How Expedia Group says AI can improve digital travel marketing-without losing the human touch
AI is reshaping how travel brands create, target and convert. The short answer from Expedia Group: use AI, but keep humans in the loop. Tested the right way, AI can speed up creation and boost relevance without killing trust.
Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships at Expedia Group, summed it up well: travelers are open to AI-enhanced content-as long as it still feels human.
What Expedia's research shows
In October, Expedia Group tested non-AI, AI-enhanced and fully AI content. A meaningful share of travelers didn't mind AI-enhanced content when it kept a human touch. That's the signal: augmentation works, automation alone falls flat.
Expedia's stance is practical. Great marketers and creators aren't going anywhere. It's early, and testing matters more than hot takes.
Where Expedia is investing
- Appointed its first chief AI and data officer to accelerate execution.
- Listed as a partner on Google's pending agentic travel booking capabilities.
- Partnered with OpenAI to bring apps into ChatGPT (context).
- Rolled out AI updates in its spring product release after CEO Ariane Gorin outlined 2025 AI priorities earlier in the year.
Implications for marketing leaders
- AI-enhanced beats AI-only: Use AI for drafts, variations and summaries, but keep expert edits for voice, judgment and trust.
- Test, don't assume: Let traveler response data pick winners. Ship small, learn fast, scale what works.
- Personalization must be useful: Pair intent signals (dates, destinations, party size) with clear value-timely deals, relevant itineraries, real availability.
- Commerce media is rising: Reach in-market travelers near the point of purchase; measure against downstream conversions, not just clicks. For definitions, see the IAB's guidance on commerce media (IAB Europe).
- Bookable beats inspirational: Collapse the gap between content and checkout with bookable itineraries and shoppable units.
- Agentic AI is coming: Think assistants that plan, compare and help book under user constraints-your job is to provide clear, structured offers and policies those agents can consume.
Practical experiments to run next quarter
- Content mix test: Run A/B/C across non-AI, AI-enhanced and AI-only content. Track CTR, time on page, save/share rate and downstream bookings.
- Human-in-the-loop workflow: AI drafts + human edit + brand QA. Document where human judgment adds the most lift; standardize it.
- Creative variation at scale: Generate 20 variants of headlines, images and CTAs per audience segment. Prune fast. Keep winners for new lookalikes.
- Intent-led personalization: Use trip dates and destination signals to swap modules-e.g., seasonal deals, family-friendly stays, flexible cancellation.
- Bookable itineraries: Turn top content into 1-3 click "add all to cart" bundles. Measure attach rate and AOV against standard product pages.
- Agentic readiness: Publish structured inventory, pricing and policy data. Start with a narrow planning agent for one destination and one persona.
- Commerce media pilots: Buy audiences close to checkout; optimize to ROAS and contribution margin, not top-funnel proxies.
Measurement that keeps you honest
- North-star metrics: Booking conversion, margin, cancellation rate, customer lifetime value.
- Mid-funnel health: Product views per session, add-to-cart rate, itinerary saves.
- Creative quality: Bounce rate, scroll depth, qualitative feedback from quick user tests.
- Content origin tag: Track if a booking touched AI-enhanced vs. non-AI content.
Guardrails that protect the brand
- Disclosure: Mark AI-assisted content where it matters for trust.
- Voice rules: Provide tone guides and banned claims; require human approval for sensitive topics (safety, visas, insurance).
- Fact checks: Validate prices, availability, distance and policy details before publishing.
- Bias review: Audit imagery and copy for representation and fairness.
Bottom line
AI can make travel marketing faster, cheaper and more relevant-if you keep humans at the decision points. Expedia Group's tests suggest travelers are fine with AI in the mix when the content still feels real. Start with augmentation, keep score with bookings, and scale the playbooks that earn trust.
Level up your team
If you're building these capabilities, upskill your marketers on practical AI workflows and measurement. These resources can help:
Topics Rob Torres called out
- Commerce media
- Bookable itineraries
- Intent media and personalization
- Agentic AI
- Why testing matters right now
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