KAYAK Launches KAYAK.ai to Pilot AI-First Features for Tech-Savvy Travelers
KAYAK has launched KAYAK.ai, a new AI-powered travel platform that combines OpenAI's technology with KAYAK's travel intelligence. The platform offers conversational search capabilities across 400+ providers, serving as an innovation lab for testing AI-first features.
Key features include:
- Real-time flight tracking and updates
- Price drop notifications and trend analysis
- Nonstop flight route discovery
- Detailed hotel search with specific amenities
- Comprehensive trip planning assistance
The company appointed Yaron Zeidman as its new CTO to lead 400+ global product and engineering teams, focusing on AI advancement and personalization. KAYAK plans to extend KAYAK.ai to corporate travelers through KAYAK for Business by year-end, demonstrating its commitment to AI-driven innovation in both leisure and business travel sectors.
KAYAK ha lanciato KAYAK.ai, una nuova piattaforma di viaggio basata sull'intelligenza artificiale che unisce la tecnologia di OpenAI con l'esperienza di viaggio di KAYAK. La piattaforma offre capacità di ricerca conversazionale su oltre 400 fornitori, fungendo da laboratorio di innovazione per testare funzionalità AI-first.
Le caratteristiche principali includono:
- Monitoraggio voli in tempo reale e aggiornamenti
- Notifiche di calo prezzi e analisi delle tendenze
- Scoperta di rotte di voli diretti
- Ricerca dettagliata di hotel con servizi specifici
- Assistenza completa nella pianificazione del viaggio
L'azienda ha nominato Yaron Zeidman nuovo CTO per guidare oltre 400 team globali di prodotto e ingegneria, con un focus sull'avanzamento dell'AI e la personalizzazione. KAYAK prevede di estendere KAYAK.ai ai viaggiatori aziendali tramite KAYAK for Business entro fine anno, confermando il suo impegno nell'innovazione guidata dall'AI sia nel settore leisure che in quello business.
KAYAK ha lanzado KAYAK.ai, una nueva plataforma de viajes impulsada por inteligencia artificial que combina la tecnología de OpenAI con la inteligencia en viajes de KAYAK. La plataforma ofrece capacidades de búsqueda conversacional en más de 400 proveedores, funcionando como un laboratorio de innovación para probar funciones AI-first.
Las características clave incluyen:
- Seguimiento y actualizaciones de vuelos en tiempo real
- Notificaciones de bajada de precios y análisis de tendencias
- Descubrimiento de rutas de vuelos directos
- Búsqueda detallada de hoteles con comodidades específicas
- Asistencia integral en la planificación del viaje
La compañía nombró a Yaron Zeidman como su nuevo CTO para liderar a más de 400 equipos globales de producto e ingeniería, enfocándose en el avance de la IA y la personalización. KAYAK planea extender KAYAK.ai a viajeros corporativos a través de KAYAK for Business antes de fin de año, demostrando su compromiso con la innovación impulsada por IA en los sectores de viajes de ocio y negocios.
KAYAK는 OpenAI 기술과 KAYAK의 여행 인텔리전스를 결합한 AI 기반 여행 플랫폼 KAYAK.ai를 출시했습니다. 이 플랫폼은 400개 이상의 공급자와의 대화형 검색 기능을 제공하며, AI 우선 기능을 테스트하는 혁신 실험실 역할을 합니다.
주요 기능은 다음과 같습니다:
- 실시간 항공편 추적 및 업데이트
- 가격 하락 알림 및 트렌드 분석
- 논스톱 항공편 경로 탐색
- 특정 편의시설을 포함한 상세 호텔 검색
- 종합적인 여행 계획 지원
회사는 Yaron Zeidman을 신임 CTO로 임명하여 400명 이상의 글로벌 제품 및 엔지니어링 팀을 이끌며 AI 발전과 개인화에 집중하도록 했습니다. KAYAK는 연말까지 KAYAK for Business를 통해 KAYAK.ai를 기업 여행자에게 확장할 계획이며, 여가 및 비즈니스 여행 분야 모두에서 AI 기반 혁신에 대한 의지를 보여줍니다.
