Will Google’s agentic booking tool become the trade’s biggest competitor?

Google has recently announced plans to eventually introduce agentic AI booking capabilities into its AI Mode search feature for hotels and flights. Does this mean that Google just became a travel advisor’s biggest competitor? 

Well, for the moment, don’t fear, there are no immediate plans, and as Google has also confirmed it is working with partners on this development, it would suggest that they want to partner with the travel industry – probably its biggest advertiser – instead of competing with it.

However, the breathtaking speed with which such agentic booking tools are entering the market is something travel advisors should pay close attention to. An existential threat to your existence?

Certainly, in a survey we did recently, 44% of travel advisors globally thought so. And potentially yes, in the longer term it could be, but there is still a lot that such tools can’t deliver on yet: great for inspiration and general high-level plans, but not reliable for specific details and certainly not something anyone would want to rely on 100% for a door-to-door trip. 

Many of the tools coming into the market will allow you to automate tasks to save time, search and analyse a wider range of options, reduce errors, and find the best deals for clients.

Who wouldn’t welcome that? The risk really is not that Google will take your customers. Instead, it is another advisor winning over by doing a faster job with the help of AI-driven tools.

So, what are the five things you need to be doing right now to ensure you don’t fall behind?

1. First, get to know these tools if you don’t already for various tasks: Google Gemini is great for planning, Claude, Manus and ChatGPT for news summaries, writing, image creation, and Perplexity is useful for news research. Plus, stay open-minded about new tools coming from LLM companies – like recently launched Anthropic’s Cowork or OpenAI’s Chrome extension – and don’t hesitate to test them. Over time, you’ll find the combination that works best for your needs.
2. Then start simple: use AI for content ideas, email drafts, or research for initial queries to see what it can do. But keep in mind that AI is not just about simplification, but adding value via expertise – if you get really advanced, you can even create your own AI agent to proactively update you on relevant updates in the industry.
3. Next, learn prompting as that’s the real key to success: be specific with prompts, define a persona (e.g., "Act as an expert Disney planner"), and iterate to refine outputs. There are lots of great online resources out there, but, in particular, we’d suggest looking at these Vanderbilt and MIT courses. 
4. After that, turn to boosting efficiency on an operational level: we encourage you to start implementing agentic AI in everyday tasks. For instance, at RateHawk, our AI agents now analyse and process 50% of information requests exchanged between guests and hotels. That way, our staff handles only complex cases, focusing on the human-to-human interaction. Businesses of different scales can reuse this approach with the help of workflow engines for automation. The key to success is to build a platform solution where you can reuse automations for higher efficiency instead of stand-alone tools.
5. Here’s another essential tip: start building your own system of records now. Tools like Granola or Fireflies can help you record your decision-making logic and summarize key actions, gradually creating a knowledge base for future, more sophisticated AI agents. Later, you’ll be able to train them on your own data – as the technology matures, it will become a new standard. But if your data isn’t saved today, you’ll be starting from a blank page tomorrow.

And yet, don’t be over-reliant – for the foreseeable future at least – on AI. You’ll still need to proofread emails and check that no hallucinations happen.

Never give up on common sense and developing your critical thinking skills – these will always be valuable in any scenario the future brings.

Think of it more as your enthusiastic, well-intentioned junior assistant who needs guidance and supervision. 

No doubt many of you are already thinking about this topic. In our recent research, we found that 45% of you want to use AI tools to streamline your workflow, and 20% of you see adopting the tech as your biggest challenge.

So take these first steps now and keep learning, evolving, and challenging yourself to embrace this brave new world of AI, and you’ll stay competitive always.

As Darwin said, “it is not the strongest or fastest species that survives, but the one most responsive to change”.