Expedia Group CEO Discusses AI Integration in Business Operations

Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin is extensively testing artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the company’s operations. This was revealed during her speech at The Phocuswright Conference 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gorin mentioned that Expedia was among the initial companies to incorporate ChatGPT into its app for testing. Currently, AI is being trialed in diverse aspects of the company’s operations, including customer service, product reviews, and destination insights.

The company has introduced a new AI tool, Romie, for trip planning. According to Gorin, users are showing interest in using Romie for obtaining information about destinations and for answering budget-related travel queries.

AI also has numerous applications in marketing, Gorin said. Expedia plans to use AI to assist in quick testing of marketing strategies in different countries. The company also plans to leverage AI to assist partners, such as homeowners joining the platform, to improve descriptions and assist advertisers with images.

Expedia is also exploring ways to optimize AI for search. Gorin emphasized that while it’s still early days, they are actively observing how search and discovery are evolving and how the company needs to adapt to these changes.

Regarding the future use of Generative AI in trip planning, Gorin suggested that it would be everywhere and that they need to test it everywhere. Some aspects would work while others might not, she noted.