Answer questions, write papers, become a lawyer… ChatGPT can do many things. Artificial intelligence will soon also find your dream vacation and plan it for you.
For some people, planning their next vacation is a real pleasure and the feeling of being away before time. For others, it’s a real pain in the ass. And for the latter, the inevitable ChatGPT may be the best ally.
OpenAI, the creator of the conversational artificial intelligence, unveiled on Thursday night a new feature added through plug-ins. By implementing them in applications or websites, it will allow to activate ChatGPT for research, information, help to create…
we are starting our rollout of ChatGPT plugins.
you can install plugins to help with a wide variety of tasks. we are excited to see what developers create!https://t.co/NQ684Yp2LK pic.twitter.com/m7b6vJrj5D
— Sam Altman (@sama) March 23, 2023
ChatGPT, your new travel agent
Among the first services to adopt plug-ins, the Expedia group -which also includes the Abritel and Hotels.com platforms- proudly announced its new tool that will be offered to ChatGPT users. If you use artificial intelligence and activate the function, it will then be possible to ask it to book your next stay.
All the data compiled by the tour operator (flight schedules and fares, hotel or accommodation availability, activities…), some “70 petabytes of data”, Expedia says, will feed the AI to respond quickly and efficiently to requests. And this new possibility offered by OpenAI is an asset in both directions: for brands, it is a way to attract customers looking to save time and get accurate answers without having to search by themselves. For ChatGPT, it’s a way to retrieve real-time data to be even more accurate in its answers and therefore useful, by connecting to continuously fed third-party services.
And Expedia promises that it will be very easy to use: all you have to do is tell ChatGPT the destination you want, the dates of your stay, the type of flight you are looking for (with or without a stopover, according to a certain price, near a certain city…), the accommodation options you want and the AI will display the results it deems relevant. According to the platform, it would even be able to tell the traveler the best time to book by knowing the fluctuation of rates. Once the user has all the necessary information, ChatGPT will then redirect them to Expedia to finalize their booking.
AI to detect fraud and enhance support
Expedia adds that its AI-powered virtual agents can also more easily resolve post-booking issues (flight cancellations, schedule changes, unforeseen circumstances, etc.). “More than 30 million virtual conversations (have) saved 8 million hours of agent time,” the group points out, noting that AI is also used to detect fraud more massively, adjust the rankings displayed or even strengthen customer support.
Expedia and its brands aren’t the only ones that will rely on ChatGPT to help you schedule your vacation. Flight comparison company Kayak is also among the first brands to implement the OpenAI plug-in on its site and app. You’ll soon be able to request a specific flight with all the options you want. No need to browse pages and pages to find out if you are entitled to a hold baggage or if the attractive fare is not possible with a credit card you do not have.