KAYAK a lancé KAYAK.ai, une nouvelle plateforme de voyage alimentée par l'IA qui combine la technologie d'OpenAI avec l'intelligence voyage de KAYAK. Cette plateforme propose des capacités de recherche conversationnelle auprès de plus de 400 fournisseurs, servant de laboratoire d'innovation pour tester des fonctionnalités AI-first.
Les principales fonctionnalités incluent :
- Suivi des vols en temps réel et mises à jour
- Notifications de baisse de prix et analyse des tendances
- Découverte d'itinéraires de vols directs
- Recherche détaillée d'hôtels avec équipements spécifiques
- Assistance complète à la planification de voyage
L'entreprise a nommé Yaron Zeidman nouveau CTO pour diriger plus de 400 équipes produit et ingénierie à l'échelle mondiale, en se concentrant sur l'avancement de l'IA et la personnalisation. KAYAK prévoit d'étendre KAYAK.ai aux voyageurs d'affaires via KAYAK for Business d'ici la fin de l'année, démontrant son engagement envers l'innovation pilotée par l'IA dans les secteurs des voyages de loisirs et d'affaires.
KAYAK hat KAYAK.ai gestartet, eine neue KI-gestützte Reiseplattform, die OpenAIs Technologie mit KAYAKs Reiseintelligenz kombiniert. Die Plattform bietet konversationelle Suchfunktionen über mehr als 400 Anbieter und dient als Innovationslabor zur Erprobung von AI-first-Funktionen.
Wichtige Funktionen umfassen:
- Echtzeit-Flugverfolgung und Updates
- Preissenkungsbenachrichtigungen und Trendanalysen
- Entdeckung von Nonstop-Flugrouten
- Detaillierte Hotelsuche mit spezifischen Annehmlichkeiten
- Umfassende Reiseplanungsunterstützung
Das Unternehmen ernannte Yaron Zeidman zum neuen CTO, der über 400 globale Produkt- und Engineering-Teams leiten wird, mit Fokus auf KI-Weiterentwicklung und Personalisierung. KAYAK plant, KAYAK.ai bis Jahresende über KAYAK for Business auch für Geschäftsreisende auszubauen und zeigt damit sein Engagement für KI-getriebene Innovationen im Freizeit- und Geschäftsreisemarkt.
- Appointment of experienced CTO Yaron Zeidman with 29 years experience to lead AI initiatives
- Launch of KAYAK.ai platform leveraging OpenAI technology to enhance travel search capabilities
- Access to real-time pricing data from 400+ providers strengthens competitive position
- Expansion into corporate travel market through KAYAK for Business by year-end
- Large tech team of 400+ global product and engineering professionals
- KAYAK.ai serves as experimental platform with uncertain success rate for new features
- Limited initial target audience (AI enthusiasts and tech-savvy users only)
- Potential increased operational costs from running parallel platforms (KAYAK.com and KAYAK.ai)
Insights
KAYAK's AI-first approach creates an innovation sandbox for testing conversational travel search before mainstreaming successful features.
KAYAK's launch of KAYAK.ai represents a strategic implementation of conversational AI in travel planning, combining OpenAI's technology with KAYAK's travel intelligence from 400+ providers. What distinguishes this approach is the creation of a dedicated platform that serves as an innovation laboratory - successful features will graduate to KAYAK.com after testing with early adopters.
The platform focuses on practical use cases rather than theoretical AI capabilities: finding flights under specific budget constraints, identifying nonstop routes, locating hotels with particular amenities, and providing real-time flight status information. This suggests a focus on solving tangible user problems rather than implementing AI for its own sake.
The appointment of Yaron Zeidman as CTO is significant as he represents the first CTO outside KAYAK's founding team. His background includes relevant experience at Agoda and developing AI-driven staffing platforms at job&talent. This executive change signals organizational commitment to advancing AI capabilities.
The expansion to KAYAK for Business by year-end indicates a strategic path to bring these capabilities to the corporate travel segment, which typically has different requirements and potentially higher margins than leisure travel.
While the technology direction aligns with industry trends toward conversational interfaces, the ultimate measure of success will be user adoption and whether the AI capabilities meaningfully improve conversion rates beyond traditional search interfaces.
KAYAK's AI platform launch shows strategic investment in next-gen travel search, with potential business traveler monetization path on the horizon.
