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Expedia wants you to plan your next vacation with ChatGPT

By Christine Romero-Chan Published April 4, 2023

If it seems like AI is taking over the world, that’s because it certainly feels like it. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has made waves over the past few months, and more and more apps seem to be integrating AI somehow.

Expedia is the latest one, and it wants to use ChatGPT to help you plan your next vacation.

Expedia app using ChatGPT. — Expedia

Expedia has just launched a new plugin for its iOS app today, which is currently in beta. This chatbot tool, which is powered by ChatGPT (of course), lets you start a conversation with everyone’s favorite chatbot. This can give you recommendations on destinations, hotels, transportation, and activities to do on your next vacation trip. You can even take things one step further and have ChatGPT automatically favorite hotels for you that it recommends during your conversation session.

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This is the latest expansion into ChatGPT tools that Expedia is doing. Recently, it launched a plugin with OpenAI that lets users plan trips out on the ChatGPT site utilizing Expedia’s vast travel data. Today’s announcement takes that tool and integrates it into Expedia’s own mobile app. Whether you’re on ChatGPT or in the Expedia app on your iPhone 14, you can now start a conversation with the chatbot to get travel plans and just get the trip booked.

“We really want to meet our travelers wherever they are,” said Expedia CTO Rathi Murthy of the ChatGPT plugin and the in-app ChatGPT combo.

The ChatGPT integration being offered by Expedia is just the latest now that OpenAI’s API for third-party developers is available, among the release of the latest Large Language Mode (LLM) GPT–4. Expedia rival Kayak also has a ChatGPT plugin, in case you fancy using that instead. Other work apps have also integrated ChatGPT, including Zoom, Slack, Grammarly, Snapchat, OpenTable, and Klarna.

But travel companies like Expedia and Kayak are looking to leverage the conversational nature of ChatGPT’s AI to make booking travel easier and more convenient for people. So, next time you’re planning your family vacation, make sure to hit up everyone’s favorite chatbot for quick recommendations.

Christine Romero-Chan

Former Staff Writer, Mobile

Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…

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