Indecisive holidaymakers are flocking to AI chatbots to plan out their next vacation on their behalf, according to travel booking site Expedia.
The bots, which are powered by ChatGPT, prompt users to think about what they want to get out of their holidays before recommending the best destination, as well as sorting out finer details like flight times and hotel rooms.
Expedia chief technology officer Rathi Murthy told the Standard: “Many people want to take a vacation but they don’t always know where to go.
But the AI-powered bot “goes through this whole conversation with you to narrow down some of your choices and take you through the booking,” she said.
“It will ask you what you want to do, what kind of activities you’re interested in and help you get a clearer idea of trip planning.”
Murthy said the technology, introduced earlier this year, has proved popular with customers and has also boosted conversion rates on the site.
The AI tools also allow users to make changes to their booking, such as switching flights, by exchanging messages with the chatbot instead of using a call centre.
Expedia said it had collected over 70 petabytes of customer data which its machine learning devices use to build up a picture of people’s travel habits and preferences and inform its recommendations.
The move adds Expedia to a long list of companies turning to artificial intelligence to fuel growth and expand their offering to customers.
