Trending Now - Openai May Reduce Direct Booking Features in Chatgpt

WHO:

OpenAI

President Trump (mentioned in context of AI and travel industry concerns)

Online travel agencies (OTAs) including Expedia, Booking Holdings, and Tripadvisor

TD Cowen analysts

Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke

WHAT:

OpenAI is scaling back plans to integrate direct bookings into ChatGPT.

OpenAI will focus on checkouts within specific third-party apps instead of handling bookings directly.

Shares of Expedia rose over 12%, Booking Holdings increased by 8%, and Tripadvisor went up by 5% on March 5, 2026.

TD Cowen analysts described OpenAI's decision as a "stunning admission."

OpenAI found that ChatGPT users were researching products but not completing purchases through the chatbot.

WHERE:

Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia and Booking.com

Reference to travel chaos in Dubai (not a direct location of the companies but relevant to the travel context)

WHEN:

The news was reported on March 5, 2026.

OpenAI launched its plugins program in 2023.

Google launched "Book on Google" in 2015 and shut it down in 2022.

WHY:

OpenAI concluded that handling the complexities of commerce (payments, cancellations, refunds, customer service) was operationally complex and less profitable.

Consumers may prefer completing transactions with established online travel agencies due to broader inventory and higher conversion rates.

HOW:

OpenAI is opting to push transactions into third-party apps for a more seamless purchasing experience.

The decision follows a trend where other companies, including Google, have struggled with integrating direct bookings into their platforms.

OpenAI has decided to scale back its plans to integrate direct bookings into ChatGPT, opting instead to focus on checkouts within specific third-party apps, a move that analysts from TD Cowen have called a "stunning admission." This shift comes after OpenAI found that while users were researching products through ChatGPT, they were not completing purchases, leading to a rise in shares for online travel agencies like Expedia, Booking Holdings, and Tripadvisor on March 5, 2026. The decision highlights the complexities of handling commerce directly, as consumers often prefer established OTAs for their broader inventory and higher conversion rates.