Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI

One implementation enables users to search the web for travel in London and automatically delivers the consumer into a seamless booking experience in Expedia, Murthy says. The other plug-in resides within the Expedia application and enables travelers to have “conversation capabilities” about all aspects of trip planning. It is currently available on iOS devices in English.

“Marrying ChatGPT data [such as questions from travelers] with Expedia’s travel-specific data such as traveler preferences, booking patterns, and pricing availability is super powerful,” the CTO says, adding that the combination of technologies can create a full itinerary for consumers. “We’ve seen a lot of traffic. It’s been beautiful in terms of trip planning.”

The Expedia team was able to deploy the plug-ins within three to four weeks. “This is really because we’re so mature in our AI capabilities and the APIs in our travel platform,” Murthy says.

Others are speedily incorporating ChatGPT and GPT APIs into their services and applications, including CPG multinational Unilever and omnichannel used-car retailer CarMax.

But analysts suggest such early implementations of generative AI have a way to go before delivering meaningful impact.

“At this early stage, the ChatGPT feature within Expedia’s app is limited. It doesn’t have access to real-time pricing information and users are not able to book through the feature. It also only saves hotel recommendations currently into the trip section of the Expedia app,” says Brad Jashinsky, director analyst in the Gartner for Marketers practice.

Jashinsky also cautions that it is not a certainty that consumers will use chat-powered AI systems for travel in concert with any online booking system, but if so, “it could differentiate Expedia’s experience from other online travel agencies.” 

IDC analyst Dorothy Creamer suggests Expedia is in good position for the AI era if the company works closely with partners.

“Expedia is building out its data platform on 25 years of travel and booking behavior and this level and depth of data is vital to drive a more personalized booking and journey experience in the post-pandemic era,” Creamer says, noting that the company is also “building a deep bench of data scientists to help mine value from booking data — these data points require evaluation of thousands of permutations per a single page of booking information.”

Creamer also notes that Expedia’s products are being built to provide hotels, airlines, car rentals agencies, and other partners with the building blocks to process deep customer insights and marry that with actual traveler behavior. “This will require the sophisticated analysis of data that AI and ML-driven functions and platforms can provide,” she says.

Still, Expedia’s Murthy remains fully aware of the ethical concerns surrounding AI and wants to ensure that Expedia is a fair and free marketplace for all users.

“We are keeping a very close eye on its governance and ethics and making sure there’s privacy considerations on sharing any of the information,” Murthy says. “That’s something all of us have to watch out for and work together as a concrete community to use AI for good and make sure we can use best practices across the industry.”