Travel AI is moving beyond assistants

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Autonomous agents are reshaping how trips are planned, priced, and booked – disrupting traditional travel models in the process

May 22, 2025

AI is no longer just assisting in travel – it’s beginning to act. From Google’s Gemini to OpenAI’s Operator and Expedia’s new agent-powered features, the travel industry is entering an “AI-first” phase. What started as enhanced personalization through chatbots is now evolving into fully autonomous AI agents capable of reasoning, negotiating, and making decisions on behalf of travelers. This shift has far-reaching implications for the roles of OTAs, suppliers, and travelers themselves, with agentic AI poised to become a dominant interface across the entire booking and planning lifecycle.

Key takeaways:

Agentic AI signals a major tech shift: Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Expedia are leading a transition from traditional user interfaces to autonomous AI agents capable of contextual decision-making.
Beyond assistants toward autonomous actors: These AI agents don’t just offer suggestions – they will soon negotiate, book, and adapt travel plans based on user needs and environmental changes in real time.
Google’s Gemini and Expedia’s AI tools point to new models: Google’s suite of AI-enhanced tools (Search, Maps, Lens, etc.) and Expedia’s AI Trip Matching exemplify how planning is moving from keyword search to conversation and context.
Personalization becomes deeply contextual: Agentic AI can account for nuanced preferences (e.g., avoiding missing a child’s birthday) and integrate sentiment, schedule, and behavior for optimized recommendations.
Travel suppliers are building their own AI agents: Hotels, airlines, and car rental companies are developing agentic AI to interface with consumer AI agents – shifting negotiations and service interactions to machine-to-machine formats.
Disruption for OTAs and intermediaries: As AI agents become capable of end-to-end bookings, traditional travel platforms risk being bypassed unless they integrate or evolve their own agentic systems.
The future is agent-to-agent negotiation: Instead of browsing listings, users will rely on their AI agents to negotiate with supplier-side agents for the best personalized options – price, schedule, and experience included.