Ep 224: How AI is reshaping trip discovery at booking.com

Jyoti Pannu, Product Manager at Booking.com, shares how AI is transforming the way travelers discover, plan, and book their next adventure. From AI trip planners that surface new possibilities to the integration of GenAI and ChatGPT into the core product, Jyoti explains why travel discovery is moving beyond simple search, how user intent is now mapped through nuanced signals, and what the rise of LLMs means for attribution, retention, and the future of app UX. She also dives into cross-vertical product lessons, balancing novelty and personalization, and offers advice for elevating women in product management.

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• What is Booking.com, and what does Jyoti’s role cover?
• How is AI being used at Booking.com beyond chatbots and content generation?
• What does intent-based and natural language discovery look like in practice?
• How is the app experience changing with AI-driven trip planners and smart filters?
• How does Booking.com balance user personalization and novelty in recommendations?
• How do LLM-based discovery channels affect paid UA and retargeting strategies?
• What guardrails and metrics are important for launching new AI features?
• What lessons cross over from fintech, e-commerce, and travel in app retention?
• How should product teams think about post-purchase and post-trip experience?
• What advice does Jyoti have for women building a career in product and tech?

• (0:03) – Jyoti’s role at Booking.com and scope of the app
• (1:39) – AI trip planners and intent-driven product development
• (3:17) – Smart filters and natural language input for hotel discovery
• (4:03) – How Booking.com infers trip purpose and personalizes UX
• (6:09) – LLMs, ChatGPT, and new search/discovery interfaces
• (8:13) – Attribution, channel mix, and UA economics in an AI-first world
• (11:01) – Avoiding the filter bubble in travel recommendations
• (13:41) – Booking.com plugins and booking via ChatGPT
• (15:41) – Cross-vertical product lessons from e-commerce, fintech, and travel
• (17:58) – Brand omnipresence, loyalty, and retention
• (19:04) – Emotional stakes and UX in travel vs. transactional apps
• (21:37) – Post-trip and post-purchase: product touchpoints
• (22:50) – Testing AI features for retention and quality
• (24:24) – Guardrails, review, and data governance
• (25:29) – Elevating women in product and leadership
• (27:50) – Rapid-fire: travel, career, life, and favorite places

(3:35) “We have an option for users called smart filters, where they can make searches in the form of a natural language, like how you would interact with a human. We map this in our systems to provide personalized results for these users.”

(17:00) “If a user has interacted with our platform and they have made a purchase from two different categories, they are more likely to become a high value customer than someone who has bought multiple times in the same category.”