Booking.com Rolls Out AI Agents for Guest Support

Booking.com has introduced its first customer-facing AI agents called Smart Messenger and Auto-Reply, both designed to streamline communication between accommodation partners and guests.

Smart Messenger gathers relevant information about partners, properties, and reservations and then autonomously decides what to suggest or how to reply.

Auto-Reply enables partners to provide instant, personalized responses to various guest queries. Both tools continually learn from past interactions and feedback, enhancing the accuracy and relevance of their responses.

Auto-Reply is now available globally, while Smart Messenger is live for partners in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia, or those using English as their preferred language on the platform.

Booking.com’s AI initiatives extend beyond partner-guest messaging.

• AI Trip Support serves as a 24/7 point of contact for travelers, assisting with property details or booking changes and escalating complex issues to human agents.
• AI Voice Support enables travelers to manage trips via voice commands.
• AI Rental Helper answers car rental queries about payment, insurance, pickup, and more.
• AI Flight Search Summaries help users understand the pros and cons of flight options to select the best one.

These solutions align with consumer demand for AI in travel planning and management. Amadeus’ recent travel study reveals that 18 percent of travelers now use genAI for trip discovery and search, with 64 percent of respondents even willing to pay for an AI travel assistant to provide in-trip support.

Check out our explainer about AI travel agents for a deeper discussion of other existing tools, emerging trends, and the role of AI in travel.

Photo by appshunter.io on Unsplash