Expedia is responding to the AI period by ensuring it’s testing new methods to succeed in vacationers — and in addition utilizing it aggressively inside its personal enterprise.
In its newly filed 10-Okay annual report, the Seattle-based firm added a reference to “generative and agentic AI” beneath its aggressive threats, warning that the expertise might intensify competitors and shift vacationers towards new AI-driven platforms the place Expedia “could lack a big presence.”
That’s a sharper framing than only a yr in the past. The brand new submitting additionally explicitly names “corporations providing AI brokers” as a competitor class.
The up to date language displays a broader potential shift in how shoppers discover data and e-book journey. As a substitute of typing search queries into Google or searching journey websites immediately, some vacationers could more and more depend on AI assistants to analysis, examine, and even e-book journeys robotically.
On Expedia’s fourth-quarter earnings name final week, CEO Ariane Gorin mentioned the corporate is “working with all the key platforms” to make sure its manufacturers seem prominently in generative AI searches and performance successfully with agentic browsers.
“We’re experimenting aggressively,” she mentioned, noting that whereas AI-driven quantity stays small in the present day, every integration supplies knowledge and perception into evolving traveler conduct.
On the identical time, Expedia is constructing extra AI capabilities immediately into its merchandise. The corporate is rolling out conversational instruments and natural-language options, together with an AI agent inside Accommodations.com, in addition to AI-powered filters and property Q&A instruments.
Gorin mentioned she’d share extra later this yr about how Expedia can use pure language and AI “to
enable folks to go from the journey planning all the way in which into the reserving.”
Expedia in October launched its personal app for conversations inside ChatGPT.
Inside Expedia’s personal operations, Gorin mentioned AI instruments are already delivering “tangible advantages.” Product and engineering groups are utilizing AI to construct options sooner. Provide groups are utilizing AI to hurry up stock onboarding. And customer support groups are utilizing AI to resolve traveler points extra shortly as Expedia reported document self-service ranges.
Gorin mentioned “we’re deploying AI internally to offer our groups superpowers and make our choices to vacationers and companions much more aggressive.”
In the meantime, Expedia is betting that direct relationships with vacationers will stay a aggressive benefit. Two-thirds of bookings already come from vacationers who start immediately with Expedia’s manufacturers, and people direct bookings are rising sooner than oblique channels, Gorin mentioned.
Within the annual submitting, Expedia additionally flagged a brand new concern: “agentic reserving capabilities that will lack sturdy consent controls” might considerably enhance fraud dangers — suggesting automated reserving programs might create new consent and authorization challenges.
The submitting additionally reveals that Expedia’s total headcount dropped by 3% to 16,000 folks as of Dec. 31 final yr. About half of its workforce is in tech-related roles. Expedia lately laid off 162 employees in Washington state as a part of its newest workforce discount.
On the earnings name, CFO Scott Schenkel mentioned Expedia took motion in January to “simplify” its product and expertise organizations — and mentioned the corporate will use “a lot of the financial savings to strategically rehire in key areas like AI and machine studying.”
Expedia reported fourth-quarter gross bookings and income up 11% yr over yr.
