Having been around long enough to witness the birth of the internet and the impact of the migration to mobile on search, it’s fascinating to observe the beginning of the evolution towards AI Search.
Marriott published research this week indicating that the proportion of travellers using AI has risen to 50% from 41% last year and 26% in 2023, nearly doubling in just two years. Unsurprisingly, younger generations are adopting it more rapidly, but even my age group, 55-64-year-olds, shows a 29% usage rate.
In recent blogs, I have promoted the use of MCP standardisation API wrappers as a vital step towards enabling large language models like ChatGPT to ingest live pricing and availability data from travel businesses. Last week, the launch of integrations with Booking.com and Expedia was announced, allowing travellers to search for hotels using natural language queries such as “Find me a private house with four separate bedrooms near top golf courses in Austin, Texas, for less than £300 per night.”
This would have saved me the trouble of switching between Airbnb, Booking, and ChatGPT when planning the trip I’m currently on, though I’m still redirected to these sites to make the actual bookings. This will be the next pain point to be eliminated, with ChatGPT soon becoming a merchant of record and an even bigger player than Amazon, selling millions of products. However, most of these will still come from Amazon, given its clever vertical integration that has made it a key physical distribution player.
I have also been predicting the development of “Digital Twins” that enable us to build a detailed profile of our personal preferences and update it daily by monitoring all our purchases. Retailers like Amazon already use these AI tools to personalise the offers they present to you, and Google even monitors our conversations to inform their recommendation engines.
The most logical place for a “Digital Twin” is on a user’s phone, so hardware manufacturers like Apple and Samsung have a natural advantage in this race. That’s why, at the start of 2025, OpenAI signed a major strategic alliance with them to exploit this opportunity jointly, and all LLMs are partnering with the hardware required to deliver AI tools.
Wearable tech will also play a significant role in how we use AI going forward, with Meta teaming up with Ray-Ban and Google launching the Android XR glasses. These devices connect to your phone but offer extra utility by being hands-free: they function as headphones that use vibration technology in the glasses’ arms, and as listening devices with microphones positioned just above your mouth.
Most importantly, they can serve as a second set of eyes, relaying what you see and offering instant classification, research, or instructions directly on the lenses. I already use these when travelling to discreetly and instantly translate different languages into my ears, although it hasn’t improved my ability to respond yet, as I still need the Google Translate function on my phone to speak the language. But I’m told this is coming fast.
However, it’s the shopping function offered by these glasses that I’m really looking forward to!
Imagine that, instead of browsing retail clothing stores, you can look at a stylish outfit someone else is wearing and immediately see where to buy it online at what price, with your digital twin instantly showing all your sizes and colour preferences.
This may sound like fiction, but it will be part of our everyday lives within the next 5 years, so we need to start thinking about how these forms of AI will affect the travel ecosystem.
The only businesses protected from AI disintermediation are the travel asset holders—airlines, hotels, and ground transportation —while the rest of the market faces significant disruption.
Logic suggests that major travel companies like Booking and Expedia will grow even larger as they can gather more content while leading AI distribution through partnerships with large language models.
However, with the removal of language barriers, travellers are likely to become more adventurous, seeking unique and authentic experiences best provided by niche specialist businesses, which become more findable with AI search tools, so there will still be a place for the specialists.
I also expect “Event” based travel to boom, which is why I am investing in an MCP-based AI startup aiming to create the ultimate itineraries for Event travel.
The simplification of the travel booking process is also likely to create a new breed of Influencer “Travel Agents”, promoting destinations and specific trips via TikTok shops or Instagram, using their own authentic content creation. So again, I’m investing in this space.
I have always loved disruption, and this is likely to be the fastest and biggest change we have ever seen in the travel sector.
Is your business ready?