Expedia Group is intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence (AI) to speed product development, resolve partner queries and reshape how consumers find and book travel, the company’s chief executive said at a recent tech conference.
AI driving faster development and new customer signals
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference, Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin described AI as central to both internal workstreams and external customer-facing products. She said the technology has helped engineering and product teams achieve 40% faster cycle times, and that an agentic voice solution now resolves 10% of Vrbo partner queries.
“We’ve got to make sure that our products, and our brands, and our apps have incredible personalized experiences, some of which are natural language conversation, some of which are AI for personalization without people even knowing that there's AI behind it.”
Gorin highlighted the value of natural language search, saying it delivers roughly 60% more information about a traveller and their intent compared with traditional text queries. That richer intent signal, she argued, can enable deeper personalisation and “stickier” experiences that help users make travel decisions more easily.
Direct bookings, distribution and experimentation
Expedia still sees much of its traffic come directly to its consumer-facing sites. Gorin noted that about two thirds of its consumer business is direct, which places a premium on personalising apps and brands so they remain relevant as AI-powered agents and conversational interfaces become more common.
For the remaining one third of bookings that originates off-platform, Expedia is experimenting to ensure it appears in search results produced by other AI systems. Gorin said the group has been testing a range of approaches — from answer engine optimisation (AEO) and agentic browsers to microapps and paid ads inside large language model products such as ChatGPT — to learn how to surface inventory and brand content early in the evolution of these horizontal agents.
She emphasised that the company is actively investing in early experiments rather than assuming any single approach will dominate. That approach has also coincided with internal changes driven by AI: Expedia recently made cuts affecting eight vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents as part of an AI-fuelled reorganisation.
What this means for South African travellers and the industry
The developments Gorin describes matter for South African consumers and travel businesses for a few practical reasons:
- Personalisation becomes more important: travellers who interact via natural language or conversational assistants may see more tailored options, so keeping profiles and preferences up to date could improve search results.
- Visibility outside brands’ own sites: travel agents, property managers and airlines need to plan for their offers appearing inside third-party AI agents, not just on traditional metasearch or OTAs.
- Operational change and jobs: AI-led efficiencies can speed delivery but also change organisational structures, as reflected in Expedia’s recent senior-level reductions.
A small table of the figures Gorin gave helps clarify the scale of the changes she described:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Faster dev/product cycle times | 40% faster |
| Vrbo partner queries handled by agentic voice | 10% |
| More information from natural language searches | 60% more |
| Share of consumer business coming direct | Two thirds |
For South African travel businesses — from independent guesthouse owners to larger operators selling through Vrbo or Expedia — the message is clear: optimise for new discovery methods and consider how your inventory appears in conversational agents as well as on traditional travel sites. At the same time, travellers can expect smoother, more personalised booking flows if these AI experiments scale.
Gorin also cautioned that the travel funnel will continue to evolve and that the industry must adapt its product and marketing strategies accordingly. Expedia’s blend of internal AI improvements and external experimentation offers a glimpse of how travel planning and booking may change over the next few years.
