In a significant stride towards revolutionizing travel planning, Skyscanner, a leading global travel search company, has unveiled a cutting-edge search discovery and inspiration tool, “Dream and discover with AI”. Powered by generative AI, this innovative tool is set to transform the way travelers embark on their journey, promising a seamless and personalized experience. The initial launch is slated to take place in beta across Australia, India, and Singapore, with plans to extend to other markets in the near future.
The beta phase holds paramount importance for Skyscanner, as it provides a unique opportunity to gauge traveler behavior in response to utilizing AI for trip planning. By gathering feedback, engagement metrics, and conversion data, Skyscanner aims to refine and optimize future iterations of this traveler-centric product, ensuring an unparalleled user experience.
At the heart of this groundbreaking tool lies Open AI’s Chat GPT technology, a state-of-the-art AI model renowned for its advanced language generation capabilities. Travelers now have the ability to pose open-ended statements and questions, such as “best cities for cultural tours” or “what are some hidden gems in Europe?”, empowering them to embark on an exploratory journey with just a few keystrokes. Additionally, an array of prompts ranging from “short flights next weekend” to “foodie city breaks” further enhance the tool’s versatility.
Upon receiving these prompts, the tool swiftly generates a plethora of travel ideas and recommendations, presenting the user with three meticulously curated destination suggestions. What sets this tool apart is its seamless integration of captivating imagery with rich and evocative destination descriptions, painting a vivid picture of the unique characteristics that define each suggestion. This fusion of visual and textual elements elevates the entire travel planning experience, immersing travelers in a world of possibilities.
Once users have perused these suggestions and made their decision, the tool seamlessly transitions them into Skyscanner’s intuitive flight search funnel. This feature streamlines the booking process, allowing travelers to effortlessly select their preferred flight options, thus ensuring a hassle-free transition from inspiration to action.
Piero Sierra, Chief Product Officer at Skyscanner, expressed his enthusiasm about the potential of generative AI in the travel industry, stating, “Generative AI is such an exciting technology that we as a travel industry are only just beginning to apply. 56 per cent of travelers are coming to Skyscanner for inspiration, so with this beta launch we are looking to understand how it might help travelers in the discovery phases of the travel planning journey, and importantly how they engage with the technology versus existing tools.”
He went on to highlight the tool as one of many experiments Skyscanner is conducting to explore how generative AI can seamlessly integrate into their core proposition, ultimately empowering travelers to plan and book their trips with unparalleled ease and confidence in the future.
As the travel industry continues to evolve, Skyscanner’s foray into generative AI represents a significant milestone, propelling travel planning into a new era of innovation and personalization. With “Dream and discover with AI”, Skyscanner is not only revolutionizing the way travelers seek inspiration but also setting a new standard for intuitive and seamless trip planning. As the beta phase commences, the travel community eagerly awaits the promising impact this tool will have on the future of travel exploration.
