Google puts hotel booking inside AI Mode, with the OTAs as partners

Google has added hotel booking to AI Mode in Search, letting travellers go from a plain-English request to a completed reservation inside a single conversation. For anyone who depends on search traffic, this is the moment the funnel changed shape — and the major OTAs are inside it rather than outside it.

How it works

English-speaking users in the US can review and compare hotels, pick a room from an integrated partner and complete the reservation with Google Pay. Travellers "can describe what they're looking for in plain English" and receive a visual list of hotel options with side-by-side comparisons.

Google is starting with ten travel websites and hotel chains. Hotel partners include Choice Hotels International, Hilton, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International. Travel site partners include Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline and Trip.com.

Loyalty currency is in scope from the start: travellers can include Hilton Honors points in AI Mode searches, and Choice Hotels lets travellers see costs in Choice Privileges points.

Crucially for the commercial model, Google says individual hotel and booking platforms will "act as the merchant of record" and handle customer service. Google is placing itself at the front of the journey, not taking over the transaction.

What the partners are saying

"Travel discovery is evolving rapidly, and Choice Hotels is actively shaping what comes next," said Anna Scozzafava, Choice's chief data, AI and technology officer. "By working with Google as an early partner for hotel booking through AI Mode in Search, we're helping make it easier for travelers to find the right Choice hotel for their trip while positioning our franchisees to compete and win in the age of agentic commerce."

Hilton's participation follows the launch of Hilton AI Planner, its generative-AI concierge for conversational trip planning. "At Hilton, we are dedicated to innovating to meet the changing needs of our guests, our industry and the world around us," said Michael Leidinger, senior vice president and chief information officer.

Why it matters

The launch lands as travellers increasingly reach for AI tools at the planning stage, and as hotel groups work out how they surface inside those tools rather than inside a blue-link results page. Two things are worth watching.

First, the partner list. Having Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline and Trip.com all in the initial rollout means the OTAs have chosen participation over resistance. That keeps them in the transaction but hands Google the discovery layer.

Second, the chains are in directly. Choice, Hilton, Wyndham, IHG and Marriott appearing alongside the OTAs — with loyalty points visible — is a direct-booking play inside a Google surface.

Beyond hotels, the same AI Mode upgrade lets users track flight prices, set price alerts and see flight costs in points or miles.