OTAs Are Betting on Traveler Trust. But the Scramble Is On to Win the Trust of AI Agents

As AI agents take on more of the trip-planning journey, where do OTAs fit in? Executives from Expedia and Booking.com have decided their edge is trust. If travelers worry LLMs like ChatGPT can hallucinate, they'll still turn to trusted travel brands to book their trips.

Trip.com Group Executive Chairman James Liang last week also raised the trust issue, but with a twist: How can his company win the trust of AI platforms and AI agents?

"Our goal is not only to be the go-to app for travelers, but also the trusted infrastructure for AI agents," Liang said in a Trip.com earnings call.

It's a key issue for other OTAs, too — as well as hotels and global distribution systems. While OTA competitors focus on convincing consumers not to defect to AI-native booking interfaces, Liang is positioning Trip.com to power those interfaces from the inside.

Trip.com is "packaging our travel data, verified inventory, real-time pricing and reliable t