Implementation of conversational travel planning natural next step in company’s AI ecosystem
Last week, we published an article about Expedia becoming one of the first travel brands to build a plugin for ChatGPT, allowing the AI platform to access Expedia’s library of travel data and users to book trips based on ChatGPT’s suggested itinerary.
Basically, a user would start a conversation with ChatGPT and gather information on potential destinations and activities based on GPT’s knowledge. Prior to the plugin, ChatGPT would have been limited to its dated resources, and users would have to expand on GPT’s suggestions outside of the platform – likely on a third-party OTA or search engine.
It was quite clear even then that Expedia was only just beginning its exploration of ChatGPT’s capabilities. Speaking to WiT regarding the new plugin, Rathi Muthy, CTO, Expedia Group said, “We’re always experimenting with new technologies and when it became clear that there was a great use case for starting to plan a trip through a conversation with ChatGPT, we were all in.”
Fast forward to this week and Expedia has announced a new use for artificial intelligence with the beta launch of a new in-app travel planning experience powered by ChatGPT.
Expedia members can now start an open-ended conversation via the “Explore with ChatGPT” option in the Expedia iOS app and get recommendations on places to go, where to stay, how to get around, and what to see and do based on the chat.
Adding on to that, the new trip planning experience brings in intelligent shopping by automatically saving hotels discussed in the conversation to a “trip” in the app, making it easier for users to start choosing dates, checking availability, and adding on flights, cars, or activities.
For now, the conversational trip planning beta experience is rolling out globally in the English language on the Expedia iOS app, with no news on an Android release.
Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and CEO, Expedia Group said, “By integrating ChatGPT into the Expedia app and combining it with our other AI-based shopping capabilities, like hotel comparison, price tracking for flights and trip collaboration tools, we can now offer travelers an even more intuitive way to build their perfect trip.”
Kern is also quick to admit that despite all the hype surrounding ChatGPT, the popularity of the application really depends on user adoption, which is a wholly complex scenario.
Speaking to PhocusWire, Kern said, “We don’t know if travelers will really embrace it.”
“Obviously there’s tons of excitement around ChatGPT and people are experimenting with it … but whether it enhances the discovery process or really gets you there faster depends on the person. We for sure have lots of customers that are used to our apps, they know how to come in, they know how to get to what they want, they don’t need to type in a bunch of long paragraphs.”
Kern adds that the integration of ChatGPT was the natural next step in Expedia Group’s use of AI and machine learning that has been progressing over the last several years.
“We didn’t see around the corner to know ChatGPT would be this – although large language models are a thing that’s been coming for a while – but we’ve been rebuilding our whole platform to deploy AI and machine learning much more simply across everything. And now we’re in a position where it’s much easier for us to do it with speed.”
“We are trying to solve for as many customers and as many ways as they want to shop as they can. … We want to serve all those needs, and basically this one looks pretty interesting, but whether it will become in any way the dominant way, we are not suggesting we believe that necessarily. We just want to be there for any way any of our customers want to engage.”
This collaboration with OpenAI is currently in the beta testing phase, allowing Expedia to tweak the experience based on how members interact with it. It’s also important to remember that while many measures have been taken to limit inaccurate results and inappropriate responses, at times the experience may not work exactly as expected.
(Video courtesy of PhocusWire and Expedia)
Expedia emphasises that feedback from its employees and all those using the tool will be continually looked at to make sure responses are of quality and make sense to the end-user.
As mentioned previously, Expedia is no stranger to Artificial Intelligence. The company already integrates AI and machine learning throughout its platform, such as to filter and deliver personalised recommendations to users based on, in Expedia’s own words, 1.26 quadrillion variables like hotel location, room type, and price points.
Price Tracking also uses Expedia’s flight data, AI, and ML to compare flight price based on historical price trends and track price fluctuations.
It’s important to remember that ChatGPT was only launched in November last year, which is mindblowing considering the speed at which companies have adopted, experimented, and bet on it as viable tech moving forward.
In the days and weeks to come, it’ll be interesting to see how users get comfortable having conversations with the AI travel planners – which will ultimately determine how industry giants like Expedia continue to implement such tools in their ecosystem.
