Expedia Group continues to be laser focused on artificial intelligence (AI), deploying the tech both internally and externally.
During a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference 2026, Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group, echoed statements made during recent earnings calls, again citing answer engine optimization (AEO) as its fastest growing channel.
Speaking to internal improvements with AI, Gorin said it has helped tech and product teams achieve 40% faster cycle times, while 10% of Vrbo partner queries are now resolved by its agentic voice solution. Just last month, the online travel giant also let go of eight VPs and SVPs in an AI-fueled reorganization.
When asked about how the travel funnel may evolve with AI, Gorin said it's "a big question for everyone."
She noted that two thirds of its consumer business comes direct, making personalization even more important.
"We've got to make sure that our products, and our brands, and our apps have incredible personalized experiences, some of which are natural language conversation, some of which are AI for personalization without people even knowing that there's AI behind it. So, we're doing a lot of work in our own products to make sure that they're sticky; they're helping people make their travel decisions well."
Natural language searches also lend themselves to personalization, providing the online travel agency with 60% more information about a traveler and their intent, Gorin said.
For the remaining one third that doesn't come direct, the CEO stressed the importance of Expedia Group brands showing up in results generated by AI agents.
"What you saw us do over the last year of is experiment, whether it's in organic with AEO, whether it was with agentic browsers, whether it was with the microapps. We were constantly—and more recently with paid ads in ChatGPT—we, I wouldn't say over-investing, but we're actively investing to make sure we are learning and experimenting early in all of those. And it's going to be the same thing with these horizontal agents."
However, she cautioned against relying on text for travel shopping.
"What we've also learned over the last year in the work with some of these partners is that just a chat interface purely with text is not always the best way to shop for travel. As we were evolving the partnerships with a couple of these big players, as we started to add photos, as we added content, as we added descriptions, as we added multiple properties instead of just one property, we started seeing more engagement," she said.
When asked about advertising and media, Gorin also highlighted the recent launch of sponsored listings on Vrbo, giving supply partners the opportunity to "get more" out of the marketplace.
"If there are ways that we can bring that qualified audience to advertisers in a way that's additive to our travelers, that's an opportunity," she said.