Agoda's AI Assistant Brings Travel Planning and Booking into One Conversation

Agoda has expanded its AI Assistant to users in 21 markets, including India, after a limited test in September. The company calls it the first brand-new booking experience in its 20-plus-year history. The assistant lets travellers discover, plan and book trips within Agoda's mobile app.

The assistant links conversational trip planning to Agoda's live inventory of more than 6 million accommodations, along with flights, tours, attractions and travel ancillaries. Users can compare options and check prices and availability, then book without starting over at each step.

How it works

A traveller might ask it to plan a five-day family trip to Osaka, compare neighbourhoods, look at restaurants and attractions, and find available rooms and flights. The assistant remembers preferences and trip context as the plan develops. A trip planner canvas holds upcoming bookings, places to visit and plans still in progress.

The core conversational intelligence runs on OpenAI models. For restaurants and points of interest, Agoda uses Gemini with Google Maps Grounding to pull ratings, photos, opening hours and locations. Web search is also built in.

Agoda says early beta data shows users of the assistant are more likely to book a "connected trip" that combines hotels, flights, attraction tickets and tours.

"Travel planning today is fragmented. People jump between apps, tabs, messages, and spreadsheets just to organise a single trip. With Agoda's AI Assistant, we're changing that." – Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Executive Officer, Agoda

The assistant is available in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, the United States, the UAE, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, Sri Lanka, Laos, New Zealand, Pakistan, Brunei and Myanmar.

The Agoda app offers more than 6 million holiday properties, over 130,000 flight routes and more than 300,000 activities. Agoda is headquartered in Singapore and is part of Booking Holdings.

Images: courtesy of Agoda