Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia, talks about the struggle to ensure AI doesn’t turn its brands into invisible pipes

Good morning. The holidays seem like the perfect time to take stock with Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group. 2025 was a banner year for travel and for Expedia, which saw revenue rise 7.6% to $13.4 billion in the 12 months ending September 30, with the stock up more than 50% so far this year. In the latest episode of Fortune’s Leadership NextGorin spoke to me and Kristin Stoller about the changing travel landscape and how she’s leading in this challenging climate.

AI is reshaping the travel experience, as many of us turn to large language models to plan and even pay for trips. This represents both an opportunity and a potential threat for leaders like Gorin. Reservation of funds Glenn Fogel, CEO, with whom we spoke earlier this year. The opportunity: deploy AI internally and establish partnerships integrating the group’s Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo functionalities within LLMs. The risk: hallucinations, privacy violations and the specter of LLMs reducing the need for travel sites or turning them into invisible pipes that consumers never see.

“We have been working for years with Google and Bing…and now it’s about deepening our partnerships,” Gorin said, adding that AI has enabled innovation like Expedia’s new product. travel matching feature it turns Instagram is launching into bookable travel experiences. “It’s been quite fun to challenge ourselves to ask ourselves, ‘How can we make sure our brands show up well there?’ »

Gorin also talks about strengthening the USA brand among foreigners during this delicate time when old stalwarts (hello Canada!) could be left on the sidelines and events ranging from the World Cup to the 250 U.S. Games^th anniversary should boost tourism. His approach is to start by saying that Americans “make the country welcoming, that we make the infrastructure welcoming, that we make it easier to arrive in the country.”

It’s a message that many leaders would like to rally around. You can listen to our conversation on Apple Or Spotify. Also, the CEO Daily The team is taking a break for the holidays. See you here on January 5. As always, we value your thoughts and appreciate you reading what we write.

Contact the CEO daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

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