ChatGPT Bails on Direct Bookings, Sending Expedia and Booking Stocks Soaring

OpenAI is scaling back plans to integrate direct travel bookings into ChatGPT, opting to push transactions to third-party apps instead.

OpenAI has quietly retreated from its ambition to turn ChatGPT into a one-stop shop for travel bookings, a strategic shift that sent shares of online travel agencies soaring on March 5. The company found that users were happy to research trips inside the chatbot but rarely completed purchases there, leading it to scale back direct checkout integration in favor of pushing transactions to third-party apps.

The decision, first reported by The Information, marks a significant moment for the travel industry. Investors had grown increasingly concerned that generative AI tools would eventually bypass intermediaries like Expedia and Booking Holdings entirely. Those fears evaporated Thursday as Expedia shares jumped more than 12 percent, Booking Holdings rose 8 percent, and Tripadvisor gained 5 percent.

TD Cowen analysts called OpenAI's move a "stunning admission" that AI platforms replacing apps as the "new operating system" is either not happening or significantly delayed. The analysts suggested the news "may signal major OTA sentiment reversal," easing fears that AI would disintermediate travel intermediaries.

Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke characterized the development as "incrementally positive" for online travel agencies. "This means that Booking and Expedia can continue to get in front of consumers on AI platforms, lowering the risk of disintermediation," Clarke wrote in a note. Mizuho analysts echoed the sentiment, calling the shift a potential turning point in the AI threat narrative.

The retreat reflects the messy reality of travel commerce. Online travel agencies bear significant legal and operational responsibilities handling payments, cancellations, refunds, customer service complaints, and liability for disrupted trips—that OpenAI appears unwilling to assume. There's precedent: Google launched "Book on Google" in 2015 and quietly shut it down in 2022 after failing to gain traction.

Both Expedia and Booking Holdings were among the first companies to integrate with ChatGPT when OpenAI launched its plugins program in 2023. The existing partnerships position them to benefit from OpenAI's new direction, which focuses on checkouts within third-party apps that plug into ChatGPT rather than direct transactions.

The news effectively confirms what OpenAI observed in user behavior: people may enjoy planning travel with AI, but when it's time to hand over credit card details, they prefer established platforms.