Expedia Group CEO discusses integrating AI into business operations

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

Gorin mentioned that Expedia was among the first companies to integrate ChatGPT into its application for testing purposes. Currently, AI is being tested in various aspects of the company’s operations, including customer service, product reviews and destination information.

The company has introduced a new AI tool, Romie, for travel planning. According to Gorin, users are interested in using Romie to get information about destinations and to answer budget-related travel questions.

AI also has many applications in marketing, Gorin said. Expedia plans to use AI to facilitate rapid testing of marketing strategies in different countries. The company also plans to leverage AI to help its partners, such as owners joining the platform, improve descriptions and help advertisers with images.

Expedia is also exploring ways to optimize AI for search. Gorin emphasized that although it is early days, they are actively observing how research and discovery evolves and how the company needs to adapt to these changes.

Regarding the future use of generative AI in travel planning, Gorin suggested that it will be everywhere and they need to test it everywhere. Some aspects would work and others wouldn’t, she noted.