Google Takes Next Step in AI Trip Planning

Google is diving head first into AI-powered trip planning. 

Gemini Advanced, the paid version of the Gemini generative AI chatbot, will soon be able to build travel itineraries with a simple prompt in easy-to-understand language.

It’s also strengthening trip-planning options for AI Overviews, the AI feature it released this year for a traditional Google search. AI Overviews has been available only to U.S. users that opt in, but it’s being released to all U.S. users this week and more countries soon.

The search giant revealed the plans on Tuesday at its annual developer conference, Google I/O. Or, as Google CEO Sundar Pichai called it: “Google’s version of The Eras Tour with fewer costume changes.”

To try early versions of these new tools, opt in to AI experiments with Google Search Labs.

Skift will perform its own tests of the updated tools as soon as they are available.

Itinerary Building in Gemini Advanced

Sissie Hsiao, vice president of Google and general manager for Gemini experiences, used a travel example to illustrate how the chatbot is taking a step closer toward the goal of being a “true AI assistant.” 

The example started with a prompt: “My family and I are going to Miami for Labor Day. My son loves art and my husband really wants fresh seafood. Can you pull my flight and hotel information from Gmail and help me plan the weekend?”

In the background, the AI creates potential travel options from multiple sources of information. “The result is a personalized vacation plan,” Hsiao said. 

Looking at the flight itinerary, the AI knows it needs to create a plan within the length of the trip and allow time before and after each flight. 

The flight in the example lands at 4:28 p.m., so the AI doesn’t recommend a big activity but rather three fresh seafood restaurants for 7:30 p.m. It estimates a 20-minute drive from the airport, an hour to drop off bags and freshen up, and 15 minutes to walk to dinner. 

The next day is full of proposed activities. Make an adjustment, such as changing the start time, and the AI automatically repopulates its plan. 

The trip-planning capability is coming to Gemini Advanced this summer.

Google released Gemini Advanced in February with its most up-to-date AI model at the time. The platform is now getting an upgrade with Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 1.5 Pro, available in 35 languages.

Travel Recommendations in Google Search

Google showed how users can get upgraded tourism recommendations through the traditional search bar.

The upgraded tech is better at answering multi-faceted questions, said Liz Reid, vice president of Search, during the conference. 

A prompt that Google used as an example: “What are good options for a day out in Dallas with the kids? Recommend some ice cream shops near each option.”

The first option was the Dallas Zoo, and it listed three ice cream shops nearby. 

The other options were Dallas Arboretum and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, along with three ice cream shop options for each. There was also a map below the results that showed each of their locations.  

“Research that might have taken you minutes or even hours, Google can now do on your behalf in just seconds,” Reid said. 

Reid demonstrated the capability during the conference with an example of searching for a yoga studio in Boston. 

There was a video later with a quick clip showing the above example. 

Travel Inspiration in Google Search

Google is also upgrading Search to respond with fuller recommendations during the brainstorming stage, when the prompts are typically less specific. The response includes groups of suggestions organized by the AI.

“What you get here breaks AI out of the box, and it brings it to the whole page,” Reid said.

The example prompt: “Anniversary celebration dinner places Dallas.”

The AI responded with several groups of restaurants based on themes it created: Anniversary-worthy restaurants, restaurants with live music and intimate settings, and historic charm and elegance.

The model also uses contextual factors, like time of the year, Reid said. Since it’s warm now in Dallas, it included a group of options for “romantic” rooftop dining dates.

These AI-organized results pages for brainstorming searches are coming soon for dining and recipes, then expanding to later to include hotels and more.