‘We’re experimenting aggressively’: How Expedia sees AI reshaping travel — and its own business

Expedia is responding to the AI era by making sure it’s testing new ways to reach travelers — and also using it aggressively inside its own business. In its newly filed 10-K annual report, the Seattle-based company added a reference to “generative and agentic AI” under its competitive threats, warning that the technology could intensify competition and shift travelers toward new AI-driven platforms where Expedia “may lack a significant presence.” That’s a sharper framing than just a year ago. The new filing also explicitly names “companies offering AI agents” as a competitor category. The updated language reflects a broader potential shift in how consumers find information and book travel. Instead of typing search queries into Google or browsing travel sites directly, some travelers may increasingly rely on AI assistants to research, compare, and even book trips automatically. On Expedia’s fourth-quarter earnings call last week, CEO Ariane Gorin said the company is “working with all the major platforms” to ensure its brands appear prominently in generative AI searches and function effectively with agentic browsers. “We’re experimenting aggressively,” she said, noting that while AI-driven volume remains small today, each integration provides data and insight into evolving traveler behavior. At the same time, Expedia is building more AI capabilities directly into its products. The company is rolling out conversational tools and natural-language features, including an AI agent within Hotels.com, as well as AI-powered filters and property Q&A tools. Gorin said she’d share more later this year about how Expedia can use natural language and AI “to allow people to go from the trip planning all the way into the booking.” Expedia in October released its own app for conversations within ChatGPT. Inside Expedia’s own operations, Gorin said AI tools are already delivering “tangible benefits.” Product and engineering teams are using AI to build features faster. Supply teams are using AI to speed up inventory onboarding. And customer service teams are using AI to resolve traveler issues more quickly as Expedia reported record self-service levels. Gorin said “we’re deploying AI internally to give our teams superpowers and make our offerings to travelers and partners even more competitive.” Meanwhile, Expedia is betting that direct relationships with travelers will remain a competitive advantage. Two-thirds of bookings already come from travelers who begin directly with Expedia’s brands, and those direct bookings are growing faster than indirect channels, Gorin said. In the annual filing, Expedia also flagged a new concern: “agentic booking capabilities that may lack strong consent controls” could significantly increase fraud risks — suggesting automated booking systems could create new consent and authorization challenges. The filing also shows that Expedia’s overall headcount dropped by 3% to 16,000 people as of Dec. 31 last year. About half of its workforce is in tech-related roles. Expedia recently laid off 162 workers in Washington state as part of its latest workforce reduction. On the earnings call, CFO Scott Schenkel said Expedia took action in January to “simplify” its product and technology organizations — and said the company will use “much of the savings to strategically rehire in key areas like AI and machine learning.” Expedia reported fourth-quarter gross bookings and revenue up 11% year over year.