Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin says AI agents haven't changed how customers book — yet
Gorin says AI is useful for trip planning and inspiration, but booking still hinges on trust and customer service, as Expedia shares fell 12% on weak guidance.
At a glance
- Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said AI agents are used for trip planning and inspiration but have not changed how customers book travel.
- Gorin said Expedia is working with all AI agents to stay visible in results, but doubts agents can replace customer service.
- Expedia shares fell about 12% after fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $3.69B to $3.75B came in below analyst estimates.
Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said Thursday that artificial intelligence agents have not yet changed the way the company's customers book travel, though she said early signs point to a possible industry shift.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Gorin said AI tools are proving useful in the early stages of a trip. "It's a great way for people to do inspiration, to do trip planning," she said. "We haven't seen it change the way they're actually doing booking."
Agents move into the mainstream
Her comments come as personal AI agents such as Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots reach mainstream users, offering to handle everything from scheduling to shopping. Travel planning and booking is one area where those tools could compete with established sites like Expedia.
Gorin said Expedia is "working with all of the agents" to make sure the company surfaces in AI results, to understand how the agents gather information and to ensure it has the integrations it needs.
She said it is possible that AI agents could build their own travel programs and eventually claim market share. But she argued that parts of the business — customer service in particular — would be difficult to replace entirely with artificial intelligence.
"People were already shopping across a number of places, so the agent can do that in a much easier way," Gorin said. "But when it comes to actually booking — being confident that the content that you're getting is right, the amenities are right, the price is right, if something goes wrong, someone's going to actually either solve it for you, answer the phone, be there for you — I don't think those agents are going to do it for you, and that's why people trust Expedia and come to us."
Shares fall on guidance
The interview followed a difficult day for Expedia's stock. Shares were down about 12% on Thursday after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
Expedia forecast revenue of between $3.69 billion and $3.75 billion for the final three months of the year, a midpoint below the $3.74 billion analysts had estimated, according to FactSet.
Gorin attributed the "moderation" in the fourth-quarter outlook to "geopolitical events in the Middle East and Europe," the midterm elections and the company's decision to move its fall sale from the fourth quarter into the third. She noted that the third quarter was strong, with total gross bookings up 11% and revenue up 12%.
Source: CNBC.
Questions and answers
- Are AI agents changing how people book travel?
- Not yet, according to Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin. She said the technology is popular for inspiration and trip planning, but booking habits have not changed so far.
- Why did Expedia stock fall?
- Expedia shares dropped about 12% on Thursday after the company's fourth-quarter revenue guidance came in below analyst estimates. Gorin blamed geopolitical events in the Middle East and Europe, the midterm elections and a sale moved to the third quarter.
- How is Expedia responding to AI agents?
- Gorin said Expedia is working with all of the agents to surface in AI results, understand how they gather information and build the integrations it needs.
