A traveler asks ChatGPT for a boutique hotel in Lisbon and compares Expedia options with real-time prices without leaving the chat. That is what an AI online travel agency looks like in 2026: Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com have put AI assistants in front of their inventory, and the first two now have apps inside ChatGPT.
If you run a tailor-made agency or a DMC, the question is obvious: will AI-powered OTAs take your clients? They will win some bookings, mostly simple ones. They are far less at ease with eight suppliers, twenty travelers and a coach that breaks down at 7 a.m.
Here is what the big OTAs do with AI, where they stop, and how to compete. For the wider picture, see our guide to AI for travel agencies.
In short
- Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com sell through AI assistants, and Booking.com and Expedia apps have run inside ChatGPT since October 2025, built on MCP.
- AI online travel agencies are strongest on single-product bookings: one hotel, one flight, price comparison.
- They fall short on multi-supplier programs, groups, local expertise and accountability on the ground.
- Tailor-made agencies compete on speed, expertise and curated suppliers, and can connect the same technology to their own data.
What is an AI online travel agency?
An AI online travel agency is an OTA that uses artificial intelligence to help travelers search, plan and book: conversational assistants, recommendation models and, increasingly, apps inside ChatGPT.
The business model stays the same: the OTA sells its own inventory, one product at a time. Distribution changes. With MCP (Model Context Protocol), an open standard released by Anthropic in late 2024, an AI assistant can call an OTA's search and pricing tools directly. Skift reports that Booking.com, Expedia, Turkish Airlines, Amadeus and Sabre are adopting MCP.
Maturity is still low. In a February 2026 survey, Phocuswright found that 61% of travel businesses are experimenting with or scaling agentic AI, but only 6% are actively scaling.
How Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com use AI in 2026
Booking.com
Booking.com launched its AI Trip Planner in June 2023 for US travelers, a conversational tool partially powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT API and built on its existing recommendation models. Since October 2025, it has also been one of the first travel brands with an app inside ChatGPT.
Expedia
In May 2024, Expedia Group introduced Romie, an AI assistant that can join a group chat, pull travel details from emails, monitor disruptions and suggest alternatives. Expedia was also a launch partner for apps inside ChatGPT: travelers compare hotels and flights with real-time pricing, then book on Expedia's side.
Trip.com
Trip.com's assistant, TripGenie, has been live for about three years. In March 2026, the company reported AI-assisted order volume up about 400% year on year, with nearly 60% of interactions related to bookings.
The pattern is the same: AI shortens the path from a question to a single booking at a public price.
What AI online travel agencies still cannot do
AI OTAs shine when the request fits one product. Things get harder as soon as the trip becomes a project. The same holds for tour operator circuits: see our guide to AI for tour operators.
- Multi-supplier programs. A 12-day self-drive in Iceland combines a 4x4, eight lodges and a glacier walk. An assistant finds each piece, not one program with one price and one person in charge.
- Groups. A 20-pax incentive in Marrakech needs a riad buyout, a desert gala dinner, transfers and a rooming list. Negotiated group rates are not in public OTA inventory.
- Local expertise. Which suite suits the CEO, which guide speaks German: a DMC knows, a model guesses.
- Accountability. When a flight is canceled hours before the gala, someone has to move the coach and the restaurant. Suggesting alternatives is not fixing the trip.
Travelers see it. A L.E.K. Consulting survey of 1,000 US adults found that 85% would keep using their travel agent even if they also used AI tools.
How tailor-made agencies compete with AI-powered OTAs
You will not beat Booking.com on hotel search, and you do not need to. Compete where OTAs are weak.
- Reply fast. A client who waits four days for a quote will test ChatGPT meanwhile. Templates, a clear pricing grid and the right AI tools for travel agencies get a proposal out within a day.
- Show your expertise. Explain what an algorithm cannot: why day 4 ends in Akureyri, why this lodge and not the one with better reviews.
- Curate suppliers. Negotiated rates, a rate sheet with 12 seasons, a contact who answers on Sunday: that is your moat.
- Own the client relationship. L.E.K. notes that OTAs can capture up to 30-40% of booking revenue. Every direct client is margin you keep.
| Request | AI online travel agency | Tailor-made agency |
|---|---|---|
| One hotel, two nights | Fast, real-time prices | Rarely worth your time |
| 12-day self-drive in Iceland | Pieces found one by one | One program, one price |
| 20-pax incentive in Marrakech | Not built for it | Core business |
| Problem on the ground | Generic customer service | A team that knows the file |
That speed is hard to reach with scattered spreadsheets, which is where travel agency software built for tailor-made travel helps. On the role itself, read how AI changes the travel agent job.
Use the same AI technology on your own agency data
OTAs plug their inventory into ChatGPT through MCP. An agency can do the same with its projects, clients, suppliers and invoices. New to the protocol? Read what MCP is for travel agencies, then how to build an AI agent for your travel agency.
The official Ezus MCP connector, built on the Ezus public API, works with Claude, ChatGPT, Le Chat by Mistral, Grok and other MCP clients. Your team can:
- ask in plain language which projects leave next week or which invoices are overdue;
- check the Marrakech file before sending: nights without accommodation, travelers without email or phone, margin line by line;
- create a project from an existing itinerary (Word, PDF, supplier email) with steps, services and prices;
- import a supplier rate sheet, with duplicates and price differences flagged.
The connector is read-only by default, write access is enabled on request, and there is no delete tool. One limit: when the AI designs a trip from scratch, services and prices are AI suggestions, not your Ezus data, so check them.
Put AI to work on what OTAs cannot copy
AI online travel agencies will keep winning simple bookings. Your advantage is the complex trip and the data behind it: supplier rates, tested programs, margins. Connect AI to that data rather than fight Booking.com on hotel search.
More than 600 agencies in over 70 countries run tailor-made travel on Ezus. The itinerary builder turns templates into multi-day programs, supplier management keeps rates and seasons in one catalog, and the budgeting tool recalculates margins in real time. The Ezus MCP connector, on the Premium plan, lets your AI assistant work on that data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an AI online travel agency?
It is an OTA such as Booking.com, Expedia or Trip.com that uses AI assistants to help travelers search, plan and book. Booking.com and Expedia also open their search and pricing tools to ChatGPT through MCP.
Will AI OTAs replace tailor-made travel agencies?
They will take more single-product bookings, but tailor-made programs, groups and on-the-ground support remain hard to automate. The risk is highest for agencies that reply slowly.
Can ChatGPT book a trip for a traveler?
Travelers can compare Expedia and Booking.com options with real-time prices inside ChatGPT, then book on the OTA's side. ChatGPT does not assemble a multi-supplier program with one price and one responsible contact.
How can a small agency compete with Booking.com and Expedia's AI?
Focus on what OTAs do poorly: complex programs, groups, local knowledge and support when things go wrong. Reply fast and use AI on your own data to save time on admin.
How does Ezus help agencies use AI on their own data?
Ezus structures itineraries, suppliers, budgets and invoices in one platform, and its official MCP connector lets an AI assistant query and update that data in plain language. It is read-only by default, with write access enabled on request and no delete tool.
Which AI assistants work with Ezus?
The Ezus MCP connector works with Claude, ChatGPT, Le Chat by Mistral, Grok and other MCP clients. It requires the Ezus Premium plan, and each user connects with their own Ezus account.
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