Will AI Kill Travel Metasearch?

Travel metasearch as we know it today — Google Hotels, Kayak, Skyscanner, and Trivago — is facing a new reality in the agentic AI era.

Travelers will still want a deal when viewing hotel rates and airfares on AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. But it’s not clear what form price comparison will take, and how legacy metasearch platforms will fare.

Skift spoke with a current CEO, two former CEOs, and several former C-suite executives from metasearch companies to get their takes on how the future will shake out.

The most likely scenario: AI agents will automatically compare prices using APIs from Google Flights and Skyscanner for airfares; Booking.com, Expedia, and hotel chains for accommodations; and CarTrawler and Travelport for rental cars, for example.

In theory, the results would be personalized for travelers because the AI platforms know their travel histories and preferences. They’d also know everything from whether a trav