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Generative AI and applications like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity are currently revolutionizing how we search the web—and, by extension, how we plan and book our travels. As early as 2025, it has already become clear that AI-powered tools have arrived in the daily routines of many travelers.
According to a survey by Phocuswright, 50 percent of travelers expect to use AI to plan their trips within the next twelve months. Tech giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are developing so-called AI agents—advanced systems that can independently complete tasks without human involvement. These agents are not only capable of automatically finding suitable travel destinations but will soon book hotels, flights, and restaurants for us—entirely on their own.
In the past, trip planning was often time-consuming and tedious: users browsed multiple platforms, compared prices, read reviews, and manually combined all the information. Today, travelers increasingly conduct these complex searches in a single step—by asking natural-language questions in a conversation with AI. Instead of generic searches like “best hotels in Paris,” people now formulate highly specific requests: “I’m traveling to Paris in summer with two kids—what area and which hotel would you recommend?” AI tools respond with personalized, precise answers—within seconds.
We’re also seeing a surge in voice-based interactions. After years of modest usage for assistants like Siri and Alexa, ChatGPT’s new voice mode is seeing strong adoption. A new, yet unsurprising user behavior is emerging: travelers use AI tools like personal travel advisors. They speak or type, and the AI recommends hotels, itineraries, and experiences. This shift is also shaping new customer expectations around personalization and instant service.
A major reason for the fast adoption of AI in travel planning lies in the desire for greater efficiency and comprehensive support. AI can answer complex open-ended questions like “What would you recommend for a two-week family trip to Japan?” and deliver a structured, tailored itinerary instantly—something that would take much longer to do manually.
Plus, AI-generated travel plans are highly adaptable. Users can ask follow-up questions or make changes like “Only show flights with Lufthansa” or “What if I travel in October instead?” This kind of dialog-based interaction is increasingly replacing traditional search behavior on the web.
One striking example of this shift is the integration of hotel booking functions into AI-powered platforms. In March 2025, AI search engine Perplexity launched a feature—developed with Selfbook and Tripadvisor—that allows users to book hotels directly within Perplexity. By combining Selfbook’s booking and payment technology with Tripadvisor’s reviews and content, users can now search and book in natural language—all in one place.
In April 2025, OpenAI also released a significant update for ChatGPT, which could soon allow users to book hotels directly through ChatGPT. This update includes a sort of shopping feature within ChatGPT, enabling users to receive visual results—with images, prices, ratings, and direct purchase options—for product-related queries. While the current focus is on categories like fashion and electronics, travel is an obvious next step.
In parallel, Visa and Mastercard are reshaping payment processes through AI-commerce initiatives. Visa’s Intelligent Commerce allows AI agents to make purchases autonomously, using stored virtual payment tokens. The AI can not only find suitable hotel offers but securely book them, including personalized payment options like “Buy Now Pay Later” or even stablecoin transactions.
Mastercard’s Agent Pay takes a similar approach, enabling AI agents to execute transactions via tokenized payments. These technologies have huge potential in the hotel booking space: they could bundle the entire travel planning and booking journey—from inspiration to payment—into one seamless AI conversation.
These developments are blurring the lines between inspiration, search, and booking. Travelers increasingly expect to plan and book their entire trip through a single AI-powered process—from the first idea to the final payment. And very soon, we’ll be searching, finding, and booking hotels through AI.
That’s why this shift in search behavior matters for hoteliers, too. Traditional online visibility strategies need a complete rethink. The crucial question is no longer just, “How do I rank on Google?” but rather, “How does an AI find my hotel?”
SEO as we know it is evolving into something new—think “LLM Engine Optimization” (LEO). While a defined term doesn’t yet exist, the direction is clear: content needs to be just as readable for AI systems as it is for humans. Many AI models source data primarily from Bing—so optimizing for Bing might already provide a competitive edge, at least in the short term.
For hotels, these changes present both a challenge and an opportunity. To stay visible in an AI-powered travel landscape, hotels should:
Make hotel content AI-readable
Ensure that hotel information and offers can be easily extracted by AI—and are accessible to AI platforms and models. Based on our experience with AI content extraction, here are some early best practices:
‍Use your own AI for guest communication
Deploy your own hotel AI tools (like chatbots, voice AI, or email AI) to advise guests individually and build stronger relationships. These tools can answer questions in multiple languages, offer 24/7 support, and significantly boost direct bookings via your own channels (which, yes, will still exist). Guests will become less tolerant of long response times or poor availability.‍
Train staff and update marketing strategies‍
Your team should understand how AI tools work and how to optimize content for them. This means:
Generative AI is setting a new standard in speed, convenience, and personalization in travel planning and booking. Hotels that embrace these technologies and proactively seek out partnerships will stay visible, enhance the guest experience, and build lasting customer loyalty. We’re in the midst of a fundamental shift—and those who start exploring AI today with curiosity and courage will lay the foundation for long-term success.
