TripAdvisor is dipping its toes in the chatbot and Facebook Messenger waters this week, launching a destination tool for travellers.
The tool follows the same model as many of the others that have entered the market in recent months, except it has the vast TripAdvisor database of content behind it.
Furthemore, following the acquisitions of La Fourchetteand Viator in recent years, travellers get access to the booking pages of restaurants and activities that are featured during the conversation within the bot.
After selecting a destinatuion, travellers are asked a series of questions - or can click on popular categories such as nightlife, activities, drinks, date night, etc - as to what they might be interested in doing.
The bot then displays a carousel of the most popular items, where the user can then save the result, share or click through to the relevant landing page on the TripAdvisor desktop or mobile site.
The bot isn't restricted to in-destination services, it also has information on accommodation and flights.
TripAdvisor says:
"TripAdvisor’s bot will eventually learn what you like in the perfect trip. In fact, the more questions you ask, the better, as it gets smarter with each new inquiry."