As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes travel discovery and booking, the industry is learning to market to a new audience: AI agents.
Business-to-agent (B2A) marketing is becoming essential as companies adapt to a landscape undergoing tectonic shifts.
With Phocuswright research showing that travelers are increasingly willing to book with AI, marketers need to confront a changing trajectory—and determine how to show up in an AI-driven world.
“If we want to give great travelers wonderful experiences, then we need to make sure that these tools are guiding travelers to the right options,” Clayton Nelson, VP of enterprise alliances and AI for Expedia Group, said while moderating a panel titled “AI in Marketing: From Social Spark to Agentic Decision” at Expedia Group’s partner conference Explore.
“Do agents make the same decisions as humans? Do they care about price in the same way? Amenities in the same way? Do agents care about loyalty? Do agents care about the brands—things that we have invested decades in?”
B2A’s place in travel marketing
B2A is the next frontier for travel marketers as they seek to appeal to agents’ decision-making processes in what Nelson called a “more objective world.”
Jochen Koedijk, CMO of Expedia Group, explained business-to-consumer (B2C) as marketing to humans, business-to-business (B2B) as marketing to businesses and B2A as marketing to agents.
Agents are emerging as a new audience—but that’s not replacing B2C and B2B efforts, Koedijk said.
Koedijk said Expedia Group is building a parallel marketing capability for agents—not transitioning from consumer to agent.
“[We’re] focusing on how do we show up best for agents and how do we make sure your supply shows up best,” Koedijk said.
During the panel, Kelly Covato, GM of global business development for travel at The Trade Desk, said B2A is only going to become more important as time goes on.
“B2A is yet another layer in that travel booking journey from inspiration to action, and it provides an opportunity for us as marketers to also surround that agent experience,” Covato said.
Covato added that AI is flattening the funnel. With that in mind, she advised companies like Expedia to optimize their data.
Marketers will no longer have to optimize up until the last click, Covato said.
The technology is enabling brand building efforts such as connected TV to not only help with brand building but to function as performance engines, Covato said.
With the tools AI enables, marketers can better understand the impact of lower funnel actions such as incremental booking, she said.
“The funnel is absolutely collapsing,” Covato said. “We're going to only benefit from that as marketers to be able to leverage those signals to build our businesses in a more meaningful way.”
Tools like Expedia’s Trip Matching feature and its now-expanded Meta partnership are also examples of how AI is changing travelers’ relationship with discovery and planning.
And the time between inspiration and action is shorter, Koedijk said: AI has made it possible to position supply in front of the traveler at times when they are ready to book.
While many agree agent usage will rise over time, no one knows the extent to which that will occur, Koedijk cautioned.
“That's why it's so important for us to build that capability in parallel, because there will be some proliferation … but we don't know where it's coming,” Koedijk said. “So, it's important for us to lean in, experiment, keep learning.”
Alicia Schmid, director of research at Phocuswright, said Phocuswright’s data supports the B2A strategy as AI continues to evolve. AI is becoming a bigger part of the trip planning process and is now comparable to social media, she said.
But she noted that online travel agencies and general search are continuing to dominate, despite AI’s rapid growth.
“The shift is still early and travelers in some regions, particularly the U.S., will be ready to book with an AI agent/assistant sooner than others,” Schmid said.
B2A and the marketing field
Mahak Sharma, who leads product partnerships at OpenAI, said it’s vital for businesses to get in front of an agent—and uniqueness matters most to do that successfully.
Relying on basic data that’s available to every platform won’t help brands to stand out within agentic experiences.
Instead, businesses should focus on what’s special about their business—and ensure models and agents have access to that data so that they can present the best options for users’ preferences, Sharma said.
The importance placed on uniqueness could provide a more “level playing field,” Sharma said.
That can actually serve as a leg up to greener entrants, according to Schmid.
“Uniqueness can benefit newer travel companies in the B2A environment because they don't have to compete on brand awareness, but rather an offering that is specific to a travel need such as niche experiences, local access, etc.,” Schmid said.
Schmid said what benefits both established and novice players is that AI agents can function as a more meaningful discovery layer, potentially reducing reliance on paid media.
But she warned that trust is still a hurdle.
“Phocuswright’s research shows travelers still care most about quick, easy booking, good prior experience, reviews, results and trust,” Schmid said.
“Human assistance is still more important than AI assistance in booking preferences,” she continued. “So, newer companies shouldn’t assume ‘AI visibility’ is enough. They need to plan for agents and humans at the same time.”
*This reporter's attendance at the event was supported by Expedia Group.