?
- United Airlines has not published a count of its AI use cases in production; Jason Birnbaum said in Dec 2024 that about 90 more generative AI use cases were in the pipeline. The ones United Airlines has described sit mostly in operations and customer messaging: ConnectionSaver, generative AI delay messages, an AI chat agent, AI app navigation, contact center support, delay analysis, storm routing in Denver and the internal United GPT tool. United Airlines has reported no cost, revenue or headcount return it credits to AI for any of them: the delay-message figure Jason Birnbaum gave in Apr 2025, 35% of messages through the full storyteller process instead of 5%, counts message volume, CFO Michael Leskinen tied a 4% drop in management headcount to process changes and AI together in Oct 2025 without separating AI's share, and United Airlines has given no dollar figure for AI's savings or revenue.
- Who leads AI at United Airlines?
- AI at United Airlines is led by Jason Birnbaum (Chief Information Officer). Ownership of AI on the org chart: Jason Birnbaum, CIO; a Responsible AI Executive Board sets AI governance.
- What AI platform does United Airlines use?
- United Airlines builds AI on AWS, its preferred cloud since Nov 2021: CIO.com reported in Dec 2024 that United uses its own United Data Hub and a Bedrock-based ML platform called Mars, after United spent several hundred million dollars from about 2020 to leave legacy mainframes.
- Which AI models does United Airlines use?
- United Airlines has not named the large language models it runs in production; Jason Birnbaum said in May 2024 that United used existing models through Amazon Bedrock instead of building its own, and consultant Slalom lists Amazon Titan, Anthropic's Claude and Meta's Llama in a Bedrock testbed it built with United.
- How many United employees use AI?
- United Airlines' internal United GPT tool was used by more than 90% of managers in Apr 2025, and ConnectionSaver had saved more than 3.3 million customer connections by Jun 2025. United has not said how many of its 117,900 employees use AI.
- How far has AI spread at United Airlines?
- United Airlines has reported no business return it credits to AI, for any use case or at the firm level: the one AI measure CIO Jason Birnbaum has given for delay messages, 35% of messages through the full storyteller process instead of 5% with the same staff (Apr 2025), counts message volume rather than cost or revenue; CFO Michael Leskinen tied a 4% drop in management headcount to process changes and AI together in Oct 2025 without separating AI's share; and AI did not come up on United's Oct 21, 2026 earnings call. United Airlines has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: Birnbaum's statement that more than 90% of managers used the internal United GPT tool (Apr 2025) covers managers only, and United has not said how many of its 117,900 employees use AI. United Airlines is therefore at Experimenting; one cost, revenue or headcount return it credits to AI, such as a saving from ConnectionSaver or the AI chat agent, or an official count of employees using United GPT under a named owner, would move it to Piloting.
Open questions
- Which large language models does United Airlines run in production on its Mars platform for delay messages, the chat agent and United GPT, and how many of United's 117,900 employees, front line included, use United GPT?
- What does United Airlines spend on technology and on AI each year, given that it publishes neither figure?
- How much of the 4% drop in management headcount that United Airlines reported in Oct 2025 came from AI rather than process changes, what did it save, and did the further 4% reduction planned for 2026 happen?
- What business return do ConnectionSaver, the AI chat agent and the generative AI delay messages deliver, such as rebooking and compensation costs avoided, contact center cost or storyteller staff avoided, given that United Airlines has credited no cost, revenue or headcount figure to AI alone?
- Who sits on and chairs United Airlines' Responsible AI Executive Board, and does United have a chief AI or chief data officer?
- Will the FAA take in United Airlines' Denver storm data, and what delay reduction has United measured from its summer 2026 simulations?
- Has United Airlines launched the AI phone agent and the AI trip-planning tool Scott Kirby described in Mar 2026?
- How will United Airlines answer the FTC's Oct 2026 personalized pricing orders, and does it use AI in setting fares?
- What changed inside United Airlines after Scott Kirby told his team to go all in on AI in 2026, in tools, training or coding assistants?
Sources
United Airlines
- United mobile app connecting flight features and ConnectionSaver (Jun 25, 2025)
- United texts live radar maps and uses AI during weather delays (Jul 3, 2024)
- United adds AI-supported navigation and other app features (Dec 16, 2025)
- United's tech innovations for Thanksgiving travel, ConnectionSaver results (Nov 14, 2023)
- United names Jason Birnbaum senior vice president of digital technology (Jul 30, 2019)
Filings and investor materials
- United Airlines Holdings 2025 Form 10-K (filed Feb 12, 2026)
- United Airlines Holdings 2026 proxy statement (dated Apr 7, 2026)
- United Airlines third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Oct 20, 2026)
- Q3 2025 earnings call transcript, Investing.com (Oct 16, 2025)
- Q4 2025 earnings call transcript, The Motley Fool (call held Jan 21, 2026)
- Q3 2026 earnings call transcript, The Motley Fool (Oct 21, 2026)
Partners
Interviews and regulators
- CIO.com: United Airlines' AI strategy, the airline that makes decisions fastest wins (Apr 30, 2025)
- CIO.com: United Airlines sets its flight plan for gen AI success (Dec 20, 2024)
- Stratechery: An interview with United CEO Scott Kirby about tech transformation (Jan 15, 2026)
- Cheeky Pint: The airline CEO putting Starlink on every plane, Scott Kirby (Oct 27, 2026)
- FTC launches personalized pricing and compensation inquiry (Oct 28, 2026)
News
- Skift: United Airlines says it eliminated 4% of management jobs due to AI (Oct 17, 2025)
- Skift: United's Scott Kirby warns AI tells you what you want to hear (Feb 2, 2026)
- Skift: United rewires mobile app with AI (Dec 16, 2025)
- View from the Wing: United will send maintenance videos and AI will explain every flight delay (May 27, 2026)
- View from the Wing: United's CEO says his job is to think hard (Sep 10, 2026)
- From the Tray Table: Tech updates coming to United, from AI phone agents to app upgrades (Mar 2026)
- CIO Dive: United Airlines cloud migration and the mainframe (Apr 18, 2024)
- TechCrunch: How United Airlines uses AI (Apr 21, 2024)
- Fortune: How United Airlines' CIO regained customer and employee trust in its tech (May 1, 2024)
- Future Travel Experience: Airline Digital Transformation Power List Americas 2025 (Jul 2025)
Data confidence
- Confirmed
- Stated in a primary or reputable public source.
- Estimated
- Derived or approximated from public reporting.
- Unconfirmed
- Reported, but not yet corroborated.
United Airlines profile · Enterprise AI diffusion report by Imagine · facts checked against their sources on Nov 1, 2026
