Google moves toward agentic travel booking

The company signals deeper ambitions as AI becomes central to trip planning

Google is developing agentic tools that can plan and book travel across flights and hotels, while expanding its broader suite of AI travel features. The company aims to make AI Mode a unified hub for trip discovery, planning, and eventually booking — though travel’s complexity and consumer hesitation will slow full autonomy.

Key takeaways

• Google’s agentic booking ambitions: The company is building a conversational tool that can compare and refine travel options — and ultimately complete bookings with partners.
• Early-stage partnerships: Google is working with Booking.com, Expedia, Marriott, IHG, Choice, and Wyndham, but stresses the project is in its early phases.
• Competitive pressure: OpenAI, Perplexity, Expedia, and Booking.com are all developing agentic travel tools, pushing Google to signal its direction early.
• Cautious path to autonomy: High-value transactions and low consumer trust mean travel bookings won’t become fully automated overnight — only 2% of travelers are comfortable with full AI autonomy.
• Canvas evolves into a trip planner: Google’s Canvas workspace now generates itineraries, compares hotels, suggests activities, and remembers preferences, using natural-language chat and Google’s search infrastructure.
• Flight Deals goes global: Google’s AI-powered bargain finder expands to over 200 countries and 60+ languages, with real-time data from hundreds of airlines and travel sites.
• Fragmented user experience: Tools live across different parts of Google Search and AI Mode; deeper unification will be necessary for a seamless planning and booking flow.

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