Expedia has announced the beta launch of a new in-app travel planning experience powered by ChatGPT. Expedia members can now start an open-ended conversation 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. In addition, the trip planning experience brings in intelligent shopping by automatically saving hotels discussed in the conversation to a “trip” in the app, helping members stay organized and making it easier for them to start choosing dates, checking availability, and adding on flights, cars, or activities.

Expedia recently built a plugin for ChatGPT, enabling a traveller to start a conversation directly on the ChatGPT site and select the Expedia plugin. When they’re ready to book, they go straight to Expedia. Now they can access the conversational trip planning platform, powered by ChatGPT, directly in the app.

Expedia said it will rapidly evolve the experience based on how members interact with it. It also sounded a note of caution, however, saying it’s 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.  

“Every great trip can be made or lost while planning and shopping, said Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and CEO, Expedia Group. “As the leader in travel tech, Expedia continues to build out the core operating system for the industry, constantly enhancing capabilities and making trip planning faster, simpler and even more informative. 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 travellers an even more intuitive way to build their perfect trip.”