Kayak PriceCheck invites users to ensure they are getting the best travel deal by screenshotting their way to savings. Olivia Palamountain reports
Travel metasearch engine Kayak is aiming to make travel planning faster, easier and more personalised with the launch of a new suite of AI-powered products.
Leading the new offerings is Kayak PriceCheck, a patented price comparison tool that automatically scans hundreds of sites.
By uploading a screenshot of any flight itinerary from any website to the Kayak app, users can quickly check if they are truly getting the best deal.
“With Kayak PriceCheck, we’re the only major travel search engine letting users compare prices across sites using just a screenshot,” said Matthias Keller, Kayak’s chief scientist and senior vice-president of technology. “It’s an easy way for travelers to confirm they’ve found the lowest fare.”
Another major new feature is Ask Kayak, which allows users to search and refine results using simple text entries.
For example, you could ask “Where can my family go for spring break less than three hours from NYC for under US$300 per person?” and instantly receive personalised destination recommendations fitting those parameters.
The Ask Kayak tool will also incorporate a chat interface on results pages, enabling travellers to enter specific requirements such as “United, nonstop, morning departure, <$500” to quickly narrow down hotel, car rental, and flight options.
“We’re diving deeper into solving complex travel issues simply with Ask Kayak’s freeform search capabilities to quickly get personalised results,” Keller explained. It rolled out on March 5, 2024, and will soon be available to all users in the US, UK and Canada with more markets to follow.
These AI innovations are the result of extensive training of ChatGPT’s AI model on Kayak’s proprietary database of billions of consumer travel queries.
As affordable travel continues rebounding, Kayak’s new innovations could make it easier for consumers to navigate prices, routes and destinations to find their ideal holiday option at the best possible price.