AI travel agents are not taking bookings from Expedia yet, its CEO says. «It's a great way for people to do inspiration, to do trip planning,» Ariane Gorin told CNBC on November 5. «We haven't seen it change the way they're actually doing booking.» She said Expedia is «working with all of the agents» so that it appears in AI results, but argued that customer service and price accuracy would be hard for agents to replace.
Expedia shares fell about 12% on Thursday, CNBC reported. The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $3.69 billion to $3.75 billion, a midpoint below the FactSet consensus of $3.74 billion. Gorin blamed events in the Middle East and Europe, the midterm elections and moving its fall sale from the fourth quarter into the third.
The third quarter itself beat guidance, Expedia said. Gross bookings rose 11%, with B2B up 19% and B2C up 7%. Revenue rose 12%, led by 23% B2B growth, and adjusted EBITDA rose 17%. Gorin said in the release that AI is «enhancing internal productivity and creating new sources of growth.»
