Expedia Launches ChatGPT-Powered Travel Planning Feature; Here's How To Try It

Expedia, a popular travel booking platform, has introduced a new chatbot feature built on OpenAI's ChatGPT technology.

The new plugin will allow users to plan their trips by discussing with a chatbot powered by OpenAI's technology. Its iOS beta testing has already started, USA Today Reported.

"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," Peter Kern, Expedia Group's vice chairman and CEO, said in a news release Tuesday.

"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 travelers an even more intuitive way to build their perfect trip," he added.

The new tool allows users to initiate conversations with a ChatGPT-powered bot and receive recommendations on travel-related matters, such as destinations, hotels, transportation and activities.

The travel company said the feature will automatically add the hotels discussed during a chat session into a user's "trip" option in the app, effectively streamlining the booking process.

Regarding data privacy, Expedia assured customer data will not be shared with OpenAI from ChatGPT searches on the app. However, the company may use the data internally to tailor and enhance user experience in the future, Kern said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The feature is currently in the beta phase, meaning the testing process is going on before it is made available to all users. It's now available only on Expedia's iOS app; Android users do not have access to it. Its availability is limited to English language.

Here's how the Expedia feature work

The feature enables users to engage in dialogue with the application and receive personalized suggestions for destinations, accommodations, activities and more.

The details of hotels discussed during these conversations will get automatically saved within the app, ultimately benefiting members in selecting date ranges, checking availability and including flights, rental cars and other activities. Once the program responds with various options, users can go to their saved items and review them.

Expedia also shared a video demonstration of the new feature on Twitter.

Other companies that use ChatGPT-powered plugins

Many companies have started integrating the technology following the release of OpenAI's API for external developers and their latest model, the Large Language Mode (LLM) GPT-4.

Expedia's rival Kayak launched a new feature powered by ChatGPT last month. The company said the plugin will provide users with personalized travel recommendations. Others like Zoom, Slack and Grammarly, have also joined the trend.