Long ago, there were millions of these people called travel agents, wonderful human beings who would listen to your idealized travel plans and then work to make them come true, without losing the magic. Technology, or more specifically the internet and myriad travel apps, almost killed this industry, but the idea of a responsive guide that can sort through millions of travel options remains. And that may be the inspiration for Expedia's new ChatGPT integration.
The online and app-based travel service announced beta integration into its app (iOS only for now) on Tuesday, and understandably calls it "Conversational Travel Planning."
Expedia's decision comes as no surprise, given that it was on the initial list of partners for the ChatGPT plugin, with Expedia Group (which includes services like Hotwire, Orbitz, Hotels.com) announcing that those who use ChatGPT for natural language travel inquiries you will get the results from Expedia data and can use it to create a travel itinerary on Expedia.com.
The Expedia app's ChatGPT beta integration works a little differently than a standard AI session. While you can get a lot of conversational travel assistance from ChatGPT (based on the GPT-4 model, by the way), the app will only save hotels you've discussed in its chat-based travel dashboard. Also, this ChatGPT will not engage in any conversation outside of trips. If you're trying to ask a non-travel question, Expedia's ChatGPT is designed to "answer in a neutral voice" to bring the conversation back to travel, Expedia executives told us.
What he knows about where you're going
Regardless of the Expedia data supporting this ChatGPT integration, none of your personal Expedia profiles are transmitted to ChatGPT, according to the executives.
"We combine our data and information with the response," said Peter Kern, CEO of Expedia Groups, "We do not send our travel and booking information to ChatGPT."
Kern told us that you can tell Expedia's ChatGPT that you want to travel to Paris this spring, but even if you travel to Paris every spring, ChatGPT won't know.
While Expedia Conversational Travel Planning doesn't automatically save all of your travel preferences to your travel planning board, it can help you understand other parts of your travel plan. A question about a summer trip to Maui for two will tell you about hotel options, flights, weather, what to see, and more. It's just that the system currently only looks for hotel beacons, which it then retrieves for your itinerary in the app.
Expedia uses the same data to power this new conversational travel planning experience and the ChatGPT plugin.
The speed at which Expedia has integrated ChatGPT may be surprising, but the company isn't particularly new to AI-enhanced trip planning experiences. It already uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help personalize the results of travel queries and flight fare comparisons. With that in mind, it's perhaps no surprise that the company managed to deliver this ChatGPT beta experience in just over a month.
There are some unknowns here. Expedia warns in its post that the conversational AI could still be wrong or offer an inappropriate response. At least Expedia already has an AI ethics committee to oversee the interactions.
As for which type of traveler might benefit most from the ChatGPT-powered conversational trip planner, Kern isn't sure. “Is it suitable for a particular type of traveler? Our opinion is that we don't know.
The English-only app update is now available on iOS devices.
Get hands-on with Expedia's conversational trip planner beta
Expedia gave me early access to the new conversational trip planner. I decided to use it to help me plan a fictional summer trip with my wife to the Amalfi Coast.
My exact question was: I want to book a romantic trip for two to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. We would like to travel in the summer and stay near the coast (not on the coast because it would be too expensive). I'm also looking forward to affordable flights and some ideas of what to do while I'm there.
Expedia's ChatGPT only took a moment to present four hotel options, including the Hotel Belvedere, located in Praiano overlooking the sea. I also have a good list of things to do that includes a visit to Ravello and the gardens of Villa Cimbrone.
The chatbot also let me know that it couldn't help me book flights, which I expected, but I was surprised that it didn't even show me the flight options.
So I wrote: "Sounds great. How can I book the Belvedere hotel?".
Expedia's response was cheerful, but instead of connecting me directly to the Expedia app with the entire Belvedere Hotel as part of my itinerary, it told me that I could visit the Expedia website and search for the hotel using my travel dates and destination. .
"Can you reserve it for me?" I asked.
Unfortunately, this simple question seemed to break the beta version of Expedia's ChatGPT. I never received an answer.
I also wanted to see how Conversational Trip Planner handled questions that weren't exactly about trip planning.
I wrote: "Have you ever been in a fight on a plane?"
This also received no response.
However, when I left my chat, the system asked me if I wanted to add the details to my travel reservation. The Expedia app recorded my initial inquiry and allowed me to search and add details on my own. However, that did not forgive anything regarding my favorite hotel.
I had much better luck in my second round of testing. I narrowed my initial query down to "I want to travel to Paris in the spring."
Expedia's ChatGPT told me it was an excellent choice and asked if I had checked available flights and hotels. I told him to find me the best flights for May 2023.
Expedia's ChatGPT asked me for destinations, dates, and other requirements, and I provided them.
ChatGPT is back with four flight options, all for less than €800 per person.
He also helped me find a hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower within my price range. He was even willing to help me book a night at the Moulin Rouge. When I gave him a date, he came back with an available time slot for the show and offered to go ahead with the booking.
Expedia's experimental Conversational Trip Planner can do a lot to help you plan a trip, but in order to actually save all this information, I would have to cut and paste it into my Trip Planner.
Still, it's a great start and I left really looking forward to planning a trip to Paris and a night at the Moulin Rouge.