Will AI Change Google’s Business Model? We Asked 9 Top Travel Pros
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Skift Take
Will generative AI's demands for longer answers and fewer links change Google's travel advertising business model? That change is almost inevitable, but where does that leave Google?
Generative AI is already prompting travel businesses to retool internal operations and release new products.
Even with Google's release of its Gemini upgrade, which is geared to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT, it's a good bet that Google Search will face new pressure and a growing roster of competitors, from OpenAI to Microsoft/Bing, Meta, Apple, and perhaps new rivals.
What happens to Google's advertising links – from which it earns billions – if AI enables instant answers?
We posed the following question to several travel executives and investors: Will generative AI change Google's advertising-only business model? Will it become an online travel agency?
None explicitly said Google would become an online travel agency, a prospect that Google has long downplayed. But they forecast far-reaching changes to Google's advertising business, and the competitive landscape.
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