Two years after the unveiling of OpenAI ChatGPT, Generative AI (gen AI) has reached a point where industry experts are openly questioning whether emerging technology has been overrated.
Gartner recently predicted at least 30% of AI generation projects will be abandoned after the proof-of-concept phase by the end of 2025. Such failures mean the analyst says the technology has reached the “trough of disillusionment” in its latest version. Hype cycle for emerging technologies.
This slide into the innovation abyss is a great fall from grace for the AI generation. Last year, tech company executives began their keynote speeches by talking breathlessly about a wave of AI-driven products.
Also: Gen AI as a software quality tool? Skepticism fades as more organizations implement it
Today, it’s common to hear the same CEOs apologizing for even mentioning Generation AI. These tech bosses recognize that professionals are disillusioned with the AI generation. A very promising technology to increase productivity is often stuck at the departure gate.
However, some leaders are moving beyond the exploration stage and helping their organizations embrace Generation AI. Take Rahul Todkar, head of data and AI at travel specialist Tripadvisor, who told ZDNET that the technology is a game-changer.
“I believe in generative AI technologies,” he says. “There’s a lot of talk about, ‘Is this real or is this hype?’ » I’m on the side of “the impact and benefits of this technology are real”. And we’re already seeing it in our business. »
Also: Technologist Bruce Schneier talks security, society, and why we need ‘public AI’ models
Todkar explained how Tripadvisor uses AI generation in production services to benefit its customers and the company’s bottom line.
1. Find a suitable challenge
Todkar said Tripadvisor recognized that planning a successful trip was a common problem for travelers. “We’ve had a lot of different products and solutions in this area,” he said.
“But with the AI generation, we thought: ‘How can we reimagine this process with the goal of making it ultra-simple, enjoyable and highly personalized for our travelers?’ » »
Also: New Perplexity AI tool makes stock market research “enjoyable”. Here’s how
Todkar said his team at Tripadvisor was on a mission to transform the customer experience, driven by data.
Todkar: “I believe in generative AI technologies.”
Tripadvisor
They leveraged the company’s massive reserves of customer data and used AI generation, large language models and in-house developed recommendation engines to create personalized content for travelers.
The result of this privacy-friendly development work is Tripadvisor’s travel planning solution. “We were able to launch, iterate and refine this tool over time in nine months,” he says.
“The adoption of this tool has been fantastic. We recently crossed over 1 million trips created by our gen AI solution, which I think is a significant milestone.”
Todkar said these adoption numbers are just one measure of the tool’s success. Technology is also helping to improve customer experience and engagement – and the techniques that have been leveraged are helping to pave the way for further success.
“It’s been fascinating,” he said. “I think it’s a win-win for the company and our customers. It’s a great innovation, in which we have married the latest technologies with user experience.”
2. Use the right technology
A successful generation AI solution like Tripadvisor’s Trip Planning solution is just the visible tip of a much larger iceberg – and Todkar said his company’s underlying technology efforts have focused on two areas: foundations and models.
“It all starts with having the data in the right place,” he said, referring to the company’s deployment of the Snowflake AI Data Cloud for travel and hospitality. “Quite often, it’s easy to not pay enough attention to the fundamental data required to make AI generation solutions successful,” Todkar said.
Also: The secret to a successful digital initiative is quite simple, according to Gartner
“So going from experimentation to production starts with data: having all your data in one place, that’s where we use Snowflake. That’s the underlying technology.”
Todkar said his data team uses these cloud-based foundations to build a “thoughtful approach” to AI generation that combines the best of renowned LLMs with in-house development work.
Also: CIOs Should Also Serve as Chief AI Officers, Salesforce Survey Shows
“We use commercially available commercial models — which is OpenAIwe used a lot of GPT model series — and then combine that technology with our internal recommender system designs, which we’ve patented and built over time,” he said.
“We can create the best experiences for travelers by taking different models and presenting them in a way that makes contextual recommendations.”
3. Turn use cases into revenue
The right use case of AI generation also produces other benefits. Todkar said happy customers increase Tripadvsor’s revenue.
“We found that when travelers find the right recommendations, that are personalized and contextual to what they are trying to do, engagement with those specific recommendations is very different,” he said. to three times more engagement – and that engagement can lead to increased length of stay on our site and more revenue.
Also: Gartner’s 2025 Technology Trends Show How Your Business Needs to Adapt — and Fast
He gives the example of a family of four vegetarians, including two children, using the trip planning tool to receive personalized vacation recommendations. “If I’m traveling with a family of young children to Napa and I ask for recommendations, I’ll be turned off from wineries,” he said.
“So help me recommend a place I can stay in Napa. And when I’m looking for my dining options, if I’m a vegetarian, help me choose a place that works.” “Todkar said AI-based recommendations tailored to travelers’ needs lead to a big increase in engagement.”
Also: After all, generative AI doesn’t have to be a power hog
“What we’ve found is that our users love this level of personalization. This process leverages the massive amount of data we have,” he said. “We have tons of data in our forums where users chat, interact, and travel together. All of this information is fed into our personalized recommendations.
4. Develop long-term innovation plans
Tripadvisor explores other use cases for generative AI. One of these cases, the review summary, has been in production for approximately six months. Todkar said the app illustrates how the company plans to do more with emerging technologies.
“Let’s say there’s a fantastic pizza place in Chicago with hundreds of reviews. No one has the ability or time to read all those reviews,” he said. “So how do we summarize this with key, meaningful metrics, such as ‘Here’s the best thing about the restaurant, and here’s the things to watch out for?’ »
Also: 3 Ways to Build Strong Databases for AI Implementation, According to Business Leaders
“We did this entire review summary using generative AI and large language models.”
Longer term, Todkar believes generative AI can be used to create interactive, multimodal experiences for users. He said Tripadvisor has about half a billion images on its site, including user-submitted photos and owner photos. These images can be used to create personalized recommendations and new levels of engagement and experience.
Also: 5 ways AI is changing the future of air travel
“We have a huge collection of photos on our site that we can use for models,” he said.
“If you’re looking for a restaurant and you’re a vegetarian, you don’t want to look at images of steak. So the images we present can be personalized – and that’s the next frontier we’re tackling. It’s on our sheet road to seize this type of opportunity.