OpenAI CEO Says ChatGPT Will Book Hotels in One Click, No Ads

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has shared insights about the future of booking hotels using ChatGPT.

In an interview on the YouTube channel "Conversations with Tyler," he revealed that in the future users may be able to book hotels in "one click" directly through ChatGPT, signaling a major shift in how consumers interact with travel platforms.

Altman emphasized that one of ChatGPT’s core advantages is the high degree of trust users place in its recommendations. He contrasted this with traditional search engines such as Google, where advertising-based ranking models can sometimes elevate lower-quality hotels simply because they pay for visibility.

According to Altman, such pay-to-play practices undermine user trust, which is something OpenAI aims to avoid.

Instead, ChatGPT is designed to surface hotel options based purely on reviews, relevance, and the user’s needs, free from paid placement. This principle, Altman said, is central to maintaining trust and delivering genuinely helpful results.

Altman also noted that ChatGPT may introduce a small transaction fee for hotel bookings. He argued that the convenience of quick bookings combined with unbiased recommendations would justify such a fee.

This might disrupt traditional hotel booking economics by reducing the financial burden on hotels compared to OTAs that charge commissions ranging from 10 percent to 30 percent per booking.

In October 2025, ChatGPT started supporting third-party app integrations, with Expedia and Booking.com being the first travel brands to connect their services. This development allows users to engage with travel sites within the ChatGPT interface, allowing them to search for, compare, and plan trips without leaving the platform.

Read our explainer on AI travel agents to learn about their role in travel bookings, and how they may challenge the OTA business model.

Photo by Tim Witzdam on Unsplash