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In Europe, Google's move to satisfy regulators — by stripping back its own travel-search features, and siloing aggregators and suppliers — extend to AI Mode too. Meanwhile, Meta's new AI agent seems to be freewheeling it. With only a single flight-booking integration at launch, Muse improvises its own travel stack by browsing whatever websites it wants.

Both underscore a point made by Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano: He said AI's biggest near-term impact will be on distribution. Travel companies still get the booking, but they're losing their grip on what's delivering the customer.

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Skift Global Forum

The AI conversation in travel has moved past pilots and proofs of concept. The question now is who controls the interface between traveler and trip, and what an AI-native travel company actually looks like when built from the ground up.

Hear it firsthand in New York, September 22–24: OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor on AI's real impact, Brian Chesky on rebuilding Airbnb as AI-native, and the CEOs of Booking Holdings, Expedia, and Hilton on where the advantage goes next. 94% sold, 56 seats left.

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10 AI Lessons From Travel Leaders

CURACITY + SKIFT

At Skift Data + AI Summit 2026, travel leaders shared how AI is moving from pilots to production, with data, ownership, and trust emerging as the biggest differentiators.

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EDITOR’S PICKS

Google’s New Hotel Search in Europe: What it Looks Like Now

September 10, 2026

Google’s new user interface is meant to help the company avoid fines from EU regulators.

Meta Says Its Muse Agent Books Travel. Here’s How It Works

September 10, 2026

Meta’s Muse plugs directly into flights but shops the rest of travel through the open web. That puts the AI agent, not a travel integration, in control of where the search goes.

Marriott Brings Loyalty Into Corporate Booking Tools With Spotnana Deal

September 10, 2026

Marriott's best weapon for winning business travelers is its loyalty program. But until now it couldn't show loyalty information inside the booking portals corporations force employees to use. Spotnana says it can fix that.

Booking’s 5 AI Experiments — and Why Agoda’s Is Next

September 14, 2026

Both Booking and Expedia have the luxury to address consumer-facing AI from multiple angles, including chatbots, specialized agents, and startups. Their approaches overlap, but also have distinct differences.

Marriott CEO Says AI Will Impact Hotel Distribution First

September 9, 2026

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano was asked where AI is showing up in practice. He said the "biggest impact" so far has been on "distribution," or how travelers discover hotels online.

SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK

AI agents are starting to book travel, chase reservations, and monitor openings faster than humans can.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss why tools like Instinct could change who gets access to the best tables, tickets, and trips and why platforms are already pushing back.

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SKIFT RESEARCH

How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.

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