Google’s AI Makes Budget Travel Easier

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Google announced on Thursday the rollout of a new AI-powered search feature designed for flexible travelers seeking flight savings: Flight Deals.

Accessible within Google Flights, this new AI tool is designed for budget-conscious flyers who want a simpler way to find bargains. In a blog post, Google described Flight Deals as “designed for flexible travelers whose number one goal is saving money on their next trip.”

Google’s new AI-powered solution aligns with several other big-name tech companies that have integrated generative AI into their travel search offerings. However, regulators have recently been questioning whether the company’s dominance in the travel search sector may be inhibiting competition.

Flight Deals will be made available to travelers in the US, Canada, and India over the next week.

How Flight Deals works

Flight Deals uses Google’s AI to analyze users’ specifications and offer inexpensive travel options that fit their plans.

Users can simply describe their travel plans in conversational language, as if chatting with a pal or their own personal travel agent. Once the user types their natural language query into the search bar, the tool uses the provided information to identify the best bargains that align with that search, even providing suggestions for travel destinations.

Google explained the concept behind their new tool in their blog post announcement, saying “Instead of playing with different dates, destinations and filters to uncover the best deals, you can just describe when, where and how you’d like to travel – as though you’re talking to a friend – and Flight Deals will take care of the rest.”

The tool is designed to find bargains by assessing users’ queries alongside travel pricing information from real-time data feeds, generating up-to-date price results that match the users’ preferences. These options are then ranked based on the percentage of savings, with deal availability varying based on the latest flight price data.

How to get started

No opt-ins are required to try out the tool, which will be available via the Flight Deals page or the top-left menu on Google Flights. In launching Flight Deals in beta, Google intends to acquire user feedback to continue improving the feature and identify how AI-powered technology can improve the travel planning experience.

Google plans to maintain its original Google Flights tool, launched in 2011, alongside the new Flight Deals offering. Additionally, the original Google Flights is gaining an upgrade as well, with users getting the choice to exclude basic economy fares for flights in the US and Canada.

Google’s AI travel ventures

Google’s move toward generative AI implementation in its travel technology comes amid antitrust scrutiny, as regulators try to determine whether the company’s dominance in travel discovery undermines competition.

Regulatory bodies, including the European Commission, are currently investigating how Google may be favoring its own search products and services. The tech giant is reportedly testing modifications in Europe to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to foster fairer competition in the European tech market by limiting the power of large tech platforms.

Although many competitors have already implemented generative AI into their travel search offerings, including Booking.com, Expedia, and the Indian online travel servicer MakeMyTrip, Google’s influence could present a greater obstacle for other companies looking to get ahead in the competitive travel tech landscape if the new feature gathers momentum.