March heralds another promising month for travel enthusiasts as the arrival of spring draws near. Travel applications have emerged as vital tools in trip planning, leveraging the rapid advancements in AI technology. Among the different sectors benefiting from AI integration, travel app technology stands out as a significant beneficiary, constantly evolving with the latest tech innovations. If you’re not familiar with travel apps, the idea’s a bit like Amazon’s AI tool that aids in better online shopping with AI enhancements.
Recently, Kayak, a leading platform for flight comparison, unveiled an innovative AI-powered flight verification feature using screenshots. This enhancement adds a layer of convenience to the flight boarding process, prompting users to explore Kayak’s latest AI flight verification offering further.
What Is Kayak?
Being a prominent flight comparison platform under Booking Holdings alongside other travel platforms such as Booking.com and Agoda, Kayak offers travellers a comprehensive toolset to streamline their journey planning. With its intuitive interface and robust search capabilities, Kayak enables users to effortlessly compare flight prices, schedules, and amenities across various airlines and travel agencies.
The platform’s extensive database provides access to a vast array of flight options, ensuring users can find the best deals tailored to their preferences and budget. Beyond flight comparison, Kayak offers additional features such as hotel bookings, car rentals, and vacation packages, making it a one-stop destination for all travel-related needs.
The New AI-Powered Update
In this new update, the platform introduced two new AI features:
PriceCheck
Kayak introduces PriceCheck, one of its latest AI functionalities, enabling users to verify if they’ve secured the optimal price simply by capturing a screenshot of flight details from any source. Customers can submit screenshots of flights, even those discovered on competitor platforms, and PriceCheck will scour hundreds of websites in search of potential better deals.
According to The Verge, based on this new AI-powered flight verification, Matthias Keller, Kayak’s Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Technology, explained via email to them that the feature employs AI to extract data from screenshots, such as flight schedules and airlines. Subsequently, it scours the internet for lower-priced flights based on the user’s specified criteria.
“It’s employed to present pertinent content to users along with enticing alternatives,” Keller explained. “Additionally, it serves as a method for us to appeal to new users, including those devoted to a particular airline or program, as Kayak Pricecheck might discover a more favourable price, even from their preferred provider.”
The AI Behind PriceCheck
This AI technique is known as computer vision, which enables models to analyse a photo or PDF and retrieve details such as important terms or objects. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple have long utilised computer vision to recognise faces in photos for tagging purposes and to search for terms within poorly scanned PDF documents.
Speaking of PDF, it might remind you of the widely used PDF reader — Adobe Acrobat, in which Adobe has also been touching on generative AI, bringing in a new AI assistant for its Acrobat Reader. Click here to discover more.
Kayak’s AI Chatbot, Ask Kayak
Kayak aims to simplify the process of obtaining travel-related information for its customers. Chatbots have proved to come in handy regarding assistance, and travellers now have the option to interact with the Kayak chatbot, Ask Kayak, to seek answers to queries regarding travel planning or to narrow down accommodation options and activities. Users can ask the chatbot questions like, “What are the most budget-friendly destinations for a weekend trip?” or “Suggest a hotel in New York City under $300 per night”.
Currently, Ask Kayak is accessible to users in the United States, the UK, and Canada, with plans for expansion to other regions in the near future. The chatbot was developed using ChatGPT by the company.
The Growth of Generative AI on Travel Booking Platforms
With the rise in popularity of generative AI services, travel planning emerged as one of the initial areas anticipated to undergo transformation. Great chatbots emerge and prove to be useful towards different sectors of industries. Within the travel booking platforms industry, Besides Kayak, many other platforms have been diving into the use of generative AI on their mobile apps and websites.
Expedia is among the travel platforms investigating the potential of generative AI to enhance the flight and hotel search experience for users. The company expressed its intention to leverage additional AI functionalities to encourage more users to initiate their travel planning directly on its platform instead of relying on Google.
Better AI-Assisted Flights
In conclusion, Kayak’s introduction of AI-powered flight verification through screenshots and the chatbot Ask Kayak marks a significant advancement in the realm of travel technology. By harnessing the capabilities of AI, Kayak aims to streamline the flight comparison process and provide users with a convenient way to ensure they secure the best possible deals.
This innovative approach underscores the ongoing evolution of AI on various industries, for example, the influence of famous chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard in enhancing various facets of the travel industry, offering travellers newfound efficiency and confidence in their booking decisions. As technology continues to revolutionise the way we plan and book trips, Kayak’s initiative exemplifies the potential for AI to revolutionise the travel experience for millions of users worldwide.
@laxtoluxury The @kayak app lets you filter your search to only show flexible options! ✈️#KAYAKPartner #traveltips #travel #learnontiktok #tiktoktravel ♬ FUTURE HOUSE – Sergey Wednesday