AI at Explore 2026: what partners need to know
Learn what’s on Expedia Group’s AI roadmap in 2026, from reinforcing trust to building AI-powered tools and platforms.
Expedia Group's Explore 2026 partner conference revealed that AI is now embedded across traveler experiences and partner workflows, yet 70% of travelers still prefer trusted travel companies over AI chatbots for bookings.
Photo by Expedia Group, Inc.
At Explore 2026, Expedia Group’s annual partner conference, what came into sharp focus is how Expedia Group is innovating with AI — not as a future vision, but as the path partners can use now to grow and succeed.
Across the two-day partner conference in Las Vegas, the announcements and product demos pointed to the same shift: that AI is embedded across traveler experiences, partner workflows, developer tools, and marketing strategies with clearer, cleaner ways for partners to plug in now.
Trust is the foundation
If the announcements were the headline, trust was the throughline. Explore 2026 reinforced the idea that AI only works when grounded in trusted data, reliable inventory, deep expertise, and dependable support when plans change.
Chief AI and Data Officer Xavi Amatriain shared new research at Explore 2026 showing that while travelers increasingly use AI for inspiration and planning, they still don’t rely on AI to make actual bookings.
This is because the trip doesn’t end at checkout. Travelers want to know that a trusted travel company has their back if something goes wrong. And that’s why nearly 70% of travelers still turn to trusted travel companies over AI chatbots and agents.