Expedia CEO Says AI Agents Haven't Disrupted Travel Booking Habits Despite Industry Speculation

AI Agents Excel at Planning But Booking Remains Human Territory

Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin told CNBC that AI agents haven't yet affected customer booking habits, despite their growing popularity for travel inspiration and trip planning1

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. "It's a great way for people to do inspiration, to do trip planning," Gorin explained, "We haven't seen it change the way they're actually doing booking."1

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The comments arrive as AI-powered travel agents like Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots enter mainstream use, raising questions about their potential to disrupt traditional travel booking platforms. Expedia reported strong third-quarter earnings with total gross bookings rising 11% and revenue climbing 12%1

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, demonstrating that fears of AI-driven disruption haven't materialized into actual business impact.

Why Travelers Still Choose Direct Booking Over AI Agents

Gorin acknowledged complexities within the travel industry that make full AI replacement difficult, particularly around customer service and booking confidence1

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. "When it comes to actually booking -- being confident that the content that you're getting is right, the amenities are right, the price is right, if something goes wrong, someone's going to actually either solve it for you, answer the phone, be there for you -- I don't think those agents are going to do it for you," she stated1

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. This trust factor keeps customers returning to Expedia despite AI agents' convenience in research phases. The company is actively working with all major AI agents to ensure it surfaces in AI results and maintains necessary integrations1

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. On Expedia's third-quarter earnings call, Gorin emphasized that "agentic AI's real strength is in discovery" while people still want to book with a trusted brand "where they know that they'll be taken care of if something goes wrong."3

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Booking Holdings Shows AI Can Drive Growth Instead of Disruption

While Expedia sees minimal AI agent impact, competitor Booking Holdings reported evidence that AI agents in travel planning could become growth drivers rather than threats2

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. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel described AI as a "big positive" for the company2

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. Users of Priceline's Penny and Agoda's AI assistants converted at approximately twice the rate of non-users, while Agoda's AI-assistant users generated average booking values roughly 20% higher2

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. Booking.com's daily AI trip-search visitors increased tenfold from the second quarter2

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. Critically, referrals from external AI platforms such as ChatGPT still account for significantly less than 1% of Booking.com's room nights2

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, indicating AI's commercial benefits appear within their own platforms before third-party agents become meaningful booking sources.

Expedia's Strategic AI Partnerships and Internal Development

Expedia has moved aggressively to integrate with emerging AI platforms while developing its own conversational agents3

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. The company partnered with Google AI Mode and announced an integration with Meta's Muse, giving the AI agent access to Expedia prices and content with the ability to complete bookings or redirect travelers to Expedia3

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. Expedia is also testing OpenAI's new ad products3

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. The company's agentic voice experience on Vrbo resolved over 15% of inbound contacts in its first two months while raising satisfaction scores at lower cost3

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. Conversational agents now sit directly in the booking flow, with an AI compare agent and property expert agent helping travelers evaluate hotels without leaving the page3

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. Travelers who used the new activity agent were twice as likely to book an activity within seven days3

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B2B Division Powers Growth Amid AI Uncertainty

Expedia's B2B division emerged as the company's growth engine, with bookings rising 19% in the third quarter3

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. This segment, which powers hotel distribution for airlines, banks, and corporate travel programs, posted 21% gross bookings growth and 23% revenue growth in the second quarter, marking its 20th consecutive quarter of double-digit gains4

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. For full-year 2026, Expedia expects a 10% increase in booking volume across its platforms and 11% to 12% revenue growth5

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. Over the first three quarters of the year, revenue rose from $11.19 billion to $12.68 billion, while operating income increased from $1.45 billion to $2.37 billion5

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. Free cash flow reached $3.6 billion, compared with $2 billion during the same period last year5

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Market Concerns Persist Despite Strong Performance

Despite remarkable financial performance, Expedia's enterprise value regularly returns to around or below 10x EBITDA, showing investors continue harboring concerns about business model sustainability5

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. Shares fell about 12% following weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance1

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. The company forecast revenue between $3.69 billion and $3.75 billion for the final three months of the year, with the midpoint lower than analyst estimates of $3.74 billion1

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. Gorin attributed the moderation to geopolitical events in the Middle East and Europe, midterm elections, and the company moving its fall sale from the fourth quarter to the third quarter1

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. Analysts flagged choppy travel trends and an uncertain macro environment as ongoing concerns4

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. The fundamental question remains whether Expedia can balance investing in AI to remain competitive while defending its core marketplace from AI-driven disintermediation4

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