OPINION: AI is changing travel discovery - but not the value of online travel companies
As AI becomes a major new route into travel discovery, the industry must consider how to embrace this shift while ensuring consumer choice, value, protection and trust remain at the heart of this change.
This shift has the potential to spark a new era of innovation in online travel - all while building on the expertise and trust that already underpin the sector.
As consumers increasingly embrace AI assistants for travel inspiration and research, and traditional search engines evolve to prioritise conversational prompts, personalised recommendations and agentic booking experiences, the most immediate shift is taking place at the top of the booking funnel. OTUK's own research reflects this shift in expectations: 42% of consumers say AI will be important to their future search and booking behaviour. This naturally raises questions about how online travel companies will evolve and what role they will play in an AI-enabled future.
Online travel, however, is about more than search; discovering a holiday is only the beginning. Online travel companies help consumers compare options from thousands of providers, make informed decisions and book with confidence, all while providing the protections and support that come with operating in a highly regulated industry.
From financial protection through the ATOL scheme and safeguarding personal data, to preventing fraud and supporting customers when disruption occurs, their role extends throughout the entire customer journey. AI will undoubtedly strengthen many of these capabilities, but in an industry built on regulation, accountability and trust, the established expertise of online travel companies will be more important than ever for consumers.
Alongside regulation sits another essential ingredient for consumer decision-making - trust. Travel is a high-value purchase, often involving significant financial and emotional investment. Consumers put their faith in brands that have earned it through reliable service, positive experiences and the confidence that support will be available if something goes wrong. Expedia Group's "AI Trust Gap" report found that while travellers are increasingly comfortable using AI for planning, 68% still prefer to book with a trusted travel brand over an AI chatbot or agent.
The combination of consumer trust and technology expertise positions online travel companies well to adapt to the changing landscape. Decades of developing commercial relationships, comprehensive inventory, live pricing infrastructure, and the ability to support customers online at scale are not easily replicated by general-purpose AI. What’s more, unlike airlines or tour operators, which carry the costs of maintaining aircraft or hotel stock, online travel companies are light on physical assets, allowing them to prioritise investment in technology and innovation. Their expertise lies in applying data-driven tools, including AI, to improve the customer experience, whether through greater personalisation, smarter recommendations, removing friction from booking and payment processes, or faster, more seamless customer support.
OTUK members are already using AI to enhance the search, comparison and booking journeys and improve the customer experience. Alongside this, they continue to provide consumers with the reassurance of established processes and expertise, strong governance and regulatory compliance, helping to maintain the trust and protections that travellers value.
The role of regulation will be critical in ensuring AI supports, rather than undermines, the principles that sustain consumer confidence in travel. For example, ensuring that dominant platforms like Google are more transparent about how and when they are using other businesses’ content to generate AI recommendations, and that content is attributed fairly, is critical. At the same time, building supportive capacity for businesses that have to navigate the complex regulatory landscape when developing innovative AI features is paramount: laws on payments, data and consumer protection, for instance, do not map neatly onto novel concepts like agentic commerce.
Regulators can help by prioritising advisory services and cross-functional coordination, building on the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum’s work (DRCF), while the government can support AI-driven innovation via the forthcoming Regulating for Growth Bill. Overall, a proportionate and forward-looking approach can help foster innovation, encourage fair competition and give consumers the confidence to keep booking through online travel companies.
This is playing out against a live and shifting policy backdrop in the UK. In his first week as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham announced plans to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of a wider set of government reforms, prompting concern across parts of the UK technology sector. At the same time, an AI Minister was placed within the Cabinet Office, quickly followed by the announcement of the Prime Ministers AI Taskforce, to drive forward the government’s overall strategy for it.
For OTUK, it is the details of those reforms that will matter. Whatever the future structure looks like, maintaining momentum on AI and competition policy will be essential. In a travel sector already subject to a complex regulatory landscape, the priority must be ensuring that innovation is accelerated rather than slowed, while continuing to provide businesses and consumers with the clarity they need.
The future of online travel will be shaped by how effectively government and the industry, work together to harness the opportunities AI unlocks. Ensuring AI drives innovation while maintaining the confidence, transparency and safeguards travellers rely on will be vital to building a future travel ecosystem that delivers for consumers, businesses and the wider economy.
