Expedia’s embrace of ChatGPT integration signals a strategic bet that AI agents will become primary discovery channels for travel, making resistance futile and cooperation essential. Rather than fighting to preserve ad-click revenue from human visitors, the company is building infrastructure to welcome AI agents as first-class customers.
Expedia created a Model Context Protocol server enabling ChatGPT users to get flight pricing and information without leaving the chatbot—a precursor to in-chat booking transactions.
Agent-to-Agent Architecture
Expedia is developing a “trip agent” to greet external AI agents from ChatGPT or Gemini, field requests, and potentially complete bookings autonomously after conferring with the chatbot’s instructions.
The Strategic Logic
Expedia’s approach reflects a clear-eyed assessment of where travel discovery is heading:
AI agents will increasingly mediate travel decisions — Fighting this trend means losing access to the customer
The interface is shifting — From search engines and apps to conversational agents
Data access matters more than user interface — If your inventory is accessible to AI, you compete; if not, you’re invisible
The Platform Strategy
This is a platform play adapted for the AI era. Expedia is positioning itself as the infrastructure layer that AI agents connect to, rather than the consumer-facing brand that users type into.
The network effects shift: instead of accumulating user reviews and brand awareness, the moat becomes API reliability, inventory breadth, and agent compatibility.
What This Means
Travel becomes the test case for how AI agents transform commerce. Companies that build agent-friendly infrastructure win access to the AI-mediated customer journey. Those that don’t risk disintermediation.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
