AI Developments in Travel: Skift Timeline

Travel companies have been using artificial intelligence for years, but the emergence of generative AI — which gives it the ability to create text, images, audio and video — opened the door wide open to a range of new possibilities.

More than two years later after the public launch of ChatGPT, the vision is still taking shape. There have been incremental developments, with the industry working to use AI to deliver personalized recommendations, marketing, and customer service. Many of the applications so far are working behind the scenes.

Here's a timeline of the biggest announcements and advances and their impact on travel:

February 2023: Microsoft-Owned Bing Relaunches Around ChatGPT

Microsoft's Bing search engine released a chatbot could simplify how people could search for travel planning on search engines. One difference with ChatGPT is the annotations to the sources, and suggestions on further queries.

March 2023: Google Releases Bard

Google announced that it would launch Bard, its rival to ChatGPT. Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes wrote that it appeared to operate similarly to ChatGPT, except that it responds to prompts with more than one answer.

Dawes added the technology has big implications for the travel industry, with brands like Booking.com and Expedia exploring how it can be used to power the future of travel planning and booking.

April 2023: Expedia Releases ChatGPT-Powered AI Chatbot on Mobile App

Expedia released the first version of a travel planning chatbot on its mobile app, becoming the first prominent online travel agency in the West to do so. (Trip.com, based in Singapore, released a chatbot earlier in 2023.)

Dawes reported that Expedia users could use the tool — a separate chatbot from the virtual agent that the app already had — to assist during travel planning by asking general questions about a destination or trip ideas.

A demo demonstrated how the tool automatically saved hotels the chatbot recommended. A user could go to the "Trips" tab within the app and click on the saved items to see availability for booking.

May 2023: Google’s New Generative AI Tools for the Travel Sector

Dawes reported Google Search was getting an update with generative AI from Bard, meaning a search prompt for travel could