AI Mode Surpasses OTAs—Propellic Study Reveals Direct Booking Revolution for Travel

The travel booking landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as AI-powered tools, notably Google’s AI Mode, begin to outpace traditional Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in efficiency, user experience, and conversion. With AI Mode now at the core of search, travelers can seamlessly discover, plan, and book trips within a single conversational environment, collapsing the conventional three-stage travel funnel of dreaming, planning, and booking into one streamlined process.

Recent research reveals travelers increasingly trust AI recommendations, rating AI-suggested destinations and experiences highly and showing greater loyalty to AI-generated bookings. The rise of AI Mode brings about longer and more nuanced search queries, highlighting users’ desire for personalized, complex travel solutions. This growing AI interaction shifts discovery toward inline, AI-generated content with embedded direct booking links, challenging OTAs’ traditional dominance and forcing travel businesses to adapt their digital marketing strategies towards AI-focused content optimization.

A pivotal change brought by AI Mode is the prominence of Google Business Profiles, now taking precedence over conventional websites in terms of visibility and user engagement. Travel brands—hotels, tour operators, and activity providers—must ensure these profiles are comprehensive, accurate, and enticing to match AI-driven queries. Moreover, the expected incorporation of agentic capabilities, where AI can book directly on behalf of users, will further pressure industry players to provide fully API-integrated, real-time inventory and pricing to remain competitive.

Key Points:

• AI Mode merges travel inspiration, detailed planning, and booking into a single, conversational platform.
• Users show increased trust in AI recommendations, with higher conversion rates from AI-generated suggestions.
• Longer, more complex AI search queries indicate sophisticated user demand for tailored travel solutions.
• Google Business Profiles now surpass traditional websites in engagement and discovery within AI Mode.
• Upcoming AI agentic booking features may enable fully automated reservations, challenging OTA models.
• Travel businesses must optimize for AI-driven search and provide structured data for seamless AI integration.

The rise of AI Mode signals a new era for travel bookings—one where agility, digital sophistication, and AI alignment will determine success. For travel companies, embracing AI-centric marketing and operational strategies is no longer optional but essential to thrive in this fast-evolving landscape.