Priceline partners with Google Cloud to pioneer the future of travel with Generative AI

In an industry rebounding close to pre-pandemic levels, Priceline has adopted a first-mover stance, integrating novel technologies to distinguish itself. The company’s pioneering approach builds on its longstanding philosophy of integrating cutting-edge technology to provide superior services.

Harnessing Google Cloud’s generative AI products, Priceline aims to create personalised offerings and smooth booking experiences for customers. At the same time, it plans to deploy innovative workplace tools that enhance productivity and enable employees to concentrate on impactful and meaningful work.

Marty Brodbeck, Chief Technology Officer at Priceline, encapsulated the ethos of this ambitious venture:

“We’re doubling down on our commitment to delivering the fastest, most seamless and informative booking experience for our customers, from personalised planning and travel inspiration to customer service.”

Priceline’s inaugural roll-out of Google Cloud’s generative AI deployments, scheduled for the summer, will feature:

• A full-scale travel assistant chatbot to provide customers with conversational experiences, addressing queries about trip planning and enabling direct booking within the chat.
• An AI-powered personalised hotel booking experience, aiding customers in finding preferred hotels based on proximity to local attractions, restaurants and activities.
• A generative AI-powered marketing platform to auto-generate marketing copy and imagery across company channels.
• Enhanced developer productivity tools and internal database mining capabilities, augmented with new internal information search capabilities and software production capabilities.

In partnership with Google Cloud, Priceline is developing a generative AI-powered travel assistant chatbot to facilitate customers’ travel planning and booking journeys. The chatbot, capable of assisting 24/7/365, will handle broad and nuanced questions, solving a long-standing challenge in the travel industry where complex customer queries have often been frustrating for both parties involved.

Simultaneously, Priceline is set to improve its web and mobile experiences through generative AI features as part of its “Connected Trip” strategy. An upgraded hotel booking experience, powered by Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, will provide current neighbourhood information personalised to customers’ preferences, making the process easier for travellers.

Internally, Priceline plans to employ Google Cloud’s Enterprise Search on Gen App Builder to enhance search capabilities across its internal data, better connecting employees to scattered documents, databases and intranets. Priceline’s developers will utilise Google Cloud’s AI-powered collaborator, Duet AI, to support code completion, search and summarisation.

In terms of marketing, Priceline is set to harness Vertex AI to expedite content development for marketing campaigns. The company will use generative AI to personalise campaigns, enhancing emails, push notifications, online ads and Priceline-branded assets, with the aim to quantifiably boost bookings.

Google Cloud’s AI technology was selected by Priceline due to its superior security, practicality, speed, and ease-of-use. Google Cloud’s approach to data governance and privacy policies ensures Priceline retains control over its data, aligning with the company’s key priority. Additionally, Google Cloud’s responsible approach to AI allows Priceline to fine-tune and update its large language models to review responses for appropriateness and accuracy.

Priceline’s venture into generative AI, partnered with Google Cloud, signals a promising transformation of the travel industry, placing customers and employees at the heart of innovation.