Gorin says agentic AI is strong at discovery but travelers still prefer to complete bookings with trusted brands.
So far, what we are seeing is that Agentic AI's real strength is in discovery, but that when it comes to bookings, people still want to book with a trusted brand where they know that they will be taken care of if something goes wrong, they know they can trust the content and the prices and the like.
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Gorin says AI agents are useful for travel inspiration and planning but have not yet changed how customers actually book.
"It's a great way for people to do inspiration, to do trip planning," Gorin said in an interview with CNBC. "We haven't seen it change the way they're actually doing booking."
Gorin argues AI agents will ease shopping around but cannot replace the trust, content accuracy and customer service that Expedia provides at booking.
"People were already shopping across a number of places, so the agent can do that in a much easier way," Gorin said. "But when it comes to actually booking — being confident that the content that you're getting is right, the amenities are right, the price is right, if something goes wrong, someone's going to actually either solve it for you, answer the phone, be there for you — I don't think those agents are going to do it for you, and that's why people trust Expedia and come to us."
Gorin says Expedia is working with all AI agents to ensure visibility and integrations in AI-driven results.
Gorin said Expedia is "working with all of the agents" to make sure it surfaces in AI results, to understand how the agents get information and to make sure that the company has the necessary integrations.
Gorin attributes the softer Q4 guidance to geopolitics, midterm elections and a shifted fall sale rather than weaker consumers.
Gorin attributed the "moderation" in Expedia's fourth-quarter guidance to "geopolitical events in the Middle East and Europe," the midterm elections and the company moving its fall sale from the fourth quarter to the third quarter.
Gorin argues that even as AI platforms take over discovery, the complexity of supply, payments and service keeps trust, scale and reliability as Expedia's differentiators.
What we are seeing is that while discovery is spreading across AI assistance, search, and social platforms, the hard parts of travel are not getting any easier. Connecting to global supply across multiple lines of business with accurate prices. Handling bookings and payments, standing behind bookings, and fixing problems when plans change. That complexity is where trust is earned.