Tripadvisor's Perplexity Deal: AI for Customer Acquisition Is Now a Thing in Travel

There is now an AI customer acquisition channel in travel, and Tripadvisor officials said they are already seeing the benefits.

Tripadvisor CEO Matt Goldberg and Chief Financial Officer Mike Noonan both expressed enthusiasm Thursday about the early results of the company's hotel partnership with the AI answer engine Perplexity, an alliance that began in January.

Goldberg said the Perplexity partnership leverages an "AI first funnel," and the early results show that customers who come to Tripadvisor via Perplexity are "incremental" and "high intent" — meaning they are ready to book — and that's "higher than typical traffic we get."

Existing ways to attract new customers include marketing through Google Search, metasearch engines like Google Hotels and Kayak, and social media such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, for example.

Speaking to analysts during Tripadvisor fourth-quarter earnings call, Goldberg said Tripadvisor "over time" will also supply Perplexity with experiences and restaurants, in addition to hotels.

Benefits of the Tripadvisor-Perplexity Partnership

"We think we can both tap traffic as well as revenue share [and] increase brand awareness," Goldberg said.

Perplexity licenses Tripadvisor data as part of the agreement.

"And yes, there's a licensing component to it, but you know what? We're not looking for short-term licensing dollars. We're looking for creating a long term, durable position in this ecosystem, and that is what our partnerships are about," Goldberg added.

Noonan said Tripadvisor's spend in the Perplexity partnership is "efficient" and delivers "payoffs."

"I think some of the margin progression you're seeing is, you know, inherent in the model, meaning exactly what we've been talking about, which is drive new user acquisition and get them to repeat, and when we get them to repeat, they come back to us cheaper," Noonan said.

Tripadvisor's Deal With OpenAI

Tripadvisor likewise partnered with OpenAI's Operator, as did Booking.com, Priceline, OpenTable, Hipcamp, and Uber.

Goldberg said the partnership is a "huge opportunity" that "allows us to be best-positioned favorably as agentic AI emerges."

He said Tripadvisor will have more AI partnerships "to announce in the not so distant future."

Airbnb Experiences?

Asked to comment on the pending relaunch of Airbnb Experiences in the Spring, Goldberg said companies like its Viator brand that have a sole focus on experiences have the advantage.

“We think we can take a comprehensive approach to the category like no one else," Goldberg said.

He said Tripadvisor has the largest supply with 400,000 tours and activities, along with 65,000 operators. "That is not easy to build," Goldberg said.

Goldberg pointed to the upside of Tripadvisor's multibrand stragegy, as well. In addition to Viator, Goldberg said "travelers searching for experiences is the the largest portion of our traffic and the fastest-growing on Tripadvisor."

New Flexibility When the LTRIP Acquisition Closes

Tripadvisor's $435 million acquisition of controlling shareholder Liberty Tripadvisor is slated to close in the second quarter.

"Without controlled ownership, our capital structure is much cleaner simplified," Goldberg said. "We think it removes an overhang and gives us more flexibility for how we pursue our vision and our strategy we are solving for a single class of shareholders."

He said Tripadvisor would no longer be held back by a controlling shareholder that may have different views on what sort of investments Tripadvisor should make to benefit LTRIP's shareholding.

Tripadvisor to Officially Launch Membership Program in 2025

Tripadvisor has roughly 130 million members, and Goldberg said the company plans to officially launch the program in 2025. The program would enable members to earn and redeem awards, which Tripadvisor would fund.

Goldberg didn't provide much detail, but said the membership program would include a "wallet" across categories and would have new products and features.

Tripadvisor Financial Results

In the fourth quarter, Tripadvisor saw net income fall 94% to $2 million while revenue increased 5% to $411 million.

Punctuating how the company's Viator tours and activities brand has become central to Tripadvisor's strategy, in the fourth quarter Viator accounted for 43% of Tripadvisor's total revenue. It was 7% of Tripadvisor's revenue in 2015.

For the first time, Viator and dining reservations brand TheFork accounted for more than half of Tripadvisor's total revenue — a combined 52% in 2024.

Correction: We misreported the number of Tripadvisor members. It is 130 million.