New Way Now: Priceline gets travelers to their happy places at happy prices with data and AI

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Sachin Menon, vice president of engineering — data, marketing, and FinTech technology at Priceline, shares how the online travel agency is innovating with cloud technology to help travelers plan their next trip with ease and efficiency. With its data already on Google Cloud, Priceline upgraded its AI-powered 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 suite with new generative AI features that help millions of travelers get to their happy places at happy prices faster. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: Priceline wanted to quickly capitalize on emerging gen AI capabilities to significantly reduce the hours of time customers spend researching and planning trips while helping them to secure the best travel deals. According to Priceline’s latest proprietary travel study, conducted by The Harris Poll and published in Feb ’24, 22% of U.S. adults find that creating their trip itinerary is one of the most frustrating parts of planning and booking a trip. The study also found that It takes the equivalent of two full work days, or 16 hours, to plan and book a trip. 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Google Cloud forms the backbone of Priceline’s data foundation, with BigQuery and BigLake powering its unified data platform, AI recommendations engine, and other advanced analytics. In the fast-paced travel industry, Priceline needed to move as quickly as possible, so the team decided to look within Google Cloud to accelerate its gen AI journey. Using Vertex AI, Priceline was able to access, customize, and leverage the latest gen AI models and integrate them seamlessly with its proprietary data and existing applications, bringing its initial gen AI pilots to life in less than six months. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: Now, Priceline’s 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 suite can deliver real-time recommendations, competitive pricing deals, and more personalized planning and booking experiences — including an innovative gen AI-powered travel agent. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