United Airlines Says It Eliminated 4% of Management Jobs Due to AI
United is the first U.S. airline to publicly say that AI will lead to fewer jobs.
AI in Travel
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the dominant topic of the future in travel, and we’re keeping a close eye on it at Skift.
Breakthrough generative AI technology was released publicly by OpenAI last November, and a number of big-name travel companies have already responded. Expedia, Kayak, and more — including multiple startups — have started releasing experimental technologies that could lead to transformations in the way users discover, plan, and book travel.
Skift’s own Ask Skift AI deep search tool gives readers extensive insight into the business of travel by training artificial intelligence on the complete archives of Skift, Skift Research, Airline Weekly, Skift Meetings, Daily Lodging Report, and Skift Live events.
Southwest Just Perfectly Explained the AI Challenge for Airlines
Tech companies love to move fast, especially with AI. But airlines like Southwest have too much at stake — they don't get to break things.
Building Agentic Commerce Is ‘Imperative’ for Travel Companies
If consumers respond positively to agentic AI and if these ChatGPT apps gain traction, then travel companies will be required to develop them, just as they do today for the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Kayak Introduces AI Mode
Kayak’s AI Mode goes from soft launch to debut, so customers can search for travel using natural language. Plus: The company dishes up data on holiday travel trends.
Permission to Exist: What Travel Really Needs to Ask Itself in 2030
What happens when the fundamental assumptions underlying the travel industry's business models stop being true? Who has agency: who makes decisions, who controls discovery, who influences choice, and critically, who gets left behind when those power dynamics shift in an AI age.
Will AI Disrupt Booking and Other OTAs? One Analyst Says They’re ‘Well-Positioned’
Booking Holdings and the other online travel agencies have survived through several platform shifts in the past. However, the gen AI revolution finds them in slower growth mode than in past era, upping the pressure.
Oberoi Group’s New Wellness Program, MakeMyTrip Partners With Google Cloud
India's ancient wellness remedies have evolved from being traditions to becoming major revenue generators, and hotel chains are leaning into this demand.
AI in Hotels: New Search Tools, Call Centers – and Why Robots Aren’t in the U.S.
Nobody will say how much money any of this is making or saving. "Experiments," they call it. "Early days." But many of the AI examples remain quite promising.
RateGain to Buy Sojern in $250 Million Deal, Expanding Its Marketing Reach
RateGain aims to acquire U.S.-based martech company Sojern in a deal set to make it a $310+ million company.
7 Ways Agentic AI May Boost Hotels: From Operations to Sales
The hotel industry will need to plan ways to test AI agents to streamline services, personalize luxury, boost revenue, and reimagine guest trips.