For Booking Holdings (BKNG), KAYAK's introduction of KAYAK.ai represents a forward-looking investment in conversational AI technology for their metasearch subsidiary. The strategic approach has three noteworthy elements:
First, KAYAK has created a separate testing environment (KAYAK.ai) that allows them to experiment with AI features among early adopters before migrating successful elements to their primary platform. This staged approach potentially reduces implementation risk while still positioning the brand as technologically progressive.
Second, the planned expansion to KAYAK for Business by year-end suggests a focus on the higher-margin corporate travel segment as an early monetization path. Business travelers typically have different requirements and higher spending patterns than leisure travelers.
Third, the hiring of Yaron Zeidman as CTO, with specific experience in AI platforms, reinforces the company's commitment to technological advancement. As the first CTO from outside the founding team, this represents a significant organizational investment in new technical leadership.
The press release provides no quantitative metrics on expected usage, development costs, or projected revenue impact, making ROI assessment difficult. The strategic focus appears to be on improving user experience through better search capabilities and personalization, which could eventually impact conversion rates and customer retention, though the timeframe for financial impact remains undefined.
New CTO joins KAYAK to accelerate AI efforts
Built combining OpenAI's technology with KAYAK's intelligence, the site will serve as the company's innovation lab for analyzing how travelers engage with KAYAK tools, data and insights conversationally. As KAYAK.com's tech savvy sibling, it will cater to AI enthusiasts and those drawn to advanced technology. What works best on KAYAK.ai will graduate to KAYAK.com.
"KAYAK.ai provides a creative sandbox for our tech teams to innovate and offers a fun platform tailored to travelers who enjoy using ChatGPT and similar tools," said Steve Hafner, CEO of KAYAK. "As we learn what people love on .ai, we will bring those features to KAYAK.com for all travelers."
To get started, KAYAK.ai can help plan your next getaway by:
- Finding the best destinations under
$500 - Discovering all the direct flight route options from your home airport
- Uncovering the cheapest weekend travel options for your chosen destination
- Identifying the most affordable nonstop flight routes for a hassle-free journey
- Comparing hotel options with complimentary breakfast and convenient proximity to your desired locations
KAYAK.ai provides travelers with a comprehensive suite of tools to plan summer adventures easily and with precision. From finding the best destinations under
A few things KAYAK.ai can help with:
- Track your trip like a pro. Saved an upcoming trip in your KAYAK account? Log in, type "is my flight on time today" and you'll get a real-time rundown of delays, gate changes and how many hours until you board.
- See price drops at a glance. Ask about the best time to go to
Berlin and KAYAK.ai will show you a graph with the cheapest weekends to fly. Hover over if you want to see daily price shifts - yes, you can get that nerdy (we like to call it "informed"). - Ditch the layovers. KAYAK.ai will show you every nonstop flight from your home airport with an overview of timing, cabin class and cost.
- Nail the hotel search. Need a pool, free breakfast and something close to the Eiffel Tower? KAYAK.ai gets ridiculously specific - in a good way.
- Plan the whole trip in one go. Tell KAYAK.ai you need a 3-night beach getaway for four from
Boston in May and it'll suggest destination ideas with real-time pricing and ideal travel windows.
KAYAK brings on new CTO to accelerate AI initiatives.
Leading the charge is KAYAK's new Chief Technology Officer, Yaron Zeidman who brings 29 years of experience and a fresh perspective to the company as the first CTO for the brand outside of its original founding team. A veteran of Agoda, Zeidman most recently led product and engineering at job&talent where he helped build one of the largest AI-driven staffing platforms in the world.
Zeidman will lead KAYAK's 400+ global product and engineering teams forward with AI advancement and personalization at the top of his to-do list.
Business travelers, you're next.
KAYAK is set to roll out a pilot of KAYAK.ai to corporate travelers through KAYAK for Business by year's end.
"We will continue to lead with AI," said KAYAK CEO, Steve Hafner. "KAYAK.ai will help us learn faster so we can make this tech work even harder for leisure and business travelers."
About KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. Trusted by millions of travelers, the KAYAK app makes travel planning seamless on iOS and Android, and we also support business travelers with our corporate travel solution.
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SOURCE KAYAK
FAQ
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