Online travel platforms are incorporating AI algorithms at an accelerating rate. Incorporating OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology into Microsoft’s offerings is something tourism industry stakeholders are quickly embracing. According to Microsoft, more than 50 new plugins will be released in the coming weeks.
The news that artificial intelligence plugins, such as those already enabled in ChatGPT, are now operational across Microsoft’s products, including the Bing search platform, is among the many announcements made at last week’s Microsoft Build 2023 developer conference. In addition, new plugins are being implemented by travel companies like Tripadvisor, Skyscanner, Trip com, Fareportal, and others.
ChatGPT and Bing Chat use language models integrated with external data sources through plugins. This enables the AI-powered assistants to provide real-time assistance to users, including help with tasks like making travel arrangements.
Microsoft is adopting the open plugin standard OpenAI recently released for ChatGPT in March. This means plugins built to this standard will be compatible with OpenAI and Microsoft ecosystems. Expedia and Kayak were among the first to develop ChatGPT plugins, and now Microsoft users can also access them.
At present, Bing offers useful suggestions to users during chats through integrated plugins available on desktop and mobile devices. One notable plugin is OpenTable, which allows customers to inquire about restaurants and related subjects. The Bing mobile app enhances this feature, especially while on the go.
In the chat platform for ChatGPT Plus, subscribers, and soon everyone else, can now choose “Search with Bing.” Bing is the default search mode of the system, which means it gathers the freshest information from all over the web. With this feature, ChatGPT’s responses can now be backed up by search and web data and complete with references to allow users to learn more, all while still in chat.
In addition, last week, Google unveiled significant enhancements to its generative AI-powered search and marketing capabilities. For example, long, multi-step searches can now be answered by Google’s new Search Generative Experience (SGE), which uses data and links from many sources.
