Expedia Group has partnered with Perplexity on the launch of Comet, its free, downloadable browser and artificial intelligence (AI) assistant. To encourage use, Expedia is giving travelers an opportunity to cash in on their download of the AI browser with Silver status in OneKey.
“This is the first-time we have opened our loyalty program to a partner,” said Clayton Nelson, VP of strategic partnerships for Expedia Group. “This unique, multi-layered partnership brings loyalty, advertising and innovation together in one place, so travelers get rewarded just for experimenting with agentic AI tools.”
According to Perplexity, Comet can help users compare destinations and individual travel elements such as hotels and also provide travel itineraries with personalized recommendations. Comet can also “seamlessly” book a trip. The browser and AI assistant includes a “Travel” interface under the home tab, which includes “Trending Destinations” and “Inspiration” sections and a search bar.
The AI tool is available on desktop, and Perplexity said it will be available on mobile “soon.”
Expedia Group’s collaboration with Perplexity comes as Nelson said the company is seeing generative AI traffic growing quickly and converting at “strong rates.”
“Consumer search behavior is shifting to genAI search engines, and this is especially true in travel,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the complicated and time-consuming nature of travel planning can be simplified with Comet.
“Perplexity Comet browser makes it easy by combining natural language search with agentic AI, letting travellers type what they’re looking for while Comet searches Expedia, surfaces options and helps them to book a trip,” he said.
And the use of AI is not limited to the browser itself: Travelers can browse on Expedia and switch between AI assistance and traditional browsing, according to Nelson.
“These products are evolving quickly, expanding quality and use cases,” Nelson said. “We believe that great travel experiences can be unlocked through new agentic AI tools while ensuring the traveler is always in control.”
Expedia also partnered with OpenAI to launch apps within ChatGPT that users can chat with directly. Apps are available to ChatGPT users outside of the EU. Booking.com is another partner on the pilot, and Tripadvisor and Uber are expected to be part of the program later in the year, according to OpenAI.
Major travel companies have already partnered with platforms like OpenAI Perplexity on other technology AI launches.
SelfBook and Tripadvisor partnered with Perplexity to offer hotel booking in the spring. And in January, Tripadvisor, Priceline, Booking.com, Hipcamp and Uber, partnered with OpenAI when it launched its Operator tool. Tripadvisor also partnered with Perplexity in January to offer enhanced trip planning.
Expedia has made a concerted effort to implement AI as well. After CEO Ariane Gorin shared AI strategies for 2025 in February, Expedia Group shared AI updates as part of its product release in the spring. Upgrades included an integration with OpenAI’s Operator and Microsoft Copilot Actions, Expedia Trip Matching and an AI agent on Hotels.com.
The company was also among the first to implement generative AI when it incorporated a ChatGPT plugin and integrated a large language model into the Expedia app in 2023. In September 2023, the company also added a natural language interface to the Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com apps.
This article was originally published on Phocuswire