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PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of travel search, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more on Google, other search engines, strategies, executives and role in the market.

Kayak launches new AI tool for travel search
News / Technology
Kayak launches new AI tool for travel search
By Abby Crotty | April 10, 2025
Kayak described the new platform as its tech team's "playground for innovation" and said what works best on Kayak.ai will then become part of Kayak.com for everyone to use. Read More
How AI and visual search are reshaping travel discovery
News / Online
How AI and visual search are reshaping travel discovery
By Marisa Garcia | April 9, 2025
Visual search is beginning to dominate, especially for younger travelers and the numbers show that it's probably not a passing fad. Read More
Google updates AI capabilities for travel tools
News / Online
Google updates AI capabilities for travel tools
By Abby Crotty | March 27, 2025
Users will soon be able to use a new price tracking feature for hotels via Google Search and turn on a new "screenshots" feature in Google Maps. Read More
Experiences becoming “strategic and financial center” of Tripadvisor Group
News / Online
Experiences becoming “strategic and financial center” of Tripadvisor Group
By Morgan Hines | February 20, 2025
All three segments of Tripadvisor Group, including Brand Tripadvisor, Viator and TheFork, contributed positively to group profit for the first time. Read More
OpenAI debuts "Operator" agent that can book travel
News / Technology
OpenAI debuts "Operator" agent that can book travel
By Mitra Sorrells | January 24, 2025
While still very early days, the development of agents is moving fast and raises questions about the evolution of marketing strategies and search optimization, such as whether site design should change. Read More
Travel marketing experts on Google's dominance in the face of AI
News / Online
Travel marketing experts on Google's dominance in the face of AI
By Morgan Hines | January 16, 2025
Technology including artificial intelligence, new players and other innovations are shaking up travel marketing. Read More
U.K. regulator to investigate Google’s search dominance
News / Online
U.K. regulator to investigate Google’s search dominance
By Morgan Hines | January 14, 2025
The organization will look into how Google’s position is impacting businesses such as advertisers, the media and alternate search engines and also the effect on consumers.  Read More
How travel brands stay ahead on social media
News / Online
How travel brands stay ahead on social media
By Morgan Hines | January 10, 2025
Travel experts discuss the importance of travel brands staying agile in the social media arena as younger generations turn to these platforms for search purposes. Read More
Tripadvisor partners with Perplexity to improve trip planning
News / Technology
Tripadvisor partners with Perplexity to improve trip planning
By Linda Fox | January 9, 2025
The partnership sees the integration of Tripadvisor’s reviews, AI generated summaries and more than 300,000 experiences from Viator with Perplexity’s chatbot-style search capabilities. Read More
Travel industry leaders' predictions for 2025
News / Technology
Travel industry leaders' predictions for 2025
By Morgan Hines | January 2, 2025
Executives from Travelport, Klook, Cloudbeds, Spotnana, Mews and more share their predictions for the year ahead, including their takes on artificial intelligence, search, funding and more.   Read More
Tripadvisor to merge with Liberty Tripadvisor in $435M deal
News / Online
Tripadvisor to merge with Liberty Tripadvisor in $435M deal
By Mitra Sorrells | December 19, 2024
The companies announced the merger Thursday morning and the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025. Read More
Not just a 2025 trend – genAI is the catalyst for a golden age of travel tech innovation
From Our Partners / Technology
Not just a 2025 trend – genAI is the catalyst for a golden age of travel tech innovation
By Chris Hemmeter, Thayer Investment Partners | December 18, 2024
This wave of genAI acceptance is so disruptive and absolute that it will unlock the cleansing of the tech stack, lead to the retirement of technical debt and give innovators the opportunity to build... Read More
5 ways travelers are using GenAI
News / Technology
5 ways travelers are using GenAI
By PhocusWright Research | December 16, 2024
Phocuswright research reveals that travelers use generative AI for ideas, decision making and research but also express concerns regarding its safety and accuracy. Read More
Travel industry collaboration needed to reduce friction
News / Technology
Travel industry collaboration needed to reduce friction
By Morgan Hines | December 16, 2024
For the travel industry as a whole, removing friction and leaving customers satisfied is the real goal, according to Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus. Read More
AI, algorithms and Uber's potential acquisitions: PhocusWire's top opinion stories of 2024
News / Online
AI, algorithms and Uber's potential acquisitions: PhocusWire's top opinion stories of 2024
By PhocusWire | December 13, 2024
This year's most popular op-eds were heavy on AI and also covered algorithms, the possible acquisition of Expedia and major incidences like the CrowdStrike outage. Read More