The AI arms race continues in travel with a number of travel providers recently showcasing brand new AI chatbots.
But the CEO of Expedia, Ariane Gorin has warned that an end-to-end chatbot is not what consumers currently want.
Speaking at Expedia’s Explore partner conference in Las Vegas this week, Gorin said that end-to-end was the initial aim.
“I would say when we first got into it, the idea was let’s do something that’s really end-to end, “she said.
Expedia first introduced its AI trip-planning chatbot Roamie two years ago.
Since launch, Gorin said that Expedia has learnt that AI “point agents” are more effective than an end-to-end chatbot.
According to Skift, Gorin claimed that customers don’t want AI to do everything for them and might want to collaborate with others at various other parts in the trip planning process.
“So that’s why we are building capabilities that help people,” Gorin said.
Whilst Expedia has long-term goals of an end-to-end AI chatbot, it isn’t deemed practical for now. Creating a network of AI agents is the challenge Expedia is facing right now, Gorin said.
