Dive Brief:

• Tripadvisor announced Tuesday an upgrade to its Trips planning product using OpenAI's generative AI technology. The new AI-powered travel itinerary generator, which is in beta phase and currently accessible to users in the U.S. via desktop and mobile web, has an initial focus on experience, attraction and dining recommendations. 
• The feature prompts travelers to enter their destination, travel dates, who they're traveling with and the types of activities they're interested in. Then a personalized day-by-day itinerary will be generated based on reviews from other travelers. The AI feature will have access to information and reviews for the 8 million hotels, rentals, restaurants and other businesses listed on Tripadvisor.
• Tripadvisor joins a growing number of online travel companies, including Expedia, Kayak and Booking.com, that have integrated consumer-facing AI to simplify the trip planning process. However, Tripadvisor’s AI tool does not have a conversation element. 

Dive Insight:

According to Tripadvisor, its new AI-powered feature aims to ease travel planning while staying true to the site and processes its users are familiar with. 

“We know our community is passionate about trip planning, so we wanted to thoughtfully build something that would enhance that experience, not replace it,” said Sanjay Raman, chief product officer at Tripadvisor, in the announcement. “Personalized results and recommendations from fellow travelers are two of the most important elements of the planning process and generative AI has helped us bring them together in a way we think will be really compelling for travelers.” 

Tripadvisor’s AI-powered feature creates personalized itineraries by leveraging the billion reviews and opinions on its site as well as submitted photos, delivering “reliable, trustworthy guidance from its community of real travelers,” the announcement said. The planning process remains hands-on for users, who can save, edit and share their personalized itineraries. 

Unlike other online travel sites that have recently integrated AI, Tripadvisor’s feature does not include a chatbot. Online travel agencies Expedia, Kayak and Booking.com are similarly partnering with OpenAI, but all three companies are utilizing ChatGPT technology on their sites. OTA Priceline also is building an AI-powered chatbot, but through Google Cloud’s generative AI technologies. 

“While we are not focused on an AI chatbot at this time, Tripadvisor will be collecting feedback from users to iterate and improve on this feature, and we will continue to explore the best ways to serve our community,” a Tripadvisor spokesperson told Hotel Dive.