According to Fortune, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin is navigating the massive AI shift in travel, where consumers are increasingly using large language models to plan and book trips. She’s focused on deepening partnerships with companies like Google and Bing to embed Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo functionality directly within AI assistants. The risk, she says, is that these platforms could turn travel brands into invisible “pipes” that consumers never directly see or engage with. On the innovation front, Gorin highlighted a new trip-matching feature that turns Instagram Reels into bookable trips. She also discussed efforts to promote Brand USA tourism ahead of major events like the 2026 World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary.
Expedia’s Existential AI Dilemma
Here’s the thing: Gorin is articulating the core anxiety for every intermediary platform in the age of AI. For years, travel sites fought to be the destination. You wanted a hotel, you went to Expedia or Booking.com. Now? You might just ask ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. The service happens, but the brand disappears. It’s the ultimate commoditization. So her strategy of “deepening partnerships” is basically the only play right now—embed your functionality so deeply into the AI’s response that it can’t plan a trip without you. But that’s a precarious position. You’re now a supplier to the AI, not a destination for the customer. The power dynamic has completely flipped.
The Broader Market Meltdown
This isn’t just a travel industry story. It’s a blueprint for every online marketplace, from retail to services. AI assistants are the new aggregators, and they don’t need to show you ten blue links from different brands. They just need to give you one correct answer. That concentrates immense power in the hands of a few AI platform owners. The “invisible pipe” fear is very real. And it explains the insane spending rush we’re seeing elsewhere in the Fortune briefing—like that $120 billion in off-balance-sheet debt for AI data centers. Companies are betting everything that owning the AI stack is the only way to avoid being piped. If you’re not building the AI, you’re at risk of being buried by it.
Brand USA and the 2026 Factor
Gorin’s other big push, promoting U.S. tourism, is fascinating timing. With huge events on the horizon, there’s a clear economic incentive. But her message about making the U.S. “welcoming” and improving infrastructure feels like a direct, subtle response to the political headlines also in this briefing—like the U.S. banning a former EU commissioner. It’s a delicate dance: promoting a country while its government is making international headlines that might deter some travelers. Can you really separate “Brand USA” from current events? Probably not. But for a travel company whose inventory is heavily U.S.-based, they have to try.
The Bottom Line
Expedia’s fight is a canary in the coal mine. We’re moving from a web of distinct sites to a world of conversational interfaces. The brands that survive will be the ones who can successfully pivot from being a destination to being an indispensable, embedded service. And even that might not be enough if the AI platform decides to cut them out or build its own booking engine. Gorin’s conversation on the Apple or Spotify podcasts is worth a listen because this is a battle for relevance that will define the next decade of consumer tech. The invisible pipe is waiting for anyone who can’t adapt.
