Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking over the travel industry around the world. 97.8% of industry executives say that AI will have a decisive impact on their industry, as the massive use of tools like chatGPT could change the way travel is booked around the world.
AI could disrupt the global travel booking industry, where 66% of bookings are already made online. Bookings through mobile phones represent 35% of all sales made, which represents a great opportunity for economic growth for the new tools.
Euromonitor International. This increase in massive use is explained by convenience and accessibility 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Travelers can access AI tools from a multitude of devices, such as smartphones and computers, anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection.
For all these reasons, 97.8% of the executives surveyed by Euromonitor International anticipate that AI will have a significant impact on their businesses over the next five years. And it is that the novelty could alter the sector of travel reservations, which is already highly digitized.
In this context, the travel industry is already taking action in an accelerated manner. Expedia announced in April 2023 its collaboration with OpenAI, offering ChatGPT-powered trip planning for iOS, as well as offering an add-on to ChatGPT Plus users.
Expedia’s ChatGPT experience provides personalized recommendations, acts as a virtual travel assistant, and provides results on hotels and things to do in your destination. TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide and Klook have also followed suit.
Trip.com has also announced the integration of ChatGPT into TripGen, its newly launched AI chatbot that provides real-time assistance, itinerary planning and pre-trip booking advice. Hotels and airlines, for their part, are also turning to generative AI for customer service, while automating menial tasks.
“Ultimate Tip”
Experts considering that further integration will “inevitably” take place over the years, so that ultimately the travel planning and booking phases will blend seamlessly, depending on access to booking functionality in real time.
Generative AI is just getting started, offering consumers what Airbnb calls ‘the ultimate concierge’. And it is that the access of artificial intelligence to data in real time can change the rules of the game in the tourism sector. But this path will not be so easy, according to experts, since there is a great concern for consumer privacy, with countries like Italy temporarily banning ChatGPT.
There is also concern that large language models are based on outdated knowledge of the Internet, with a lag of two years in the case of ChatGPT, without access to news or real-time information. However, access to real-time data has been enabled thanks to a new plugin with Microsoft Bing.
All companies developing these new technologies understand that consumer safety is essential. Thus, technology leaders such as Elon Musk recently demanded a pause in the development of AI to avoid risks to humanity, including possible extinction by super intelligence, stating that the AI race was out of control and that time was needed to stop allowing AI to continue. government policy catch up.
Three decades ago, travel agencies faced the advent of online agencies that led to the massive closure of agencies and the loss of numerous jobs. Now the sector is more mature to prevent the arrival of Artificial Intelligence from affecting too much and causing millions in losses for the sector
Microsoft plans to integrate generative AI into its Microsoft 365 Copilot software, so it will inevitably be increasingly present in the daily lives and work of consumers. According to experts, tourism companies should learn to live with this new phase of digital transformation in a ‘test and learn’ process. And only those that know how to combine new technologies with the human touch of travel and hospitality will be able to survive.
