AI travel planner: Booking.com to use ChatGPT to help plan itineraries and accommodation options

Booking.com, the popular travel booking platform, announced on Tuesday that it would be introducing a new trip planner feature in its travel booking app. This innovative tool, partially powered by ChatGPT's advanced language model, aims to enhance the travel experience for select users in the United States by allowing them to ask questions and create personalised itineraries.

Starting from Wednesday, users will be able to access the trip planner feature, which combines the capabilities of ChatGPT with Booking.com's existing machine learning models to provide comprehensive destination and accommodation options. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI), Booking.com intends to assist its customers in planning and searching for travel options in a more natural and human-like manner.

Rob Francis, the technology chief at Booking.com, expressed his excitement about the AI Trip Planner, stating, "Our new AI Trip Planner provides us with some really exciting possibilities to help our customers plan and search for travel options in a very natural, human way." This integration of cutting-edge technology into the travel planning process marks a significant step forward for the company in delivering a seamless and personalised user experience.

ChatGPT, developed by San Francisco-based OpenAI, serves as the chatbot powering this trip planner feature. Renowned for its ability to simulate dialogue and handle follow-up questions, ChatGPT can also acknowledge errors, challenge incorrect assumptions, and reject inappropriate requests. This generative AI technology has gained considerable attention in the tech industry, inspiring many companies to explore its diverse applications.

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Initially, an early version of the trip planner will be available exclusively to select members of Booking.com's loyalty program, "Genius," in the United States. Over the following weeks, these members will have the opportunity to test and provide valuable feedback on the feature, helping Booking.com refine and improve the user experience.

Booking.com's competitor, Expedia, also embraced the potential of generative AI technology. In April, they introduced a test version of their in-app travel planning experience, which similarly utilises ChatGPT to enable members to engage in conversations and receive recommendations on places to visit.

As the travel industry continues to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of travellers, incorporating AI-powered tools like the ChatGPT-based trip planner demonstrates a commitment to providing personalised and efficient solutions for trip planning. With the introduction of these intelligent features, companies like Booking.com and Expedia aim to enhance the overall travel experience by leveraging the power of advanced language models and machine learning algorithms.

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