Agoda rolls out AI assistant across 21 travel markets

Agoda has expanded its AI Assistant to travellers in 21 markets through its mobile app, introducing a new booking experience for the travel platform.

The tool combines conversational trip planning with Agoda's bookable inventory of more than 6 million accommodation listings, along with flights, tours, attractions and other travel products. Users can search for ideas, compare options, check live prices and availability, and complete bookings without leaving the conversation.

The rollout follows a limited test that began in September. The assistant is now available in markets across Asia-Pacific, North America and the Middle East, including Japan, India, Australia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

Travel platforms are increasingly adding generative AI to customer search and planning tools to keep users inside their own apps rather than sending them to external search engines, map services and review sites. Agoda is taking the same approach, linking travel inspiration and itinerary planning more directly to transactions on its platform.

The assistant is designed for multi-step travel decisions, where customers often move between several services before making a booking. Within the app, the system stores trip context and user preferences as a plan develops, and brings bookings, saved ideas and unfinished plans together on a trip planner canvas.

A typical query might involve planning a five-day family trip to Osaka, comparing neighbourhoods, reviewing restaurants and attractions, and then checking accommodation and flight availability for specific dates. Travellers can continue by typing responses or selecting suggested options while keeping previous choices in view.

Model mix

The assistant's main conversational layer runs on OpenAI models. For restaurants and points of interest, it uses Gemini with Google Maps Grounding to provide current details from Google Maps, including ratings, photos, opening hours and locations.

Agoda has also added web search so information from the web can appear alongside its own live travel inventory. The combination is intended to address a common weakness in standalone AI chat tools, where users may still need to verify whether a recommendation is current, available for their travel dates, or bookable at the displayed price.

According to Agoda, early beta findings indicate that customers using the AI Assistant are more likely to book a connected trip spanning more than one product category, such as hotels, flights, attraction tickets and tours. The company did not disclose user numbers, booking conversion rates or revenue impact.

The launch is notable because Agoda described it as the first entirely new booking experience the business has introduced in more than 20 years. Agoda is part of Booking Holdings and operates from Singapore, offering accommodation, flights and activities through its website and app.

Its mobile app gives access to more than 6 million holiday properties, more than 130,000 flight routes and more than 300,000 activities. According to company information, the wider business supports 39 languages and employs more than 7,500 staff.

Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Executive Officer at Agoda, said: "Travel planning today is fragmented. People jump between apps, tabs, messages, and spreadsheets just to organize a single trip. With Agoda's AI Assistant, we're changing that. We're giving travelers a smart companion that understands their preferences and trip context and adapts to their needs. Our goal is to remove the repetitive work from travel planning, so travelers can make inspired decisions with more confidence."